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“Amazing. Skyla left a few minutes ago, but her idea to give people with today’s receipts from The Mystic Cow free cover to Madigan’s tonight really brought in so many people. And a lot of them didn’t even know about this place. I think I made lots of new customers for life.”
Blake smiled. “I bet you did.”
“The best part is how many veterans we’ll get to help,” she added.
“Veterans?” He hadn’t talked to Hallie or Skyla in several days, so he wasn’t caught up on all the details of this weekend’s event.
Hallie’s smile got even brighter, if that was possible. “Skyla had this awesome idea to give some of the proceeds from this weekend to a local halfway house being built for veterans. We figured it all out and put it on our marketing materials, and a lot of people have since reached out, asking how they could help.”
Blake was momentarily speechless. He’d told Skyla about James, but he never thought she’d take that information and do something like this with it. Unless this had nothing to do with him, but the coincidence… No way. He didn’t believe in coincidences. “That’s incredible.” He was about to say more when he caught sight of someone he hadn’t expected coming into the store. “Vivian. Taking advantage of the free cover charge?” He’d expected her to be at Madigan’s tonight, but not here.
“Of course.” She stopped and took in the ambiance of The Mystic Cow, then gave him a knowing nod sending chills down his spine. There was no way she knew anything about Hallie, but her acting like she did, left a pit in his stomach. “I have to say, this is my first time here and it is quite a place. I definitely have to come back soon when I have more time to really look around.”
Blake offered her a placating smile. Ordinarily, he’d praise the shit out of Hallie’s store, but Vivian wasn’t the person to do that with.
“I’ll let you two shop,” Hallie said, turning to walk away. She stopped abruptly and jerked forward, losing her footing momentarily. Blake was about to reach out to keep her from falling, but she righted herself.
“Are you okay?” Vivian asked, coming to Hallie’s side.
Blake tensed, even as Caden started to move toward Hallie, his mask of calmness quickly fading into unease.
“Fine,” Hallie said, a plastered smile on her face. “I can’t believe I just tripped on my own two feet. What a graceful exit.” She chuckled, then turned her attention to Caden who stood stock still near the register, his eyes glued to his fiancée. “I’m good,” she assured him, and made her way back behind the register where a customer was waiting for her to make a purchase.
Blake relaxed his clenched hands and stuffed them into his pockets. He knew Hallie well enough to know she hadn’t just tripped. Whatever that glimpse was must’ve been intense, because they didn’t usually trip her up like that. At most, she just flinched or shrugged a shoulder. Most people didn’t even notice it when she had a glimpse, so whatever this one was, it was big, and had likely scared her. He wanted to ask her if she was alright, what she saw, if there was anything he or his friends could do, but he kept quiet, knowing Caden would take care of her. The best thing Blake could do for Hallie right now was get Vivian out of here. Even if it meant going to Madigan’s and facing Skyla sooner than he’d planned to. Besides, it wasn’t like he could stay away forever.
“Well, I was just stopping in to say ‘hey’ before heading over to Madigan’s,” Blake said as if that had been his plan all along. He turned to Vivian. “Would you like to walk with me?”
“I would, but I still have to make my purchase. I see a candle over there that looks like it might smell divine. Let me get it, and we can be on our way.”
Blake nodded, watching her go over to the shelf and carefully examine the candle, sniffing it, before turning to offer him a smile. She waited in line until Hallie finished with the other customer, then checked her phone while Hallie rang her up and carefully wrapped her candle and bagged it.
Hallie was putting on a good show, smiling and making small talk, but Blake hadn’t missed the longing looks she exchanged with Caden. She needed a minute alone with him, and Blake was determined to give that to them as soon as he could.
“I should put this in my car. I’mparked right over there,” Vivian said, as he followed her out. He didn’t bother looking back, not wanting to draw any more attention to Hallie or what had just happened. Hopefully, Vivian was none the wiser, but he couldn’t risk it.
She’d just put her bag in the car, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Vivian was window shopping as they walked down the busy street, so he pulled the phone out to see a message from Caden.
Caden: Thanks.
Blake swallowed and pocketed the phone before Vivian turned her attention back to him. “I’m going to have to come back and check out all these little shops. I had no idea Dallas even had a cute little area like this.”
He nodded, but didn’t say anything. If he could find the words to ensure Vivian never thought of Hallie or this street again, he’d gladly say them right now. He loved this area, and The Mystic Cow, as much as all his friends did. It was where he’d bought most of his family’s gifts. A windchime for his mom’s birthday. A book about using microeconomics to affect social justice reform in the modern world for Brennan. Emily’s birthday was coming up, and while he hadn’t decided what to get her yet, he knew he’d be asking Hallie for help on that front for sure. But Vivian spending any time around Hallie or her store was just asking for trouble.
“Are you alright?” Vivian asked. “You seem kind of tense. Was it something I said?”
Blake shook his head and quickly improvised. “No. I just came back from visiting my mom.”
“Oh,” Vivian said. “I guess I know how that can go. I don’t get along with my family either.”
Blake nibbled on the inside of his cheek. Of course, she would assume that. “It’s not that. My sister likes to live a little on the wild side. I had to give her some money to help her out.” It wasn’t any of Vivian’s business, but since she’d picked up on his tension, his only choice was to tell her something, and since he wasn’t a very good liar, he figured he’d stick with a true statement, even if that wasn’t the reason behind his tension.
“I’m an only child,” Vivian supplied. “Just me and my dad. Mom cheated on him, and he got custody. I saw her every other weekend, but then she remarried and had two other kids. I guess she kind of lost interest in me after that.”
“I’m sorry,” Blake said. And he was. He never really knew his dad, but he couldn’t imagine not having his mom around, or her ever getting tired of him or his sisters. She was the backbone of their family, the glue that kept them all together. They might squabble over little things, like how to reel Brennan in, but if Mom was ever in any kind of real trouble, all three of them would drop everything and come rushing to her side, and there was no question in his mind she would do the same for all three of them.
“Do you know who the musical guest is tonight?” Vivian asked, changing the subject.
“Nope. I think Skyla wanted to keep that under wraps.” He smiled at her innate ability to draw people into Madigan’s. She was such a natural business woman. Smart. Talented. Creative. And fuck, generous to a fault. She’d been there for Orly, doing whatever she could to help the guys find her when she’d been taken, and then even after Luke brought her home, Skyla had taken Orly under her wing, giving her something she so desperately needed. A real friend. Then Hallie came along, and she’d welcomed her with open arms, even when the guys were total pricks to her, thinking she was somehow involved in a shooting she’d had no part of.
