Forty-Three

Friday, February 23, 2024

"All right, Mr. Walker. I think it'stime we had a talk," Reilly said as she approached Zane at the diner.

She'd been sitting in a booth, nursing a milkshake for the past hour, waiting for her cousin to show up. He came into the diner like clockwork every Friday night to pick up dinner for his family, which was the only reason she was waiting. Turned out, stalking people wasn't all that difficult when they had steadfast routines.

Zane glanced over his shoulder, confusion flashing only a moment before recognition set in. "Oh, hey, kiddo."

"Don't, hey, kiddo, me," she said, sticking to her duty to be mad at this man. "And don't flash that charming grin, either. I've had my eye on you."

He chuckled. "Is that right?"

"Yup." Reilly smiled at Myrna as the diner owner approached. "You can go ahead and start makin' his order now. I'll just need a few minutes of his time."

"You told them to delay my order?" Again, he laughed. "Sounds serious."

"It is." Reilly pointed toward the booth. "Have a seat."

"Yes, ma'am."

It wasn't easy to remain stern in the face of a man as sweet and charming as Zane Walker. It was a trait she'd always found endearing, especially when it came to this particular cousin of hers.

She would've waited for him to sit down because that was how she'd envisioned this interrogation going, but Zane wouldn't allow it. He was too much of a gentleman to sit down first, so she slid into the booth and moved her milkshake aside.

"All right, officer," he said with a straight face. "What have I done?"

Reilly canted her head and gave him her best are you serious right now? look. "Come on, Zane. Don't play dumb with me."

His eyebrows jumped. "I didn't realize I was."

"You're a smart guy. Think about it. I've got you on multiple counts of bein' … mean."

"Mean?" He snorted a laugh and flopped back, relaxing. "What did I do?"

Reilly decided it was time to drop the charade. As much fun as it was to pretend, this was serious.

Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the table and stacked her arms. "Why'd you tell my brother no?"

It took a second, but Zane's eyes cleared, and all amusement disappeared. "How'd you know about that?"

"Everyone knows about it," she huffed. "And I happen to own the General Store. People talk, and they like to talk to me when they're sneakin' in to grab a candy bar."

"Look, Reilly. I know you mean well, but—"

"No," she insisted. "You don't get to shrug me off. Did you know that crazy bitch from the Double J showed up the other day? Tried to sway my brother into comin' back. She said you called and told her he regretted leavin'."

Zane sat up so fast, it was a wonder the table didn't overturn. "I said nothin' of the sort. I asked about his employment history. Not a damn thing else."

Reilly smiled. "I know."

He frowned. "What?"

"I was lyin' about part of it. Not the showin' up part. She did do that." Reilly twisted her lips. "And not the crazy bitch part. She is that." She shoved off her amusement. "Your phone call spurred her into drivin' up here and askin' him to come back to the ranch."

"What'd he say?"

"I don't know," she admitted because she had no idea. She hadn't talked to Stone since she left the barn the other night. According to her mother, the Double J truck left early and Nico's truck was parked at the barn all night, but Reilly didn't know for sure what happened.

Zane shifted to get out of the booth. "I think you should talk to your brother."

She reached for his arm, holding firm. "Wait."

Reluctantly, he turned back, facing her once again.

"Just tell me why you don't want him to have that land. And tell the truth. Don't give me some BS about him not bein' a Walker. That's a crap reason, and you know it."

His eyebrows slammed down. "You heard about that?"

"Come on, Zane. You've lived here for thirty-some-odd years. You know this town doesn't allow secrets. And yeah, people are now askin' why there's so much animosity between the Walkers and the Jamesons."

She could tell he was trying to determine whether she was telling the truth.

Reilly decided to prove she wasn't lying. "Bianca came into the store yesterday. Said she heard the Walkers are tryin' to banish the Jamesons. Somethin' about Lorrie bein' on the outs with her brothers and sisters, and since she's been a Walker longer than she's been a Jameson…"

Reilly let the sentence trail off because it hurt her heart just to repeat it. She knew Bianca hadn't been thinking straight when she laid it out like that because the mayor of Coyote Ridge was going through some things, so she wouldn't hold it against her.

"My daddy heard the rumor, too," Reilly admitted. "Told my mom. Broke her heart. She's close to Lorrie."

"I didn't mean it like that," Zane said, his voice rough. "I was … angry."

"So you are the one who said it?"

His shame flashed on his face like a beacon. "I said a lotta things. Wasn't thinkin' about who might overhear."

"When you're at Moonshiners, you might wanna keep the topics general. Sports. News. Those walls have ears."

"Duly noted."

"What is it really?" she prompted.

He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. His gaze bored into her, but Reilly didn't flinch. She wanted to know because she needed to make some sense of it. Her family was tight-knit. Always had been. The Walkers and the Jamesons were close, had been since her aunt Lorrie married Curtis sixty years ago. They were the ones who brought the families together, and they'd kept them together through the years. Her heart ached to think that something might come between them. Especially something like hurt feelings.

