Tangled Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls #2) (18 page)

“Well, I’d leave that part out of your twenty-fifth-anniversary toast.”

“Probably a good idea.” Abby wiggled her eyebrows. “So, let’s talk about you and Josh. Last I knew, you two hated each other. How on earth did that happen?” She pointed to Caitlin’s belly.

Caitlin laughed back. “Um . . . given your condition, I think you know exactly how it happened. I never hated your brother.”

“Oh, come on.” Abby dipped more of her bread. “What about the time you both squared off right before the big Homecoming football game. You didn’t like him then, did you?”

Caitlin thought back to that night on the high school football field. It was true she and Josh had traded their fair share of insults and sinister pranks growing up. Where she seemed to know what buttons to push to annoy him, that night he’d called her a pathetic drama queen who would one day be washed up town trash.

That comment led to the hard slap she’d given him across his face in front of a bleacher full of spectators.

She grabbed a huge chunk of bread, sopped it with dip, and popped it into her mouth. Here she was pregnant, single, and no idea how to be a mother. Maybe his prediction had come true. Funny how he had a hand in it.

“Do you really want to know what happened?” She reached for more bread. The dip was that good.

“Yes!” Abby bounced up but scrunched her nose. “Except the actual act. I don’t need the vision of my brother having sex.”

“Well,” Caitlin started, “After I drove away from your and Brandon’s performance, I went straight to the Buttermilk Tavern where your brother was sitting by himself. I joined him, we did one too many tequila shots, and things escalated . . . we took a taxi to my place . . .” she said in between bites, “. . . and barely made it to my bed. Josh knows how to use his—”

Abby’s threw her hand up, motioning for Caitlin to stop. “No more details needed.”

“You know, I think your brother was sulking about something that night. I remember when I sat down next to him at the bar he looked completely dejected. Did something happen this summer?”

Abby shrugged. “I don’t think so. I didn’t see a lot of him. I remember teasing him that my guest room wasn’t used. I guess I now know who he was bunking with.”

Caitlin frowned at that news. “We were only together the one night.”

Abby waved her hand, dismissing her last comment. “Well, I bet he stayed with one of his high school buddies the rest of the time—probably Adam.”

Caitlin hoped so. What if he’d been brooding over some ex-girlfriend like Bethany Wilson? They had dated a couple years out of high school. Had he jumped into Caitlin’s bed, using her to lick his wounds?

The thought had crossed her mind, but she’d never have the guts to ask Bethany about it. “You know, given our history, I was just as surprised as anyone. Let’s just say, I totally forgot about our disdain for each other.” She rested her hands on her stomach. “I guess I forgot about a lot of things that night.”

Abby reached for the bottle of sparking grape juice and refilled their glasses.

She raised her glass to Caitlin’s. “Here’s to . . .”

“. . . Unplanned pregnancy?” Caitlin finished her sentence.

Laughing, Abby touched Caitlin’s plastic cup with hers. “Well, yes. But also—here’s to us being the hottest moms in Buttermilk Falls.”

“Here, here.” They clinked cups just as Brandon, Jason, and Emma came barreling into the kitchen. Jason looked like he’d seen a ghost while Brandon began to pace from the door to the freezer and back.

Abby grabbed her husband’s arm to stop him. “What happened up there?” She glanced over at Emma, who was holding a rectangular, robin’s-egg blue box covered in dust.

“What a pretty box.” Caitlin felt a little out of place since she was all but sure the conversation was going to go into ghosts or witches territory. Just because her babies had Stevens’ blood running through them didn’t mean she had to partake.

She pushed off the counter. Maybe she should go find Tom and Bridget and see if they could take her home. “I think I should call it a night. It’s been a long day. Happy New Y—”

“Not so fast.” Emma reached for her arm. “This involves you, too.”

“Me?” Caitlin asked. “What do I have to do with whatever you found upstairs?”

Emma laid the box down on the kitchen’s island. Caitlin eyed the exquisite pearl embroidery. She loved vintage boxes, and this definitely was one.

“The attic was empty except for this.” Emma glanced over at Caitlin. “It has your name on it.”

“My name?” Caitlin eyed the box and sure enough, her name had been embroidered on the lower right hand corner. Her eyes widened. Hers wasn’t the only name.

“Let me see.” Abby came in between them and peered down. “Caitlin and Josh,” she read out loud. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“What’s inside?” Caitlin asked in barely a whisper.

“I didn’t open it.” Emma shook her head.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Abby touched the lid, but Emma moved her hand and slid the box in front of Caitlin. “It’s addressed to Caitlin. She should open it.”

“Oh, I don’t know . . .” Caitlin took a step back.

Abby gave her a nudge. “Don’t be scared. It’s probably empty.”

“Okay.” Caitlin placed her hands on the dusty box and pulled up. Inside was a cream-colored cloth with a matching cream notecard on top. She pulled it out and opened it.

Truth
was the only word written in the middle in cursive. Odd. She set the card down and unfolded the cream-colored cloth. Both Abby and Emma gasped.

“What is it?” Jason asked.

“Abby, do you think this is what Josh needs to perform the Batter Up spell?” Caitlin deadpanned as she held up a shimmering blue mixing spoon.