Page 10 of 6 Clues Your Nemesis Loves You

Kicking my own butt, I push the doors to the Barrel House back open. Sloan should be here in fifteen minutes or so. I count a slow exhale and walk casually up to the bar, refusing to glance Maggie’s way.

When Jolene Daniels turns around, I actually grin. “Jo. Wow. You look amazing.”

She does a little jump, her brown eyes going soft. “Lennon, look at you.” She hurries around to my side and drags me into a fierce hug.

I sag into her, surprised at how much I need the comfort.

Jolene was always an exceptional hugger. She was best friends with Callahan growing up, the second-oldest Bower boy, before she fell in love with the oldest of us, Jake. She dated Jake for a couple of years, until they broke up a month or so before our WITSEC bomb. Before that, Jolene was a fixture around our house, hanging out with Cal and flirting with Jake, a rough-and-tumble girl who played football with us and never complained when she skinned a knee or got dirty. Seeing her is a breath of much-needed fresh air.

I rub her back and kiss the top of her head. “So, you’re a bar wench now.”

Jolene shoves me off with a playful punch. “Bar owner, actually.”

“No shit.” Not that I should be surprised. Jolene was always a take-charge girl.

“Yep,” she says, a little less perky. “This joint’s all mine. Along with endless paperwork.”

She glances toward the two pool tables at the back, seeming tired as she surveys the wooden booths and tables. A few of them are filled with smiling and chatting patrons, and yes, I do look toward Maggie’s booth. I have eyeballs after all, and it’s only natural to follow Jolene’s line of sight. Plus, Maggie is sitting right there. What I don’t expect is for our eyes to clash.

My skin prickles. Abruptly, she looks away.

The move is predictable, but guess who’s sharing a booth with her? Not her loser boyfriend, as I expected. Of all the people in all of Windfall, the one and only Delilah Moon is on the opposite side of their booth. The same Delilah who set me up on my impending date. The woman who might even have known I was coming here, if Sloan gave her the lowdown.

“You okay?” Jolene is staring at me, head cocked, like she’s waiting for an answer to a question I didn’t hear.

“I’m great. Fine.” I’m not great or fine. I don’t like that Delilah’s here. Nothing about this feels like a coincidence.

“Are Jake and Callahan okay?” Jolene asks, lines settling between her brows. “I haven’t seen or heard from either of them since everything came out. Not that I’m a priority. There’s just…”

“A lot of history,” I say, finishing her trailing sentence. These are the messes my father created, hurting countless people with his actions. When we left town, Jolene lost Jake—her ex-boyfriend but still a friend—and she lost Callahan, her partner in crime. “Jake’s good enough. Still lives in Houston, working as a carpenter with Cal. Bosses us all around. And you know Cal. The guy can find a silver lining in a tsunami.”

She smiles but also sniffles. “God, I’ve missed him. And Jake,” she adds. “I tried to get their numbers from E, but E passed mine along to them instead. At least, he said he did. Neither of them has called.”

Since Jake is her ex, his silence isn’t surprising, but hearing Callahan hasn’t reached out to his former best friend has me frowning. Now that I think about it, Cal has communicated less with me since we left WITSEC. Like, a lot less. I’ve been so busy building my business and moving, I haven’t given his silence much thought. An oversight that isn’t cool. Continued silence from any of us Bower boys is never a good sign. I’ll need to reach out soon.

“I’m glad they’re good,” Jolene says quietly. “I can’t imagine how hard this has been on all of you. But…” Her eyes get glassy. She blinks a bunch. “I really miss them.”

I give her shoulder a squeeze. “Reconnecting’s been hard for all of us. Jake and Cal even more so, I think. They seem hesitant to associate with people from their pasts, deal with the memories it brings back. I’m sure they’ll reach out soon.”

She nods, giving me a watery smile, then makes her way back behind the bar. “Consider your drinks on me. Grab a stool. I have a craft hipster beer that’s perfect for you.”

“Ha-ha,” I say, already planning ways to piss off my brothers. I have no doubt E or Des told Jolene how best to annoy me. They love nothing more than getting under my non-hipster skin. “While I appreciate the jab, and the beer, I’m actually here to meet a date. So I’ll be taking the craft beer, which lots of people like because craft beers are made with love in smaller batches, to a table where I can sit without seeing your irritating smirk.”

“What?” She grins wider, not even pretending my annoyance doesn’t amuse the shit out of her. “I’ve missed you so much.”

She’s missed razzing me is what she’s missed.

Laughter carries from my right, a high-pitched cackling that is definitely Delilah. The cute sound is followed by another familiar chuckle—Maggie’s husky laugh. Gritting my teeth, I thank Jo for my beer, then find a table as far away from those laughing women as possible, but my attention is stuck on their distant voices.

Before I sit, I steal a glance their way. Maggie’s no longer on her side of the booth. She’s heading toward the bathrooms, but Delilah the Meddler sticks her head out of her side of the booth and, I shit you not, flutters her fingers at me. She presses her lips tight, then disappears back inside the safety of her booth.

Unbelievable.

I sit facing her booth, hoping she sees my glare when she inevitably pops back out. I plunk down my beer and pull out my phone to shoot off an angry text.

Me: What the hell?

Seconds later, my phone lights up with her reply.