“My name’s Graham. I’m sitting next to your mom at a bar. She’s not feeling well right now.”
Van glanced at the kitchen door. “What’s wrong with her?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
“Nothing to worry about. She’s just a little sick.” Graham cleared his throat. “She probably shouldn’t have had that last whiskey.” He gave a nervous laugh. “Sorry about that.”
Van closed her eyes, knowing exactly what this was. Whoever this Graham was, he’d been plying her mom with drinks, thinking she was a sure thing. “What bar are you in?”
“The Moonlight Bar in Hartson’s Creek. You know it?”
“Yeah, I know it.”
“I’d bring her home, but she’s not in a good way.” He gave an embarrassed chuckle. “I don’t want people talking about me like that.”
“It’s okay. I’m on my way.”
“Great. She’s at the bar. I probably won’t be here when you get here.”
Of course he wouldn’t. She didn’t expect anything less. Apart from Craig, she’d never met a lover that didn’t treat Kim like dirt.
And even Craig had at the end.
He hung up before she could reply. He’d done his duty, after all. Van would feel angry, but the phone call was more than most guys her mom hung around would do.
Sighing, she grabbed her purse and keys, and headed out to the hallway.
“Zoe?”
“Yeah?”
“Mom’s sick. I need to pick her up. Let’s watch that movie once I’m back, okay?”
The smile slipped from Zoe’s lips. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“She’ll be fine. I’ll bring her back and put her to bed, then make some popcorn.” Van winked at her. “Can I trust you to stay here while I’m gone?”
“Of course. Mom does it all the time.”
“You have my number in your phone?”
Zoe nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Sure.” Zoe nodded. “See you in a bit.” She looked calm, as though she trusted Van to make everything right. And she so wanted to do that. For Zoe and for herself.
Van shot her a tight smile and left the house, climbing into her car and slamming the door closed behind her.
She wished she had as much faith in herself as Zoe did. Because right now she wanted to slap her mom like crazy.
“Okay, it’s my round,” Nate said, his legs wobbling as he pushed himself off the bar stool he was perched on. There were eight of them in all, sitting around one of the high tables at the rear of the Moonlight Bar. Tanner had only been here for an hour but he was already trying to find an excuse to leave. It turned out that once they’d finished reminiscing about school there really wasn’t much to talk about, unless you wanted to hear about Nate’s hernia operation or Grant Dubois’ divorce.
When he’d said he was rounding up the gang, it turned out Nate meant two guys and a gaggle of the girls they’d hung around with more than ten years ago. Including Chrissie Fairfax and her friends, who all gave him a huge hug as soon as they saw him.
The girls seemed to be getting along better than the guys. Maybe because they’d kept in touch in a way the guys hadn’t. They’d all drifted apart after graduation, meeting up occasionally during college vacations or when they were visiting their families in Hartson’s Creek, but really there was nothing left between them.
It was the opposite to his relationship with his brothers. That had only grown stronger, even though they were living in different locations across the East Coast. Maybe blood really did call to blood.
Everybody called out their orders to Nate, who looked perturbed when Chrissie and her friend Natalie asked for Pornstar Martinis. “Those are a thing?” he asked, scratching his head.