Chapter 13

"So, this is your design?" JD Hopper said to Phoebe as he looked at the artwork outlined on the top of her thigh.

She was sitting up on the bed, leg outstretched, with a blanket draped over her from the waist down to where he was going to put the black ink on her leg.

"It is a Pempamsie," Phoebe said. "A symbol of unity, perseverance, and strength."

"I've put plenty of symbols on people in every place on their body, but you're my first for this one. I like it," JD said. "You've obviously done your research, which makes my job easier."

It had been a random impulse, which Phoebe rarely had, to come here and see JD Hopper two days after she'd returned to Lyntacky. But Caleb had told her about his reputation and how good he was at tattooing. She'd taken a deep breath and thought, Why not? Phoebe wasn't someone who usually did things without checking all angles first, but this felt right to her. Coming home had been a big change, and this would be another one, and she was ready.

Phoebe had seen the symbol months ago in a doctor's waiting room. She'd taken a picture after reading about the Pempamsie but never thought she'd be brave enough to actually get a tattoo. Brody was right, she hated needles, but this was important to her. Besides, she'd spent weeks in a hospital being stuck with needles, so this would be nothing compared to that.

"You are not cutting it that short!"

These words reached her through JD's open door and were clearly from Brody.

"Excuse me a minute, Phoebe. I just need to talk to the child." He walked to the doorway. "Grow a pair and get an adult haircut, Brody. You look like a bum." JD then returned to Phoebe with a volley of insults fired back at him from Brody.

"That was short and to the point."

"You know him—he's stubborn and cares nothing about how he looks. That man, like all Dukes, my girl included, are good-looking. He needs to up his game now that he's getting older. That boyish charm only lasts so long."

She took in JD's immaculate looks from his trimmed beard to the neat eyebrows and stylish clothes.

"I'll admit he'll never reach my heights, but I need to try."

"Did Zoe put you up to this?" Phoebe asked.

"Of course, and because I love her, I'm taking one for the team, and by team, I mean the rest of the Duke family. They've all been at me to get Brody in here."

"Even his mother, who cuts his hair?" Phoebe asked, intrigued even though she'd told herself she wasn't interested in anything to do with Brody.

"She was the first to ask me."

Phoebe laughed .

"So, let's get this tattoo done," JD said. "Are you really afraid of needles?"

"Yes, but I'm better now because I've had so much exposure to them," Phoebe said without thinking.

"Exposure how?" JD began to outline her tattoo. She inhaled and exhaled slowly to stay calm.

"I just spent some time in hospital a while back."

"You okay now?"

"Sure. All fixed." Mentally and physically.

Phoebe closed her eyes and focused on being anywhere but here.

"How the hell are you letting him do that when a simple vaccination nearly put you in bed for a week once?" Brody's deep voice had her eyes opening a while later.

"Nice haircut. Who knew you had ears and eyebrows?" JD said. "Look at those cheekbones too. I never thought about you being model worthy, but I can see it now."

"Did you know he had brown eyes?" Phoebe said to take her mind off the needles jabbing into her skin. "I dated him and didn't."

JD snickered. "I love it when other people torment Dukes. It makes my job easier."

"You're marrying one," Brody snarled.

"Not a male version, though. They're an entirely different breed of Duke."

"Fuck you."

"And my point is made. You look good with that hair, Brody. It suits you. Don't be a dick in the future. Keep getting it trimmed."

"And your opinion matters because…?" Brody was looking at Phoebe's legs, not at JD, when he spoke.

She suddenly felt exposed.

"I'm the Lyntacky hot, classy guy. Everyone knows that," JD said. "My opinion always matters. "

It did suit him, Phoebe thought as JD and Brody argued, and she tried not to let the flush of heat filling her reach her cheeks. She could see more of his face and those cheekbones. But right now, she'd like him to leave, as she was lying here feeling way too vulnerable in front of a man she'd once loved very much.

"And back to my point, are you taking something to get that done?" Brody pointed to the black ink being tattooed painfully into her skin. "You hate anything pointy going into your body."

"I'm sure not everything!" Nina said as she passed the door. "Some pointy things come in handy."

"And that is my classy beautician," JD said with a sigh.

"Back to your phobia of needles." Brody looked down at Phoebe.

"She's had exposure to them and has conquered her fear… nearly," JD added, looking at her clenched fist beside her thigh.

"When did you get exposed to needles?"

"Go away, Brody. I'm getting something done I've always wanted but only now been brave enough to. I don't need you here watching me."

"Where are Ally and Savannah?" JD asked.

