Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(4)

Del groaned. “J.R., did you really just call us cows?”

“I called you heifers. It’s the ultimate compliment you can pay a woman,” he said, raising a brow at her before winking at me when I smiled at him. I think he enjoyed ruffling people’s feathers.

“Who told you that? I’m guessing it was a highly intoxicated man.” Rina chuckled.

“There is not a woman on the planet who finds being called a cow the ultimate compliment. Lucky for you, we’re not easily offended,” Sloane said, and she blew him a kiss because we adored the goofy guy.

“Well, good. Because you’re my favorites, and I’m happy to see this one back home.” He flicked his thumb at me. “Take care, ladies. My wife looks all huffy over there. I think she’s getting jealous, so I need to get back.”

We waved goodbye and laughed some more about the heifer comment when he walked away. Seventies music piped through the speakers, and I bopped my head to “Y.M.C.A.” when the beat started. Garrity’s smelled like garlic and butter at all times. They had a limited menu of appetizers and a full bar.

“We’ve got lots of catching up to do.” Rina held up her glass and waited for us all to follow. “Cheers to being reunited and to Lila finally being at home for longer than a half a second.”

I smiled and tapped my glass with theirs. “It was hard to get away with all the training, racing, and classes. I’ve basically just been surviving these last four years.”

I also had no money for things like plane tickets home and travel beyond where my races took me. My friends never had to worry about that kind of stuff, and I tried not to complain about the fact that I did. My dad had come out to visit me two times over the four years I’d been at school to celebrate Christmas with me, and Travis usually came at least twice a year to visit and see my races. He’d offered to fly me home a few times, but he always preferred to come to me. I knew he thought that he was protecting me from our father by keeping me away.

But I did not need protecting from my own dad.

Next to Travis, my father was the only family I really had, unless you counted grandparents who lived across the country and had never been very involved in our lives.

“I’m so glad I got to be there to see you win nationals,” Del beamed.

Delilah McCallister was the best friend I’d ever had. She, Sloane, Rina, Travis, Shay, Hugh, and Brax had all been at that finish line, cheering for me at nationals. I’d wished my dad could have been there, but I knew better than to push Travis about it. They didn’t get along, and they hadn’t for a very long time.

I knew when to pick my battles.

My father had watched me on TV, as had most of the people in Cottonwood Cove. I’d felt pretty damn good to have their support when I was so far away.

“Me, too. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that you were all there.”

“We wouldn’t miss seeing you fly down that final stretch for anything in the world.” Sloane smiled before taking a long pull from her beer.

“I was on FaceTime with Parker, screaming as you came around that final corner, so he could watch, too,” Rina said, referring to her boyfriend whom she now lived with.

“Tell her what you did.” Sloane used her hand to cover her mouth, and I looked between them trying to figure out what I was missing.

“Sloane Carpenter! You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone.” Rina was laughing now and shaking her head. “So maybe I got so excited I peed my pants. That was such a close race. You caught her right before you both crossed the finish line.”

Now all four of us were laughing, and I reached for her hand. “I think I peed my pants when I basically had to throw my body across the finish line.”

“So, if we’re being completely honest… I actually shit my pants last week in the car when I left Cottonwood Cove Café. I swear Mrs. Runither put something in her mac and cheese because that shit runneth right through me. No pun intended.” Sloane shrugged as if this were just common small talk.

The table erupted in laughter. Damn, I’d missed my girls. Missed being home.

“Did she grill you about your sex life?” Delilah asked once she composed herself. “That woman has no shame. It’s really gotten out of control.”

Loretta Runither had been born and raised in Cottonwood Cove. She was in her mid-sixties, but it was impossible to tell her age because she was always getting work done. Her brows hadn’t moved since the day I’d met her as a little kid, and her lips were extremely plumped and overlined in her signature tangerine lip color.

“Oh, yes. She straight up asked me how many dudes I’ve been with. I mean, she didn’t say dudes. She said, ‘You kids are so different these days. I’m guessing you got your cherry popped in college?’ Like, excuse me, but who the hell asks someone that? She’s got some weird obsession with everyone’s virginity. And how does she know I’m not a virgin? I’m offended both ways—one, that she is basically slut-shaming me and two, that she thinks she can ask a woman something so personal. I’m offended for all the feminists on the planet and all the virgins—no offense, Lila.”

My mouth fell open, and I leaned forward to whisper. “Keep your voice down. And I’m not totally a virgin, but thank you for pointing that out. You’re no better than Mrs. Runither.”