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“Molly, listen. I’m about to tell you what my mother always told me. These kinds of things always happen when you least expect it. The most important thing you can do is work on loving yourself and becoming the person you want to be. Everything else will happen when it’s supposed to.”

“Easy for you to say,” she grumbled, her eyes darting to the front of the room, where Luke and Duke were schmoozing with some of the older men of the town.

“Do you think either of us were looking for love when we came to Shady Grove?” Charlotte asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Mols, you know better than anyone how unexpected things between your brother and me were,” I added. “This couldn’t be further from how I thought my life would turn out. And don’t getme wrong, it hasn’t always been easy. There have been some real rough patches here and there, a lot of changes to adjust to. But through it all, there’s been a part of me that just knew Duke was who I wanted to be with. Even if that meant I couldn’t make the two-hour drive to get a good taco as often as I wanted.”

Molly snorted at my joke, and I smiled, placing my hand over hers on the table.

“You’ll find someone, Molly. I know it.”

“Yeah well, if you two are any example, it sounds like I need to get out of Shady Grove to find him.”

Charlotte and I shared a look. That was exactly something we’d discussed on more than one occasion, the idea that spending time somewhere new could be good for Molly.

“It might not hurt,” Charlotte said, “but if you’re going to do that, do it soon and get back here before I have this baby because Lord knows we’re going to need help with childcare.”

We all laughed, just as Luke and Duke joined us at the table, each raising an inquisitive brow.

“What are you ladies giggling about?” Duke asked, taking his seat next to me.

“Whatever it is, it can’t be good,” Luke added, sliding an arm across Charlotte’s shoulders.

“Nothing,” Molly said, shooting us a look that told us to zip it. She was funny like that sometimes, an open book one second and clamming up the next. My heart ached thinking that watching her brothers find love made her feel lonely. But for as hopeless as Molly felt about her love life sometimes, there was no doubt in my mind she’d find someone soon.

Once everyone took their seats, Luke gave a short speech thanking everyone for coming and explaining what a huge honor it was to be recognized in that way. In typical Luke fashion, he kept it brief, sincere, and to the point, toasting his brother and all the hard work they’d put in over the past almost twelve years.

When Luke was done, the wait staff kicked off the meal with a first course of watermelon, balsamic, and feta salads, a far cry from the greasy, butter-soaked sides this town was used to. They had Charlotte and me to thank for that. Luke and Duke let us take full control of the menu. All they asked is that we made sure there was a decent cut of red meat in the main course.

The band played some lively music while we ate, nothing too crazy, but definitely not the kind of smooth jazz you’d expect at a Manhattan dinner party. After all, we were still in Shady Grove. A representative from the Best in Texas voting board joined us for the evening and sat at our table. He was a lot cooler and younger than I was expecting, and judging by his suspenders and bow-tie, my guess was he was one of those hipster types.

Near the end of the first course, one of the wait staff arrived at Duke’s side and whispered something in his ear. He furrowed his brow at whatever the man said, nodding solemnly. Once he left, Duke turned and placed his hand on my lower back, leaning over to whisper in my ear.

“There’s something wrong in the brew room. They need me to go check it out.”

Before I could answer, he was out of his seat and halfway to the door, pushing his hand roughly through his hair like he did when he was stressed. I stared after him, annoyed that something was taking him away from his own celebration event. He was always hard on himself, and something going wrong in the brew room on such an important night didn’t bode well for his overall well-being.

I turned back to the table to find Charlotte and Luke watching me, worried looks on their faces.

“Everything okay?” Luke asked, looking ready to jump up and join his brother at any moment.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Something in the brew room, I guess.”

Luke nodded, but he didn’t look satisfied. Charlotte and Molly shared a strange look, and I could have sworn Molly was almost smirking, but I just shook it off. Something weird was going on, but I didn’t care what it was. I just wanted Duke to come back and let himself enjoy his night.

By the time the main course was being cleared away for dessert, Duke still hadn’t returned, and I was really starting to worry about him. I tried my best to act normal in front of the Best of Texas rep, but inside, I was freaking out.What if one of the tanks exploded? What if one of the tanks fell on him and he’s suffocating underneath it? Why is no one else freaking out right now?

I watched Charlotte chat easily with Luke and Molly, frustration bubbling up within me. They all seemed so calm, so unbothered by my boyfriend’s disappearance, and I’d had just about enough of it. Craning my neck, I scanned the room for the twentieth time, searching for any sign of Duke, or any sign of distress among the wait staff. But there was nothing. Everyone seemed cool and collected as cucumbers, and it was annoying the shit out of me.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, setting my napkin on the table and scooting my chair back. This got Charlotte’s attention, and she looked at me with wide, worried eyes.

“Where are you going?”

“To find Duke. He’s been gone for like half an hour now. I think something’s really wrong.”

“No, you’ll ruin it!” Molly exclaimed, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth as soon as the words left her lips.

“Molly!” Charlotte hissed.