In The Mountains (Tennessee and Paxton)

At the Red Owl

* At The Red Owl. *

Tennessee had sighed five times by the time they all drove up to the Red Owl Distillery, and he'd barely interacted with Rusty and Gunner and Mary-Jo. Not that anyone in the group seemed to notice Tennessee's silence.

After Mary-Jo asked Paxton a handful of questions about himself, the group moved on to other topics. The men chatted about the ribs, who would be there, Huck's band, dancing, and of course, getting a shot of the best whiskey in 'these-here' parts.

Paxton had been careful to give vague answers about himself and where he met Tennessee. He was pleased when the men moved on to other subjects. While Mary-Jo raved about Huck's band playing her favorite song "Mountains of Love", Paxton shot Tennessee a quick side glance.

As they pulled into a line of cars, Paxton decided that he liked Tennessee's friends. They seemed friendly, and Paxton did his best not to act out of place. He said the right things and had all of them grinning and smiling. During the drive, Paxton even decided that he would act straight if he had to. He could flirt with some girls if that made Tennessee feel better. One thing was for sure, Paxton hated seeing Tennessee in such a dark mood. Since he met him, Tennessee was so even-tempered and content. Seeing him grumpy almost didn't seem like Tennessee.

"This is it." Gunner parked in a back row of trucks at the edge of a large gravel parking lot. "This place looks crazy already." He grinned at Paxton like that was a good thing. "We'll have-ta find an open table."

Tennessee grunted his response as everyone climbed out of the pickup.

Most of Tennessee's responses were a grunt, so Paxton was now positive that the man's sour mood had carried over to the rib-fest. He still wasn't sure what had Tennessee so irritable, but he made up his mind to ask as soon as he got the chance. On the drive, Paxton had reviewed the day and couldn't come up with anything. Maybe his dogs were sick, and Paxton didn't know it.

As the group strolled between cars toward the entrance of the Red Owl, Tennessee followed, not looking at Paxton. This was the first time Tennessee ever blatantly ignored Paxton since they met.

"I gotta piss," Rusty said as they wove their way between the rows of parked cars. "I'll hit the head then meet y'all at a table. Huck texted and said he got us a spot in the back next to the jukebox. He said he'd meet us before he went on stage."

"Huck is gonna meet us?" Gunner moaned. "Ain't that gum in my boot heel," he muttered before he hurried ahead of them.

"What's wrong with meetin' up with Huck?" Mary-Jo asked, but Gunner took giant ground-eating steps as if trying to get away from the question.

"Is that Cassie over there by the smoker?" Gunner asked. "I'll meet y'all in a second. I gotta talk to her." Gunner jogged toward a group of women congregating around...well... Paxton assumed that was a smoker.

"I'll find out what's up with Gunner and Huck," Mary-Jo assured a silent Tennessee and rushed after Mr. White Shirt.

That left Paxton with a second alone with Tennessee.

"Hey." Paxton grabbed Tennessee's arm before he could stride away. The second the man stopped, Paxton let go of him.

"What, Paxton?" Tennessee still wouldn't turn to look at Paxton, and though that bugged him, he didn't say it. It also wasn't a good sign when he used Paxton instead of cowboy.

"If you don't want me here, I get it. I'll call Cletus and have him pick me up. I can say I'm not feeling well."

"I ain't care what ya do." Tennessee shook his head and sighed for the sixth time. Not that Paxton was counting. "And ain't that the way ya want it?"