"Did Stone do somethin' to you? Were you two friends or what?" She knew Stone was a couple of years older than Zane, but they'd gone to the same school, so maybe they'd hung out. Someone mentioned Stone's leaving had disrupted family ties. Of course, at this point, the rumor was spreading like wildfire, and God only knows how much it had been twisted.

Zane's gaze shifted to the table. "Not me."

"Not you, what? Y'all weren't friends?"

He lifted his chin. "I was friends with Stevie."

Reilly let that sink in, but before she could ask a question, he continued.

"Technically, I was datin' her best friend."

"Niyah?"

He nodded. "Nothin' serious, but we hung out a few times. I liked her. Then Stone up and left, and Niyah spent all her time takin' care of Stevie because he broke her heart."

Reilly sat up. "So you're sayin' this isn't about Stone? It's about you?"

"No."

She cocked an eyebrow because surely she deserved a better explanation.

When he didn't jump to elaborate, she said, "It sure sounds like you're holdin' a grudge because you got dumped by a girl."

"I didn't get dumped," he retorted hotly. "It wasn't serious. Not at that point."

"Then what is it? You're mad because Niyah stopped payin' attention to you?"

"No," he huffed. "I'm pissed because he broke Stevie's heart. She was my friend, too."

His voice carried, causing several of the diners to turn their way. The sounds in the restaurant faded for a moment.

"You realize people get their hearts broken all the time, right? And then they move on."

"Stevie didn't. Not for a long time."

"Maybe not, but she has now." Reilly held his stare. "You realize they're together now, right?"

His surprise registered across his handsome face. "What?"

Reilly nodded. "Stone's with Nico and Stevie now."

Surprise transitioned into confusion. "Since when?"

"Since about the time he rolled into town. They had some … unfinished business. The three of them," she tacked on.

Zane's countenance remained locked in a confused state.

"Apparently, before he left, he spent some time with both of them. It was a thing. Brief, but evidently, it left a lasting impression. They're together now. Or at least they were the last time I talked to him. Then that crazy bitch rolled in, and I don't know what happened after that. She was goin' on about makin' Stone her pet or some shit. I don't know how it ended."

"Her pet?"

Reilly shrugged. "It's a thing. I don't know. What I do know is he's home where he belongs, and he's happy." She lowered her voice and leaned in. "He deserves to be happy, Zane. And it pisses me off that you want to interfere with that." She sat up again, crossed her arms over her chest. "All because you got butthurt over a girl in high school."

"I told you—"

"I'm kiddin'." She dropped one arm and fluttered her fingers. "About the last part. The rest, I mean."

Zane sighed. "He hurt a lotta people when he left, Reilly. What's to say he won't do it again?"

"What's to say any of us won't do it?" she countered. "Are you tellin' me he doesn't deserve to be happy because he followed his dream?"

"What dream?" Zane snorted. "He's a wanderer."

Reilly heard something in his tone, something that flipped a switch, the lightbulb burning so bright, she was surprised beams weren't coming out of her eyeballs.

"You considered leavin' here," she said softly, not wanting anyone to overhear. Rumors started quickly.

Zane frowned, but he didn't dispute it.

"That's what it is. You're not mad because that land belongs to the Walkers or because he broke Stevie's heart. You're mad because he left, and you didn't."

His jaw muscles flexed, but he kept his lips tightly closed.

"Tell me you don't still have regrets," she pleaded. "You've got a beautiful wife and four beautiful boys, Zane."

"I don't," he said quickly, then exhaled heavily. "I don't regret it. I'm happy."

He said the words, but Reilly wasn't sure he believed them.

"But you think about what might've been," she deduced.

"There's nothin' wrong with that," Zane defended.

"You're right. There's not. But Stone's not responsible for that. Those are your issues."

Zane sat up straight. "Please don't psychoanalyze my life."

"Trust me. I don't plan to." Reilly forced a smile. "But I'm glad we got to the root of it. Maybe now you can give some honest thought to your parents' offer to Stone. If you still don't want him to have the land, at least now you can make the decision with all the facts. Stone's a good guy, Zane."

"You have to say that. He's your brother."

"He is. And considering our age difference and the fact he hasn't lived here for fifteen years, it should speak volumes that I'm so close to him. He's been there for me over the years, even when he hasn't been physically present."

Zane was quiet for a moment before his eyes crinkled, and a smile pulled at his mouth. "You're a good sister, you know that?"

She nodded. "The best. Ask anyone."

He barked a laugh.

Reilly raised a hand, signaling the waitress that it was okay to come over.

Zane saw the move and frowned. "What are you? Like a mafia don or somethin'?"

The waitress set Zane's food on the table, all packaged up in a brown paper sack.

Reilly giggled. "Or somethin'."