[[ wheelsy, south carolina // saturday night, henenlotter's saddle lounge ]]
[ "we can't cancel, can we?" ]
She threads her fingers with Bill's as she takes his proffered hand ( Read more... )
She threads her fingers with Bill's as she takes his proffered hand ( Read more... )
"Holy-- "
He blinks a moment in surprise then smiles wide and laughs.
"Kate." He looks around quickly then grins down at her.
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Kate's smile grows when she sees Bill's expression.
"Surprise?"
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"Yeah, I-- wow."
Laughing again he pulls her in for a hug and kisses her cheek, which gets a loud, 'WOOOOOO' from much of the crowd.
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"Careful, we're in -- "
"Hey, now, you two," Sarah breaks in, stepping over to give Bill a quick hug. "None of that till you're back at the house, y'hear?"
She grins up at Bill.
"Besides, you gotta see the spread over on the bar. I made desserts -- plural."
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He returns Sarah's hug and his eyes glint at the mention of desserts.
"Lead the way."
Rudy comes up and hands Bill a beer as he follows Sarah through the crowd.
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She's halfway to the counter when a hand touches her elbow.
"Kate, hey -- this was such a good idea!"
She turns and offers a smile in return.
"Tracie, hi. I'm glad you could make it."
"You kiddin'? Wouldn't miss Bill's big welcome back for the world. None of us would."
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"Hell, I don't hardly know where t'start."
The group around him laughs and the ladies who had a hand in making things are quick to step forward and help him decide by offering him pieces of what they've brought.
Sarah wins by sticking one of her Hello Dolly bars in his hand.
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"Must've been such a nightmare, right after. I can't even imagine -- "
"An' good thing he had you, Kate, helpin' take care of him all this time -- "
"Lord, can you imagine if Starla was still in the picture? Why, he'd be -- "
Kate's smile freezes in place.
"It was pretty scary," she says, keeping her words carefully light, "but he healed really well, even better than the doctors expected."
One of the blondes -- Amanda, Kate's certain -- tilts her head slightly.
"So with him all healed up and goin' back on duty, when're you headin' back to the big city?"
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"Hey!"
Turning he sees Edward, a big mountain of a man wearing a dirty NASCAR cap and a wide grin.
"Here he is, boys. Our sheriff!"
Dragged to the other end of the counter Bill's just about to say something about being taken away from the desserts when a shot glass of whiskey is pushed into his hand.
"To the sheriff!"
"The sheriff!"
The group of men sitting on the corner of the counter all shout and salute and knock back their shots along with Bill.
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"Well, I -- "
"Will Bill be goin' out to visit anytime soon, y'think?"
"Be awful convenient for him to look up Starla while he's there -- she's out in California, y'know."
Kate gives Tracie a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
"And of course he should, if he wants -- I know she's an old friend; they grew up together."
"Oh, they were more'n friends, at least in Bill's -- "
An arm circles Kate's shoulders and she starts.
"Evenin', Miss Warner."
It's Everett, the clerk from the gas station, and he has Henry in tow.
She gives both of them a smile that's shaded with genuine relief.
"Hey, you two."
The band starts their set, and Sarah threads her way through the crowd to find Kate.
I got a timebomb in my mind, Mom ( ... )
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"To Sheriff Bill Pardy!" Edward hollers.
"Sheriff Bill Pardy!" The group, which has grown to a crowd, shouts and Bill's voice rises with them shouting out a "To me!"
"T'-- " Edward pauses and looks to the others for suggestions, having already gone through 'Sheriff, 'Bill', 'Bill Pardy' and all the various combinations of the three.
They all exchange blank looks then Bill pipes up.
"T'Wheelsy!"
"To Wheelsy!"
Up on the walls the antlers are rattling with shouts, laughter and now music.
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She's gonna kill me
Oh, Celeste
Oh, Celeste
"I tell you what, don't you even think about listenin' to anything a one of them had to say, you hear me?"
Kate nods, letting Sarah steer her away from Tracie's inner circle.
"Especially that Amanda. She's had it bad for Bill since fourth grade, when Danny Fitzgerald was pickin' on her at lunch an' Bill got in his face. Danny popped him in the mouth for that."
I got a timebomb in my mind, Mom
It's gonna go off but I don't know when
I need a doctor to extract her
I got a feeling she'd be right back in again
"But, Sarah, she mentioned Starla -- "
Sarah pauses, then shakes her head.
"That's long over an' done with."
I got a timebomb in my mind, Mom
I got it badly for a stick-legged girl
She's gonna kill me and I don't mean softly
I got it badly for a stick-legged girl
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"Hey, sheriff, come see what we done with the Xbox."
Bill follows Rudy and someone else takes his place, sitting down in front of the big man while shot glasses are lined up between the two.
"Hey, where's Kate?" Bill asks Rudy as he makes his way through the mess of people, somehow ending up at the TVs with a piece of pie and another beer.
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She lifts a chunk of peanut-butter fudge from a nearby bowl and turns to see Gerald with a half-finished piece of Sarah's pie on a paper plate.
"Oh, I can't take all the credit," she says with a smile over the music.
This old nightclub stole my youth
And this old nightclub stole my true love
It follows me around from town to town
I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nightclub down
"That's right," Sarah chimes in. "I'll have you know I'm at least halfway responsible for this mess, Gerry."
"Honey, you're responsible for all of it," Dave says with a chortle, dropping a kiss on top of Sarah's head.
Kate pops a bite of fudge in her mouth and forces her eyes away from the door, reminding herself that June will either make an appearance ...
"He's in a hurry t'get himself killed, an' I'm so glad you're there to encourage him."
Or she won't.
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He wanders through the crowd, getting plenty of attention from everybody.
Walking past Tracie and her friends he spots Kate and head in her direction.
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"Bill, c'mere, you big ol' guest of honor."
"Bill Pardy," Amanda says at the same time, grinning, "get your keister over here this minute. There's congratulations in order."
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