âDid Websterâs change the definition of celebrate and no one told me? Because I always thought it should involve being, you know, happy.â
Veronica Carter turned her attention from the dance floor, with its multicolored spotlights and twirling couples, to Lola Ann Whitford, town librarian and Ronnieâs best friend. While it was impossible to discern Lola Annâs every word over top of the exuberant local band that played every Friday night, the gist was clear.
âSorry,â Ronnie said sheepishly. âIâm not being very good company, am I?â
âNo.â The short, curvy brunette grinned, showing all her dimples. âWhich is why I am ditching you for the very first guy who asks me to dance.â
âWell, as long as heâs hot,â Ronnie conceded. After todayâs inspection of her new home, she should be feeling celebratory. Yet her emotions were as badly tangled as a carelessly handled fishing line.
In addition to the inspector telling her sheâd chosen her future house well, and that the flaws were mostly cosmetic and the foundation was solid, she could still hear Wayne Carterâs resigned sigh. Her dadâs eyes, the exact green as hers, had brimmed with wistful loss instead of eager joy, an image reversed in reflection. I am twenty-five, more than old enough to move out. She shouldnât feel guilty, like some ungrateful teenager running away to the big city in the middle of the night. Heck, Ronnie wouldnât even be changing zip codes.
Lola Ann snapped her fingers in front of Ronnieâs face. âIâve lost you again.â
âNo, Iâm here. Youâre right about celebrating! Is it bad luck to toast the new place before itâs legally mine?â In a few weeks, sheâd officially close on the houseâ¦then spend the foreseeable future remodeling. Ronnie had always been mechanically inclined, better with power tools than curling irons or mascara wands, and without the quirks and superficial damages to the one-story brick home, she never would have been able to afford it. âCome on, Iâm buying this round.â
They edged their way through the dance hallâs regular weekend crowd and stopped at the teak counter that ran parallel to the far left wall. Flannel-clad Jack Guthrie, his wire-rimmed glasses and silver hair taking on an otherworldly glow beneath the neon signs, had been the bartender here since time before memory. Heâd poured Ronnie a drink the night she turned twenty-one and had done the same for her three brothers before her. Heâd also served inaugural beers to her parents.
There was that pang again. Often she could think of her parents, the life theyâd once shared, without missing her mother too terribly, but todayâthe approaching milestone of buying her first houseâhad left her nostalgic.
Forcing a smile, Ronnie placed a ten on the bar for two drinks. In her peripheral vision, she saw that her oldest brother, Danny, was waiting to order. His wife, Kaitlyn, stood behind him, her face flushed with pleasure and the exertion of dancing. Children were allowed inside Guthrie Hall, and Ashley often accompanied her mother and father. Tonight, however, Ronnieâs niece was hanging out with Grandpa Wayne, whoâd promised to teach the second-grader how to play poker just as heâd taught Ronnie when she was around Ashleyâs age.
Ronnie caught her sister-in-lawâs eye, and Kaitlyn approached, nodding hello to Lola Ann.
âYou look like youâre having fun,â Ronnie observed.
Kaitlyn bobbed her head in cheerful agreement. âI adore my daughter, but I need these occasional adults-only evenings to remind myself what a passionate, flirtatious man my husband can be.â
Ronnie pretended to shudder. âI donât want to hear about passion and my brother in the same sentence.â
âFair enough.â Kaitlyn chuckled. âSome unsolicited advice from an old married womanâwhen you get married, donât feel like you have to have kids right away. Take the time to savor those early newlywed years.â
Sound, yet pointless, advice. Last time Ronnie had checked, dating was a prerequisite to marriage.
Men werenât exactly beating down her doorâcorrection, her fatherâs doorâto ask Ronnie out. Her town identity as a skinny grease monkey had long been cemented. While even a flat-chested mechanic could attract male admirers once in a blue moon, her overprotective brothers had put an end to those few budding relationships, making marriage the least of Ronnieâs current concerns. Not that she minded being single. Once she moved out of her dadâs house, she selfishly planned to make the most of the solitudeâwatching whatever she wanted on the television set and not worrying about preparing meals for anyone.