She seemed to lose her train of thought before she could name all the members of the tight clique Kyle had belonged to since grade school. Rattling them off by memory wouldn’t be that easy to do sober, since there were at least ten.
“Losing them, along with everything else, must’ve been hard.” Her own friends had gotten married or taken jobs elsewhere, but most of Kyle’s had remained here in Whiskey Creek and were as close as ever. A lot of people envied the support and friendship they gave each other. He doubted they liked her any less, but he could see why she could no longer hang out with them.
“Cheyenne’s so nice,” she was saying. “Even with that monster of a mother. Can you believe she grew up living in motels and clunker cars? That she had to beg on street corners? What kind of life would that be?”
He found his shoes and headed to the kitchen for his keys. “Cheyenne’s nice,” he agreed.
“And here I am wallowing in self-pity because my boyfriend got my sister pregnant. I should be more grateful.”
“You’ll get through this.”
“Do you think she did it on purpose?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Me, neither,” she responded. “I wish I could talk to Cheyenne about it. But...it’s not the same with Kyle’s friends now. They have to be...have to be loyal to him. They were his friends first. I know they feel bad about what’s happened, but...what can they do? No more Fridays at the coffee shop for me.” She’d added a singsong quality to her voice, but that quickly fell away. “I wish... I wish it could be different. I wish—”
“Olivia?” He interrupted because he’d heard her voice crack and knew she was about to break down again. “Don’t think about Cheyenne or any of Kyle’s other friends—”
“Who aren’t my friends anymore,” she broke in, but he didn’t let her distract him.
“I’m coming, okay? I’ve got my keys in my hand. I’ll talk to you when I get there.”
“I’m sorry, Brandon. You shouldn’t have to come out so late.”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “Just stay put. I’m on my way.”
“Thank you. I’m so tired. Maybe if I get some sleep tomorrow will be better.”
“Of course it will. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of you.” He strode to his front door. “Now let me talk to Fisk.”
She didn’t need to ask who Fisk was. He’d been bartending at Sexy Sadie’s since they were kids. “Sure. Goodbye, Brandon. You’re coming for me, right? You’re coming now? And you’ll show me the stars?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “If that’s what you want, honey. Give the phone to Fisk.”
“Okay....”
The music got even louder as the phone changed hands. Then Brandon heard the boom of Fisk’s deep voice. “’Lo?”
“Fisk, Brandon Lucero.”
“Oh, hey, Brandon. What’s up?”
“I wanted to ask if you’d keep an eye on Olivia until I get there. Can you do that for me?”
“I would, but—”
“No buts. Don’t let her go anywhere.”
Fisk lowered his voice. “I doubt she could make it to the door. That’s why I called Kyle a few minutes ago. I know he’s seeing her sister these days—what a mess that is—but as soon as I said I was going to call Noelle she wouldn’t give me her phone, and I didn’t have the number for any of her friends or family. So it was Kyle or no one.”
Brandon had been jogging to his truck. At this, he stopped. “Don’t let him take her.”
“I just wanted someone to get her home safe.”
“I’ll see to that.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop him, Brandon. You’d better get here quick.”
“Shit.” Brandon hit the end button as he fired up his truck and roared out of his driveway.
By the time Brandon arrived at Sexy Sadie’s, Kyle was already there. But he didn’t have to worry about Olivia leaving with his stepbrother. She was clutching the bar for all she was worth, wouldn’t even stand, despite Kyle gripping her shoulders and urging her to get up.
“Let go of her,” Brandon said, coming up on him from behind.
At the sound of his voice, Kyle whipped around. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to take her home.”
Fisk had watched him walk in. Now he hurried over to address them. “I don’t want any trouble, boys.”
Brandon lifted a hand to reassure the bartender that they weren’t going to cause a scene but kept his focus on Kyle. “She doesn’t need your help, bro. I’ve got it from here.”
Olivia turned a beseeching expression on him. “Don’t let him take me, Brandon.”
“I won’t, honey. Just get your purse off the floor, and we’ll go home and look through the telescope.”
Her pretty blue eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back. “That’s...good.” Releasing the bar, she got up, managed to sidestep Kyle even though he reached for her and staggered right into Brandon’s arms.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, clinging tightly to him.
He let his arms close around her, once again feeling that inexplicable protectiveness he’d experienced all those years ago when they danced at prom.
The menacing look on Kyle’s face made Brandon wonder if he’d be able to keep the promise he’d just given Fisk. Kyle didn’t seem willing to let Olivia go without a fight. “You need to take her to her parents’,” he said, his voice threatening, low.
Fisk stepped forward. “Come on now. Let Brandon handle it, Kyle. I shouldn’t have called you. You have no say anymore.”
“I’ll let her leave with someone else but not him,” Kyle shot back.
Brandon arched an eyebrow. “She’s the one who called me.”
“Olivia—” Kyle started but she wouldn’t even look at him.
Brandon backed off enough to see into her face. “Do you want to go to your parents’ house? Your sister’s probably waiting up for you. You know how concerned she is about your welfare. You wouldn’t want Noelle to worry, right?”
“You son of a bitch,” Kyle ground