"Ally's here? Shut the door! I don't want her disturbed by seeing her teacher getting a tattoo," Phoebe said quickly.

"Relax," Brody said. "Ally is surrounded by tattoos and knows how they get on a body. She won't think any different about seeing you getting one."

Phoebe wasn't so sure about that.

"Besides, Cill's giving them facials seeing as her next massage cancelled. Apparently they need to look young and fresh for the school dance," Brody said.

"Seeing as they're so old," JD drawled .

"Don't remind me," Phoebe said and then winced at a stab of pain. Brody's hand rested on hers. Large and hot, she felt the zap of heat he'd always made her feel. She jerked it free but didn't look at him.

"JD, Deidra just puked up her lunch on the expensive floor rug you just put in here!"

"Well, clean it up, Nina!" JD bellowed.

"Not in my pay grade."

JD gritted out, "Good staff are hard to find. Excuse me for a minute, Phoebe."

He then stomped from the room, leaving her alone with Brody while lying on the table and unable to move.

"Who is Deidra?"

"A cat," Brody said. "I'm sorry, Phoebe."

"For what?" She looked up at him, keeping her expression blank.

He exhaled slowly. "For what I should have properly apologized for many years ago," he said solemnly.

"No need. We've both moved on. Let's leave it there for the sake of us living in this town," Phoebe said, not wanting to dive back into a time that had hurt her badly. A time when she'd been an innocent girl who still believed in happily-ever-afters.

"Phoebe, I need?—"

"I don't care if you feel the need to clear your conscience, Brody. The past is better left there. We no longer matter to each other, and I, for one, am happy with that." She looked to the doorway, hoping JD returned soon.

"We can't be friends?"

Her laugh was harsh. "I don't think so."

"I made mistakes?—"

"That bloody cat," JD said, coming back into the room. "I swear it deliberately does that kind of crap to annoy Nina, which then has consequences for me. The girls are nearly done. Jessie's in there helping to speed things up for you because he feels bad about forcing you to get your hair cut, which most grown-ups do all the time, FYI."

"Sure. See you later." Brody walked out of the room and disappeared.

"Did I miss something?"

"No," Phoebe said.

"He didn't even bite when I had a dig at him," JD said.

Phoebe didn't know this man and wasn't about to tell him any of the conversation she and Brody just had.

"He's a good guy, Phoebe. It's a family thing, and don't tell them I said this, but they're the best people I know." She heard the honesty in those words. "But again, that's between you and me."

She mimed zipping up her mouth.

"How long did you and Brody date?"

"A while."

"So, I'm not getting anything out of you, am I?"

She shook her head.

"Fair enough. But Zoe tells me that the young man Brody was is nothing like the one he's become. Just so you know."

"We all have to grow up sometime." She felt his eyes on her, but she said nothing else.

"All done," JD said ten minutes later. "Birdie will give you what you need to take care of it and some instructions."

She thanked him and went to the reception. After paying and getting her instructions, she headed outside into the afternoon sun, grateful not to encounter Brody again. Raising her face, Phoebe enjoyed the heat on her cheeks .

She'd gotten a tattoo and felt pretty happy about that. Okay, that moment with Brody was awkward, but she was glad she'd said what she had. Now he'd keep his distance from her because he knew where she stood. They could be polite strangers. That worked for her.

Pulling her phone out as it buzzed, she read the text from Blue.

Come now and look at the cottage before the book club. Plus, mojitos. Blue x.

The people in this town were forceful, but then she could always say no, and yet, right then, with a tattoo on her thigh, she thought maybe she wanted to say yes.

Heading home, she picked up her books and changed.

"How did it go?" Caleb came into her bedroom.

Phoebe pulled up the cuff of her shorts, and he bent to inspect the tattoo.

"That's beautiful, Pheebs, just like you." He kissed her forehead. "I'm proud of you, you know, for surviving and then thriving when you could have gone the other way after what happened."

"I know you are, and a lot of who I am now is because of you and Jonathan." Phoebe hugged him back.

"No, you did that all yourself, and we were just there for support. Now where are you going?"

"I'm going to look at the McAllister cottage and then stay for book club."

"Okay, I'll change my shirt."

"What?" Phoebe looked at her brother. "You weren't invited."

He clutched his chest. "You wound me, but I'm coming anyway. I'll take a video for Jonathan. You know how he needs input into everything you do."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "When is he arriving in Lyntacky? "

"Two days. I told him we were going to baseball practice tomorrow and may play if we're needed against the Leaders."

"Let me guess. He wants a cap and shirt, because he loves all types of merch?"

