Lost in Tennessee Read Online Free PDF

shit-eating grin like that could only mean she’d done something she wouldn’t be proud of. God, she hoped she hadn’t done something stupid. Embarrassment in a room full of strangers was one thing; stupidity something else. “Sure, and after that.”
    Butch climbed into the armchair, stretching his long legs in front of him. “No, what did we do after that?”
    Kate pushed up and sat tailor style, combing her hair with her fingers. “I’m a little foggy on most of the night.”
    “That’s not surprising. You had more than your fair share of the local spirit. It’s distilled just south of here at Cloud Nine. The shot is one of Hyde’s favorites, called Slice of Heaven.”
    “It went down smoothly, but now I feel like I licked a cat.” She stuck her tongue out for his inspection.
    “If that’s all you feel, you handled it better than most.” He obliged her and looked at her tongue. “No fur. You’re good.”
    “I’ve got that going for me.” Kate went to the kitchen and turned on the faucet.
    “Pain killers are in the cabinet above the sink. Grab a few for me, will you?”
    Kate opened a couple of half-empty cabinets, trying to remember where she’d seen Butch’s glasses the night before when he’d invited her in for his mother’s fried chicken. One cabinet had enough dinner plates to share a meal with friends, a handful of bowls and small plates. A second cabinet had the glasses. On the top shelf, holding court over the rest of the cabinet, were four glass in a deep cherry red. While she admired the pretty glasses, she took a glass from the bottom shelf that looked like a Mason jar with a handle. She downed three pills and half a glass of the most refreshing water she had ever tasted. Her rusty throat loosened, like the tin man after a good lube. She returned to the living room and handed Butch the ice water and pills. Kate had never shied away from keeping up with the boys, but the boys had always been family. She had been out for an adventure, not to get drunk. The holes in her memory bothered her, really bothered her.
    Butch drained the glass, washing down the pills, then pressed the cool glass to his head. “What are you thinking about so hard? I can see the steam coming from your ears.”
    “There, uh, may be a few gaps in my memory. I don’t know what happened. Maybe I should have eaten more.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself. Hyde plied you with shots. I think he wanted to impress you.”
    “Impress me?” An image flashed. Little blue glasses etched with a dog pointing and filled with a sweet liquor. Had she bought the drinks? “The shot glasses. I thought they were cute.”
    “You stole a few.”
    Her mouth fell open. “No. I wouldn’t do that.” She pulled her purse close and opened it wide to find two blue shot glasses. “Will you return these? I don’t know what I was thinking. I remember we were celebrating…something.” Alcohol snuffed out the spark of a memory. “What was it?”
    “My third divorce. Your first bull ride.” Butch chuckled, but the sadness lingering below the surface ruined the effect. Laughter brought out the twinkle in his eyes, dimples in his cheeks, and made him beautiful. He laughed on the surface and only on the surface.
    Kate thought he needed a reason to laugh. While she would only be here for another few hours, she would spend the time she had making this good man happy. She kicked companionably at his foot. “Why is that funny?”
    “Do you remember the mechanical bull?”
    She bit her lower lip, watching still images flip through her mind. “Yes. His name was Rip. It was written on the blanket.”
    Butch snickered. Kate imagined manners kept him from laughing outright at her. “That blanket was like a burial shroud. R.I.P. Rest in peace. The owners had to permanently pull the plug on it when the insurance shot through the ceiling.”
    “But…I remember riding it.” She vividly remembered the feeling of her legs on the wide