“Green tea shots,” Jo says.
Duke nods and heads for the bar.
“What’s happening?” Jo asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean … are you into him?”
“No! Of course not. I just got a divorce.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I narrow my eyes at her.
She raises a dark brow. “I thought you wanted to get back up on the horse.”
“I’m perfectly fine on the ground, thank you.”
“Well, for the record, if you wanted to get over your divorce and push the gas pedal on the whole healing portion, I think a onetime thing would be the way to go.” She shrugs. “That’s what my aunt always says anyway. She got divorced three times—twice from the same guy.”
“That doesn’t sound like a glowing recommendation.”
My phone buzzes with a text. When I see my ex-mother-in-law’s number, I freeze. My heart pounds as I open the message.
Sandy
Dallas, I just want you to know we still care deeply about you, and you will always be the mother of our grandkids. We’re here to support you and Matt through this. Talk soon. Love you.
I exhale a deep sigh of relief. I was nervous about Sandy’s reaction, but I guess Matt hasn’t completely thrown me under the bus with his family. Yet.
Duke is heading back with a tray loaded down with nine green tea shots and two glasses of water. He sets it down on the table before handing each of us one.
“So, what are we toasting to?” He lifts one of the shots in the air.
“To Dallas getting back on the horse,” Jo blurts out.
Duke’s tongue darts out to wet his lips. He dips his hat in my direction. “To Dallas getting back on the horse.”
We clink our glasses together before tipping the rim of the glass over our lips and swallowing the green liquid. I slam it down on the table as heat flickers through my veins. Duke sets another shot in front of me and Jo.
“What about you, darlin’? What do you want to toast to?” he asks me.
“To people minding their own business.” I lift the shot toward both of them before downing it.
He chuckles, tossing the shot back. Jo rolls her eyes and takes hers too. Duke hands us each the third shot.
“My turn. I want to propose a toast to Dallas Hayes dancing with me to the next two-stepping song.”
“You can’t toast to that,” I argue.
He clinks his glass with mine and leans forward. “I just did.” He takes the shot before slamming the glass back down on the table.
Jo clinks her shot glass with mine and does the same. I grit my teeth and hold it over the floor, making eye contact with him before pouring it out on the dirty bar floor. His eyes widen slightly before he barks out a laugh. He grabs a cloth napkin from the table and throws it over the green puddle.
“Okay then.” He leans down and wipes up the rest of the mess before setting the soiled napkin on the tray. “Don’t think that attitude is going to deter me, Dallas Hayes. I like a challenge.”
“Don’t think I care at all what you think, Duke Redford.”