"Exactly. That man has a closet full of shirts with names and logos he'll never wear again."

"And you love him for it," Phoebe said.

"I do." His smile was soft.

"You're not invited to book club," Phoebe pointed out as she fluffed her hair. Picking up a lipstick, she looked at the tube. It was whisked out of her hand and replaced with another.

"This color is better on you."

"Go and change your shirt, or I'm leaving without you," Phoebe said.

Ten minutes later, she was driving with Caleb beside her. He was explaining in detail about everything that had happened today and who he'd spoken with.

"They still have the stall outside," Phoebe said, pulling to a stop at the entrance of the McAllister driveway and getting out. She went to inspect the produce on display. "I'm buying some berries, and the apples were really crisp, from memory."

Caleb picked up a jar and read the label. "Diaper chafing cream. I don't think we need that yet." He moved onto the next and read it. "Good for your hands cream. What kind of label is that?"

"A refreshingly honest one," Phoebe said, taking the jar out of his hands. Opening it, she sniffed the contents. "I have no idea what's in this, but it smells good."

"These must taste good because they look like turd balls." Caleb was studying a box of roundish shapes. They were lumpy and the color of dog poo .

"Are they for people or animals?"

"Animals, the sign says. Let's get them for Barry and see if he likes them."

"I doubt the laziest dog in the world is going to eat those when Dad hand-feeds him steak," Phoebe said.

But they purchased the turd balls, along with a pile of other stuff, including the good for your hands cream, and then drove down the McAllisters' driveway to an old farmhouse painted bright yellow—or was it mustard? The front door was lime green.

"It's just not a color you expect to see in a small town like Lyntacky," Caleb said. "But it makes a statement."

Looking around, she saw a three-car garage and more gardens than Phoebe remembered. All were overflowing with wildflowers, herbs, and other foliage she had no idea the names of.

"I don't remember that garage being there," Caleb said.

"You were friends with Finch and Lynx, from memory," Phoebe said, pulling the car to a stop beside the others parked in the McAllister drive.

"I was, and the Dukes. They were good guys, even considering their manliness." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Manliness?"

"They were always wanting to do dangerous things, and sometimes I just wanted to read or do crafting with Mrs. Haven," Caleb said.

"That's right. I forgot about how she used to get all those supplies out at lunch break, and we could create stuff."

"Good times," Caleb said. "Mind you, Sawyer liked to craft occasionally. Not dickhead, though. He was all about throwing around a ball or rolling in the dirt. "

"Dickhead?"

"Brody."

"Caleb, that is done with. Move on. I have. He was your friend once."

"He was before he hurt you."

She looked at her brother's profile. He was doing his mean look that fooled no one.

"I take some of the blame for that, Caleb. You know I put Brody on a pedestal. I should have stood up for myself and told him how hurt I was by his behavior."

"You were a sweet little country girl, Pheebs. He hurt you by not supporting you when you left."

That wasn't the only time he hurt her, and Phoebe was glad she'd not told Caleb about the surprise trip back to Lyntacky ten years ago to see Brody.

"I've moved on now. I'm a badass big-city girl, and what happened was probably for the best."

She felt his eyes on the side of her face. "Is that how you really feel?"

"The level of adoration I felt for Brody wasn't healthy for either of us, Caleb. I think if we'd stayed together, it wouldn't have worked out."

She'd come to this realization a few years ago, when Phoebe had allowed herself to really look back on that time.

"So, move on, Caleb. And you know that Brody's a good guy like I do. So be friends if you want to be or not. It's up to you, but don't make it awkward."

"Me? Awkward," he said, which had her laughing. "I'm the epitome of diplomacy."

"Is that what we're calling it?" Phoebe said.

"I'll think about what you said, Phoebe, but I'm not promising anything. Now we need to get out so I can bask in your fame as the Lyntacky book club swoons all over you."

"Idiot," Phoebe said, climbing out with her brother.

"You know how proud I am of you, right?" Caleb asked, looking at her across the roof of the car.

"Caleb—"

"Just accept the praise, sis. You're a star."

A flush of heat filled her. She had fought back after the hell she'd been plunged into, and it had been that time that helped her forge a new career and direction for her life.

"Okay, and thanks."

"Welcome. Now let's go drink some elderberry wine. We used to get drunk on that."

"No way am I going near that stuff again. Blue got me pickled on it once, and I was vomiting for days."

"The weak Stanway then?" Caleb said. "Everyone's been saying it."

Before she could hurl abuse at him, the front door opened, and there stood Blue's parents, and what a picture they were.