fell and the string lights twinkled on, Mom and Shelby marched out a cake with sparklers and candles. The Bodines serenaded me with the worst, off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday” I’d ever heard in my life.
Little Billy Ray howled along with them. It was awful and beautiful.
I laughed and smiled. Ate and drank. Embarrassed, I opened gifts, both gag and thoughtful. And I watched Shelby at the opposite end of the table.
I caught her eye, and the slow, sweet smile on her face warmed something in me that had been cold for too long.
And then I took an elbow to the gut.
“Looks like someone took his pants off today.” Scarlett grinned up at me, a cat that ate the canary.
“I don’t kiss and tell,” I said, slinging an arm around her shoulder.
“No, but you kiss and moon around with puppy dog eyes. She’s a nice girl, Jonah. I approve.”
“You practically picked her out for me. I should hope you’d approve,” I teased.
“Now listen, I know this is all new to you. But y’all should probably define exactly what this is because news will be all over town by tomorrow.”
“You mean, you’re going to open your big, fat mouth and tell everyone in town that I’m dating Shelby,” I corrected her.
“Dating, huh? I can get behind that.”
“Even if it’s none of your business.”
“Why, Jonah Bodine. You’re my brother. Your happiness is my business.”
“Just don’t start any wedding plans, Scar. Shelby doesn’t plan to stick around past the end of summer.”
“What about you?” she asked. “And before you even think about answering, you better not be considering leaving. Why, I brought your mama all the way out here to make her fall in love with this town.”
“You’re a diabolical puppet master, Scarlett Rose.”
She beamed up at me. “If it’s a crime to want my family to be happy and all together, then put me on death row.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I found my happily ever after,” she said, eyes flying to where Devlin and Jameson were deep in discussion. “Jameson and Leah Mae, Bowie and Cassidy, they found theirs, too. You can have a good life here.”
I nodded. “I know it. But I’m just not one thousand percent sure yet.”
“Well, you’ll have more incentive once I get your mama married off and moved in here,” she predicted.
As darkness fell, I noticed Bowie sneak off toward the shadows to take a phone call. I could see the tension in his shoulders, and something told me it wasn’t good news.
I excused myself from the table where James and Darlene were recounting one of their recent home renovation horror stories to Scarlett, who insisted that the next time they needed some plumbing done they call her first.
Bowie was standing there staring down at his phone when I got to him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He looked, up and I knew.
“Fuck,” I said quietly.
“It was Jayme. Dental records were a match. It’s Callie.”
Behind us, laughter erupted as Gibson and Jameson vied to tell my mom about their attempt at ice fishing when they were kids.
“This doesn’t change anything,” I said, knowing full well that it changed everything. Callie Kendall was dead. And so were the hopes of an entire community.
“It doesn’t mean that Dad did it,” Bowie said, sounding even less confident than me.
“No. It doesn’t.”
“Jayme says they’re keeping the news under wraps for a few days.”
I watched my mom dab tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes with a napkin. Now, Scarlett was slow dancing with Devlin, looking up at him like he was the sun and the moon and everything in between.
Shelby was leaning into her father’s arm, laughing at some story he was telling June.
“Let’s not ruin this,” I said. “Everyone’s having a good time. I’d rather keep it that way for another night.” It was selfish. But there wasn’t anything any of us could do about poor Callie Kendall. And this was my first family birthday party ever.
Bowie squeezed my shoulder. “Happy birthday, brother.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
33
All of Bootleg Springs
“Did y’all hear the news?”
“’Course we heard already. Such a shame. I always thought that that Callie girl was traveling in Canada with one of them there acrobatic acts.”
“I always figured she was dead. May she rest in peace, of course.”
“Why’s that?”
“She ain’t never come back, did she?”
“How you think the Kendalls are handling the news?”
“Doesn’t seem like it’s a surprise to them.”
“They always figured she was dead and gone. Seemed right sure of it.”
“I heard they was planning the funeral. Private. Don’t want a buncha looky-loos pokin’