She danced to Nathan’s side and leaned in conspiratorially, not taking her eyes away from Preston. “Between you and me,” she whispered loud enough for Caleb and the object of her fascination to hear, “just how far does his tan go?”
That had done it. The words came out of his mouth without thinking. “If you’re going to paint someone naked, it will be me.” With impatience running through his veins, he laced their fingers together and tugged. “Come on.”
“It was nice meeting you, Preston,” she called back, allowing herself to be pulled away.
Caleb gritted his teeth through the shared laughter that followed his retreat.
“There are twinkle lights on the roof beams!” Didi shifted the topic so fast he had to check for whiplash. “And there’s line dancing! Can we dance, Caleb? Can we?”
“Yes.” He nodded. Her excitement was infectious, making him forget what he had been annoyed about. She had a frenetic energy surrounding her. For the first time since his mother’s funeral, he might actually enjoy one of these things. “But we need to make the rounds first. Ready to put your girlfriend face on?”
With mock seriousness, she saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
Laughing, he escorted her deeper into the party.
After Didi had navigated the crowd like a pro and played her part with devastating efficiency, Caleb gave Mr. Spencer—an old geezer with more war stories than anyone in Dodge Cove— permission to dance with his girl while he made for the bar with the excuse of needing a drink. His girl. The thought had stunned him enough to stammer his order.
The bartender slid a mug of root beer his way as Didi’s laughter reached his ears.
“I think it’s love,” Nathan said when Caleb joined him at the bar.
“What?” he sputtered, spilling some of his root beer.
“Whoa!” Nathan inched away. “These are suede.”
He set the glass aside and coughed into his fist. The sweetness of the drink stuck to the walls of his throat. “What did you just say?” he wheezed out.
His cousin returned to his side and gestured with his chin at Didi on the dance floor. Somehow she had managed to take the lead in a line dance. “She’s a hit. Half of DoCo society doesn’t know what to do with her, and the other half thinks she’s charming, according to my sources. Dense and self-absorbed as most of them are, they don’t even suspect that she used to serve their food at the club a few weeks ago. Oh, the miracles of a little elbow grease and polish. She cleans up nice, right? And from the looks of things, she paid attention during my makeup and hair lessons. Points for your girl.”
His eyebrows came together. “I don’t see why her working at the country club would be an issue.”
“Of course you wouldn’t.” Nathan leaned back against the bar on his elbows.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re immune to public scrutiny.”
Heat climbed his neck again, this time for an entirely different reason. “I’m tempted to dump the rest of my root beer on your suede boots.”
Nathan flinched. “Don’t you dare! And don’t get pissed at me for stating the obvious. It’s a good thing Amber isn’t here. She’s been asking around about Didi. Seems like our ugly-duckling-turned-swan has made quite an impression on your ex.”
His rising anger cooled significantly at the mention of Amber. He wondered why she would have any interest in Didi. Then the rest of Nathan’s words sank in. “Call Didi ugly one more time and your boots will really get it.”
“Now, that’s just mean, and after I shared information about Amber too. Unlike you, she doesn’t have a father who forces her to attend these things. Whoever decided on a hoe-down for the Summer Swing should be shot.”
As if mention of his father conjured him out of thin air, JJ walked into the barn in almost exactly the same attire as Caleb’s, except he had a jacket over his plaid shirt and a cowboy hat on his head. Ice replaced the blood in Caleb’s veins. Hell had just frozen over.
“What is he doing here?” he blurted out as his father scanned the gathering right about the same time Didi let out a loud whoop on the dance floor.
“I thought he would be in court all day,” Nathan said back, in total bewilderment.
“I thought so too.” Caleb’s stomach sank as his father’s gaze finally landed on him. He shifted his weight away from the stool he leaned on to stand straighter when his father began winding his way toward them. Once in a while a group would call for his attention and he would stop.
Tight fists at his side, Caleb flicked glances at Didi. For a crazy second he wanted to pull her out of the barn and escape. Unfortunately for them, his father had already seen him. Leaving would only bring worse consequences later. But he hadn’t prepared Didi for meeting JJ Parker. He’d actually hoped they wouldn’t have to meet—insane as the thought may have been. Maybe he could make up some excuse. . . .
“Incoming,” Nathan whispered before plastering a wide grin on his face. “Uncle JJ, you made it.”