“Okay. No rush.”

“Want to come in and meet Renzo? I don’t think you’ve met him yet.”

She clapped her hands and followed me to the back door. “I haven’t! I think you got him right after the last time I was home.”

I opened the door for her and let her go through. “I got him after my dad died, so that sounds about right.”

Renzo came up immediately to assess this new potential friend or enemy, and thankfully obeyed my commands to stay down and be quiet.

“Oh, he’s so beautiful,” Meg gushed. “Can I pet him?”

“Sure.”

She leaned down and gave Renzo all kinds of love and attention, and pretty soon his tail was wagging, his expression was joyful, and I could tell they were going to get along just fine. It made me feel good, seeing Meg with my dog.

“I have to put some shit away out there. Do you want to wait in here or come outside?” I asked her.

“I’ll come out,” she said, straightening up. “I’ll play with Renzo while you finish up.”

“He’ll love you forever.”

She sighed as we went back outside. “At least someone will.”

After I was done in the yard, Meg waited in my living room and played with Renzo while I headed up to shower and change. “He does love you,” I told her. “Usually I have to shut him in his bedroom while I shower, or else he follows me into the bathroom.”

“Maybe I just smell better right now,” she teased.

“That’s a given,” I said, heading up the stairs.

An hour later, we were sitting across the table from each other at Hop Lot Brewing Co., one of my favorite local spots to grab an IPA and some ribs off the smoker. Meg ordered a blonde ale, and we decided to share a full rack and a basket of fries.

Since Hadley Harbor was such a small town, I was pretty recognizable and a lot of people came by our table to say hello. Many of them asked where Renzo was, and a couple of them knew Meg as well. If they didn’t, I introduced her, and we ended up talking about Cloverleigh Farms. By the time she and I were left by ourselves, our beers and food had arrived.

“I brought you some extra napkins,” said the server as she set them down. Then she smiled at Meg. “And by the way, I love your shirt. I’m totally a murderino.”

Meg gave me a smug look. “Thanks.”

I shook my head as the server walked away. “Women scare me.”

“Oh, stop. Nothing scares you.”

It wasn’t true, but I liked that she thought it. I reached for a rib. My mouth was watering.

“You’re so popular,” Meg teased, spreading her napkin on her lap. “At least ten people are staring over here right now.”

“That means there will be gossip.” I frowned as I chewed and swallowed. “And this is a small town, so it’ll travel fast. By tomorrow, we’ll be married.”

She giggled. “With a couple of kids on the way.”

I picked up a second rib and started gnawing on it. “A couple?”

“Twins.”

“Twins. Right.”

She popped a French fry in her mouth. “How’s Asher doing?”

“Good. He’s got a new communication device, which was ridiculously expensive yet worth every penny, that has helped his confidence a lot. And he finally got a job, which is great, but he tires easily.”

“Where does he work?”

“For Logan’s, in the executive offices.”

“Cool. That’s Chris’s family’s business, right?”

“Yeah. He was applying for jobs and not having much luck, because people are assholes and don’t look beyond the disability. Asher was really frustrated, because he’d worked so long and hard for his IT degree and he’s really good with computers.”

“That sucks. Poor Asher.”

“But Chris’s entire family has been awesome.”

“What does he do there?”

“Computer work. Inventory, payroll, website management, communications. He started an email newsletter for them too.”

“That’s awesome. Is he still living with your mom?”

“Yep.”

“Is he okay with that?”

“As far as I know. Back when I was still in the Army, they tried a kind of group home for him, but he and my mother hated it. I think he was back home within two weeks.”

“Why did Asher hate it?”

I tried to think back. “Asher’s anxiety was a lot worse back then. I think that had a lot to do with it. He’s come a long way with different kinds of therapy and the new speech device, and his doctor recently prescribed an antidepressant too. That’s helped him a lot.”

She took a rib from the plate between us and sank her teeth into the meat. “Does he have friends or a social life?”

“Not really.” I frowned. “I try to get him out some, but it’s hard. On top of having CP and anxiety about the way people see him, he’s just shy. And between us, I think my mother feeds that anxiety sometimes. Not on purpose, exactly, but it’s as if she feels like she’s protecting him by discouraging his independence.”

“Or it’s just how she shows love, by being the caretaker,” Meg suggested. “She’s still working at the clinic?”

“Yeah. And helping my sister with her gigantic brood.”

Meg laughed. “How many kids does Nina have?”

“Three, and another one about to pop out.”

“Wow. Full house. That’s impressive.”

“And loud. But the kids are awesome.”

“You like being an uncle?”

“I love it.” But what I really loved was the way she was sucking on the rib bone now that she’d eaten off all the meat. And licking her fingers. It was turning me on. How come I’d never noticed what a great mouth she had? Or how sexy it was watching her eat and enjoy her food? Or how one of her eyebrows arched up higher than the other one, as if she knew what I was thinking and liked it?

Jesus, I really needed to stop fantasizing about her.

It was starting to mess with my head.

Six

Meg

Being with Noah was so easy. I’d almost forgotten how easy. And he looked so good in his blue T-shirt. It was tight on his chest and biceps, showing off his muscles. His butt looked nice in his jeans too.

He’d been cute as a teenage lifeguard, a total stud in his military days, but now—as a grown man and a cop? Hot as hell. And clearly everyone in town liked him. How the hell was he still single? I mean, good with kids and animals, great body, fun sense of humor, fantastic at his job . . . Were the women around here crazy? He’d be an amazing husband and dad too.

“Maybe you should have a couple kids of your own,” I suggested. “Since you love being an uncle so much.”

He groaned and picked up his beer. “You sound like my mother. The best part about being an uncle is that you get to give them back when you’re done with them.”

“Ah.” I picked up another rib and licked some sauce off my fingers. “So kids are fine, as long as they’re only on loan.”