Dammit. I roughed a hand through my hair and squeezed the back of my neck. “Devin. Hold up.”
She stopped her retreat, spinning to face me, a pissed-off expression still on her face as she crossed her arms.
“I’m sorry…”
Her stiff posture softened, and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “It’s fine. It’s not all your fault. I pushed when I shouldn’t have…and I get it. Most of us are bitter over someone.”
I swallowed the hard knot of truth, thankful she’d let me off the hook so easily. “I’ll get these over to you.”
She nodded and started to leave again.
“Doc, one more thing…”
“Yeah?”
“What did you mean, ‘Having her around town?’”
“Didn’t you hear?” She grinned mockingly. “She just moved back to Billingsley, so you might want to get those feelings you refuse to discuss under control.”
My heart slammed against my ribcage as my mind reeled from the news. She gave me one of her husband’s signature winks and walked away. They were just as annoying when she did it as when he did. I placed the shots on a tray, deciding to take them over myself. I’d avoided my friends all night, wanting to steer clear of Conley. But if what Devin had told me was true, then I was screwed.
This bar, this town, was supposed to be mine, a place I didn’t have to be around them. She and Bobby had never shown any interest in returning here. Last I heard, they had a place in LA, hundreds of miles from Texas.
I didn’t need old shit—feelings—being stirred up from Conley being back in town. I’d thought time and space would take care of that problem, along with having been with plenty of women over the years. But seeing Conley tonight proved otherwise. There were still some underlying feelings there, ones I needed to rid myself of one way or another.
“Well, look who’s decided to grace us with his presence once again,” Leighton said as I approached the group.
With a slight smile, I tried to hide the guilt I felt from avoiding them. “Yeah, well, some of us have work to do around here and I’m short-staffed tonight,” I said, squeezing between Wes and Tucker. I set the shots on the table, then handed the tray off to Melanie, a woman who worked for me, as she passed by.
“Well, it’s a good thing Wes just hired you more help,” Billy said on a laugh, the others chuckling along with him.
“He did what?” My glare darted to Wes, unable to hold back the scowl forming on my face.
“In my defense, I was left unattended,” Wes piped up.
“There’s a table full of people sitting with you,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, well…” He clapped my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Conley here needed a job. And we all know you could use the help.”
I gritted my teeth, ready to strangle my so-called good friend. I’d chalk it up to a drunken slip of the tongue, if I didn’t know better. Alcohol wasn’t at fault here. This group of men went easy on the drinking whenever they were out with their wives. They allowed the girls to overindulge and enjoy their night, while they ensured everyone made it home safely.
Not only that, I knew Wes well enough to know he was up to something. He wasn’t a fan of others meddling in his business, but for better or worse, he meddled in his friends’ and family’s when he saw fit.
“He’s kidding,” Conley quickly interjected, an unsureness in her tone.
“You don’t need a job?” I turned my attention to her, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, if this was a sick joke.
“No, I do…” Her fingers fiddled with peeling the label on her beer bottle as she danced her eyes around the table, looking at anyone but me. “But it’s fine. You don’t have to hire me. I’ll find something.”
Nothing was right about this. The mere fact that she was here and now needing a job… It didn’t make sense. Augustine was still at the top of the charts. Their records were selling like crazy, not to mention the Grammy nominations and wins, among other music awards. I’d known this from following them in the news from time to time. It was hard not to.
Conley continued to avoid my stare as I tried to process everything. Before I could say another word, Melanie tapped me on the shoulder, grabbing my attention. “Hey boss, the tickets are backing up.”
“Yeah, be right there.” I turned back to the table. “Keep this one under control, will ya?” I jabbed a thumb toward Wes. “I don’t want to wake up to find a help-wanted ad in the paper tomorrow morning.”
There was a jumbled mixture of sarcastic “Yes, sir” and “You got it, boss,” followed by muffled laughter as I walked away.
3
Conley
“Suck it, losers!” Devin hollered, turning to Wes, giving him a high five, then jumping into his arms for a victory make-out session.
Leaning in closer to Lottie, I asked in a hushed voice, “Are they always this—”
“Obnoxious?” Lottie finished for me, then burst into a fit of laughter.
“I was going to say competitive.” I giggled.
Having overheard our conversation, Tucker chuckled on the other side of her. “Always. Though, it’s worse when they are on opposing teams. Let’s just say Monopoly in the Monroe household is a sore subject.”
“Noted,” I said before taking a sip of my beer.
“So, Conley, I bet this is a tame night for you, huh?” Leighton asked, angling into Aaron’s side as he held his arm around her. “You probably have some wild stories after being on the road all these years with Bobby.”
“Yeah, sure.” I forced a pained smile onto my face, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Though, I’m enjoying the change of pace,” I added, volunteering nothing about my years on the road.
“Wait?” Devin darted her eyes to me, finally having detached herself from Wes’s mouth. “Who did you travel with?”
“Augustine,” the entire table answered in unison for me.
“Get the heck out!” Devin nearly fell out of her chair when she shoved off Wes’s firm chest. I was sure she’d had her weight in tequila tonight. It’s amazing she could still dominate at trivia.
“How did you not know they were from here?” Wes asked in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up.
“Uh, because they aren’t,” Devin argued.
“Hate to break it to ya, Doc, but you’re wrong.” He kissed the top of her head, trying to soften the blow of her losing this bit of music trivia.
“No way. Every article ever written says they were from—”
“Austin,” Wes interrupted. “But it’s all lies to protect their hometown roots. That’s just where they were living when they got their big break.”
Devin scoffed. “Yeah. Okay,” she said sarcastically, her eyes shifting around the table for the others to back her up, finding no help.
“Sorry, he’s right.” I shrugged. “In fact, one of the original founding members has been serving you drinks all night.”
Devin’s jaw dropped at my response. “You’re telling me—” Her eyes opened wide with some sort of realization. “Oh my gosh, this makes so much sense now.” She turned to Wes. “That’s how you got the sold-out Derailed tickets for me when they were touring together.”