it in the truck.”
“Well, then I’m Santa Claus this mornin’, huh? ’Cause we have a lunch date with a very sexy, very apologetic little daycare owner.” Keegan strolled by, plunked a bottle of water down on the table in front of him. “But you might wanna take a shower, man. You stink.”
“Fuck off.”
“Oh, and brush your damn teeth,” Keegan called out as he left the room.
Despite the throbbing in his skull, Kaden smiled. Not because Bristol had invited them to lunch—well, not only because of that—but because he must be stuck in some alternate reality because seriously. Keegan telling him what to do. When’s the last time that happened?
Half an hour later and right on time, Kaden was walking up the path to Bristol’s door, a few steps behind Keegan, who was whistling while he walked. Fucking whistling.
If he didn’t know better, Kaden would think Keegan was having fun with the fact that Kaden was suffering. Granted, he might’ve been laying it on a little thick at the moment because his headache had subsided somewhat. He wasn’t sure if it was the hot shower, the strong coffee, or the magical ibuprofen, but something was doing the trick.
And not a minute too soon, because Kaden had been forced to ride with Keegan so they could pick up Kaden’s truck from Moonshiners, where he’d left it last night when he called for an Uber to get him home. Keegan insisted that Bristol needed one of their vehicles and he damn sure wasn’t going to leave her hanging.
That reminded Kaden that they hadn’t gotten Bristol’s car fixed yet. Maybe they could get to that later today.
Keegan knocked on the door, waited. A few seconds later, it opened and there stood the absolutely most stunning woman Kaden had ever laid eyes on. She was dressed in a short, lightweight sweater and a floor-length flowing skirt that he’d never seen before. Her hair was shiny and straight, and she had makeup on. Not a lot, but enough to highlight her beautiful features. She looked so good, it took a minute for him to get with the program.
“Hey,” she greeted softly when he walked past her into the house.
“Somethin’ smells good,” Keegan said, glancing around the living room.
“Before you get too excited, I didn’t cook,” Bristol said quickly. “Trust me when I tell you, that’s not somethin’ you want me to do. But I did DoorDash it. Found a great barbecue place and ordered a few things.”
Kaden turned to face her, knowing he needed to apologize for his behavior yesterday. He had no right to be such an ass to her.
“Bristol, I am—”
She was in front of him, her hand over his mouth before he could finish the sentence. “Not yet.”
Kaden frowned as she lowered her hand, her blue eyes glittering. In fact, she looked like she was glowing. Not literally, of course, but there was definitely something different about her. She actually looked … happy.
“I get to apologize first,” she said softly. “But I need for the two of you to go into the kitchen.”
Kaden cast a quick look at Keegan, who offered a shrug.
Then they were in the kitchen, he and Keegan sitting in the small breakfast area while Bristol stood at the end of the table
“What’s different in here?” Keegan asked, looking around the space.
Bristol motioned behind her. “I’ve cleaned off the countertops.”
Sure enough, they were empty. Her toaster oven was no longer there, as well as whatever knickknacks he’d seen. He couldn’t remember what they were, but he did know there had been some.
“We’re using paper plates today,” she announced. “Because I’ve packed up all the dishes.”
That got their attention. At the same time, they said, “Packed?”
That glow dimmed momentarily as Bristol stared back at them. Kaden could see the uncertainty on her face even as she squared her shoulders.
“Perhaps I’ve jumped the gun,” she said quickly, her gaze swinging back and forth between them. “But I’ve donated the majority of my stuff to the church. I mean, the furniture and whatnot. I didn’t think we’d need it.”
We?
“I know I’ve been impossible this past month and definitely this past week and I am so sorry,” she continued. “Neither of you deserved that. I’d like to blame it on hormones, but we all know better than that. I was a coward.”
Kaden could only stare at her, her words, spoken in that raspy twang that he loved, bounced around in his head as he attempted to make sense of them.
“It took me screwin’ everything