HOME TEARS

Chapter Two

After opening a new account (her last was closed because of the whole ‘dead’ thing), Dani headed to see the one person she thought would be happy to see her, and would never change that status.

Her other aunt.

And she heard as she headed inside Mae’s Grill, “Well, hell, the barn cat dragged something in here worthwhile, for once.”

Mae slapped her bar towel over her shoulder and hurried around the bar counter. Dani had two seconds before she was hauled in for a bear hug. Fifty-three and Aunt Mae was still the feisty strong woman she always had been. When she was let go, Dani moved back so she could really see her. Steel-toe boots. Silver hair pulled into a haphazard ponytail. Checkered button-up shirt with a lacy tank top underneath and a tease of cleavage peeking out. And faded jeans.

Same old Aunt Mae.

There’d been a time when Mae was the only one Dani could lean on, and then there were times when the woman wasn’t anywhere in her life. She was glad that it seemed she got back the first version of Mae again. Dani hoped it would last, and she couldn’t hold back a grin. She had missed her. “Hi, Mae.”

One of the regulars looked up from his drink. “I didn’t know you had a cat, Mae?”

“I don’t. It’s a saying, Barney.” Her hands rested on Dani’s shoulders, shaking her lightly. “Christ’s sake, it’s about f*****g time you got your skinny little behind back to these parts. It’s been so long. Too long!” She threw her head back. “This calls for a celebration. What’ll you have? On the house!”

“You don’t have a barn, Mae. How’s you can have a barn cat?” Barney mumbled, dipping over his drink.

She rounded on him. “I got a barn. Why don’t you go look for it?”

“Where’s it at abouts?”

“Right behind here. Go take a look-see. Tell me when you find me that barn cat of mine. I’d like him back someday.”

“Are you joshing me, Mae?”

“Barney,” she sounded tired, “when do I ever josh you? You’d have to be sober for me to do that. Now git and find me that cat of mine.” She scooted around the counter, giving Dani a wink.

“Mmkay, but if your barn cat scratches me, and I have to get me some tetanus shots, you’re paying, Mae. Just laying the law down there.” He almost fell off his stool as he got to his feet.

He was a keen negotiator.

As he stumbled out the back, another guy at the bar lifted up his beer. “Mae, that was cruel even for you. You don’t have a barn, or a cat.” He was hunched over, sitting toward the middle of the counter. Dani couldn’t see him clearly since half the lights were turned off inside the bar, but she could make out a flannel shirt, dark hair lined with grey strands, and a small beard on his face.

“Shut it, Jeffries, and drink your beer while I’m still giving it to you.”

He saluted and drank. “Shutting it.”

“So, what finally brought your ever-pretty mug back to these whereabouts? And don’t think you ain’t getting off that easy. I know you don’t like to say much, never did, but you better start yapping or your Aunt Mae is going to get pissed. Might have to make a phone call to my sister.” She cringed. “Never mind on that. I couldn’t handle Kathryn when you were here. I know I won’t be able to now.” She winked and then sobered, leaning closer. She softened her voice. “Seriously, I’m glad as hell that you’re back. About time, if you ask me. How are you going to break the news to that sister of yours? She’ll have some words for you, especially since you missed your sister’s funeral.”

Your sister’s funeral.

When Mae kept going, not giving her time to answer.

Kelley’s words from the bank echoed alongside. You didn’t come to Erica’s…

There it was.

But I thought…

Mae was still talking. “—She’s going to light into you. You better have a good excuse ready, though I don’t think it’ll work.”

Yeah. A good excuse. Dani cleared her throat. “I didn’t know about Erica’s death when it happened. I couldn’t come for the funeral. I’ll tell Julia that when I see her.”

“That’s not going to fly. She’s going to say you didn’t tell anyone where you were, and it’ll be your fault. They’ll turn everything on you. You know that.” Mae had a keen eye on her. “Well, I’m guessing this isn’t the first you heard about your sister’s death. You’d be shaken and you’re not. How did you find out?”

That was a whole other conversation as well. “Just heard around, you know. What’s done is done.”

“That why you’re here?” Aunt Mae continued to study her niece.

“Just time to come back.” Dani motioned toward the liquor bottles. She was suddenly parched. “I’ll have a rum and diet.”

“Ah hell, don’t go breaking your aunt’s heart. You’ll have a beer on tap, not some diet soda crap.”

Dani grinned. “I’ll take one of those then. Whatever you have on tap and need to get rid of.”

Mae slid the drink across the bar. “That’s my girl.” A pause and a tap on the counter with her fingers. “So, you going out to see that sister of yours after this?”

“I was wondering about a place to stay. I wouldn’t feel right about imposing on Julia and Aunt Kathryn.”

Dani was lying, and Aunt Mae knew it. She wouldn’t step foot in that home if it were the last habitable place in the world.

Mae nodded, approving. “You’ve grown some teeth. I can see it. You look good, too.”

Dani flushed.

She was fit and trim. Clear skin. Doe eyes, or that was how they’d been described to her by a boyfriend once and eyelashes that models would’ve killed for. Dani knew she looked good, but she also knew it’d cause problems. It was another reason to steer clear from her last remaining sister, but that was a problem for a different day. “How about a place to crash for a while?”

“There’s my place. You’re always welcome there, but if you’re looking for some privacy, the cabin’s open, too.”

A three-bedroom, log cabin on a corner of Loon Lake and protected by miles of woods on both sides. It was out in the middle of nowhere, and that sounded perfect. It was exactly what Dani needed.

“Sounds good. Thank you so much.” She sipped the rest of her drink.

“Do me a favor.” Mae rested a hand on the counter, pointing to where Dani was sitting. “I remember how you used to be, always ready to go off on your own, but stay a while. You only got fighting to look forward to right now.”

Put that way…Dani stayed sitting.

A settled atmosphere ascended the bar for a moment, but the front door opened up. Sunlight lit up a path inside, hitting right onto Dani’s back, and the peaceful feeling was suddenly gone. She tensed, and then the door slammed shut. The room was cast into darkness for a moment.

“Hey, Mae.”

The voice was smooth and silky, and Dani recognized it immediately.

Jonah Bannon.

He was the badass in high school, always ditching class and fighting when he was there. She didn’t know much about him because they ran in different circles. She did know that even back then, he’d been gorgeous. He was literally a lean mean machine, and glancing from the corner of her eye, Dani saw that hadn’t changed. There was a bit more recklessness built into the twitch of his jaw. His hands were tan and strong. Firm. A bit rough from working, but a person could tell the fitness underneath those clothes.

Jonah’s infamous body couldn’t be hidden.

The only other difference she could see was that his ruffled curls were shaven for a clean-cut, buzzed look. They had been rich and thick before.

The new haircut agreed with him.

“Can I get a beer?” Putting some money onto the counter, he hopped on a stool three down from Dani. “And who owns that Mustang in your parking lot?”

Aunt Mae reached for a bottle. She glanced to Dani underneath her eyelids as she set it before him, then waited a minute before commenting, “No can do, Jonah. My loyalties lie elsewhere on that topic.”

He had reached for the bottle, but held it suspended in the air now. “You kidding?”

She shook her head. “Nope. ’Fraid not. I know for certain that owner won’t want you bothering him. Can’t tell you a thing.”

The back door slammed shut, and a second later Barney appeared, holding a bleeding arm to his chest. “Mae, I didn’t find a barn back there, but I’m pretty sure I found your cat. He didn’t take a likin’ to me. You might need to pay up on that tetanus shot you offered.”

Mae cursed, grabbing his arm. “I don’t have a barn cat. I was just messing with you.”

“You were?” He sounded like an insulted four year old. “But you said you weren’t.”

“That’s the whole point. You don’t admit to it when you’re doing it.” She started probing his wound.

“Ouch, Mae! That hurt.”

“We need to clean this so you don’t get an infection. Jeffries, watch the bar for a while?”

He lifted his hand in the air. “Sure thing, Mae.” Then he pretended to zip his lips. “And look, still shutting it.”

She rolled her eyes, pulling Barney to the back. “Come on. Let’s clean this up.”

“You make sure that’s all you’re cleaning up.”

“Thought you were shutting it, Jeffries?” Mae shouted over her shoulder.

“Doing so again. It was a temporary error.” He saluted and took another drink.

As they disappeared into a back area, Jonah asked, “Hey, who owns that Mustang out front?”

Jeffries shrugged and took a drink. “You got me there.” His eyes slid toward Dani and a hint of a smile lingered there, just a hint. “I haven’t seen a vehicle like that around for a long time, not since Mae’s little niece took off.”

Jonah frowned. “You mean Erica and Julia’s sister? That niece?”

Jeffries waited till Jonah glanced to where Mae had disappeared before winking at Dani. “That’s the one.”

Dani glared at him, knowing she took a seat purposely in the shadows. If Jonah fully looked around, he would’ve seen her and maybe recognized her, but he was more interested in Mae. Feeling a knot start to tighten in her stomach, Dani knew it was time to head out to the cabin. Jonah would have more questions if he spotted her and she was still hoping to put off giving those answers.

“What was her name?”

“I dunno. Didn’t talk much, but Mae thought the sun set around that girl. She went in a slump for a good few months after that girl took off.”

Dani stiffened again.

“Yeah, I remember that. Whole town was in an uproar because Erica and that guy started hooking up. No one seemed to like that couple,” Jonah murmured, his voice slightly distracted.

And that was enough. It was time to go. Dani slid off her barstool. No one noticed as she made her way to the door, and just as her hand reached to open it, she heard Jeffries say, “It’s a damn shame, too. Mae was hoping that girl would come back for the youngest’s funeral. When she didn’t show, Mae fell apart for a few months. That girl broke Mae’s heart.”

She stood frozen, her hand still on the doorknob and she looked back. Jeffries was staring right at her.

She hadn’t realized…