“Do you still rent fishing gear?” Will asked.
“Sure do. I’ll fix you fellas right up.”
The man was as good as his word and fifteen minutes later they had set up at the lake’s edge and were sitting side by side in folding chairs that had holders for their fishing poles while waiting for a fish to bite. Their lines were in the water. The sky overhead was a perfect shade of blue and the sun was shining. Uncle and nephew ate their breakfast in silence.
Will figured he was the adult and it was up to him to break the silence that was growing more awkward by the second. When nothing that wasn’t lame came to mind he realized two things. First, Kim was right about him not knowing his nephew. Second, the only kids Will had contact with were in trouble with the law. If Tim had been caught stealing or with an illegal weapon he would have plenty to say to him. But he was a good kid.
He looked over. “Are you sure you don’t want a soda?”
“No. I’m good. Mom doesn’t like me drinking too much of it.”
“Right. Good call.” Will had been amused earlier that the kid had the same reaction to her pile of wedding stuff on the table as he did. That sparked a conversation topic. “What do you think about her getting married?”
“It’s cool.”
Will waited for more and when it didn’t come, he asked, “So you like Luke?”
“I sort of fixed her up with him. He’s the football coach and I’m on the team.”
“Don’t they both teach at the school?”
“Yeah. But nothing happened until she started picking me up from practice. I hung out in the locker room longer than I needed to and they started talking.” He shrugged his thin shoulders. “The rest is history.”
“But you like him?”
“He’s a pretty cool guy.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Another awkward silence fell. This was not a good time to remember that he’d promised Kim he would have that conversation with her son. Here goes nothing, he thought.
“You’re a pretty good basketball player.”
“Thanks. How do you—” Then the light went on. “At the park yesterday.”
“Yeah. I saw you in that pick-up game. There were some girls watching. One of them was a cute redhead and she had her eye on you.”
Tim didn’t look over but his face turned as red as that girl’s hair. “Lexie.”
“Do you like her?”
“She’s okay.”
The kid’s body language elaborated. There was so much tension he looked ready to snap like a twig.
“I think you like her a lot,” Will said. “Have you kissed her?” There was no answer and that was answer enough. “Do you have any questions about anything?”
“Such as?”
“What happens after kissing?”
Tim shook his head. “I know about that.”
“What about birth control?” Will figured this would be quicker and easier on both of them if he was more specific. “Condoms.”
“What you’re saying is that I shouldn’t put a girl in the same situation as my mom was with me.” His voice was tinged with hostility and a bit of resentment thrown in.
“Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.” This kid was smart and would know if Will wasn’t being completely honest and up front with him. “Just because your mom was young, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you more than anything in the world. I know for a fact she does.”
“Yeah. She tells me all the time.” He looked over. “And the guy who got her that way ran out on her. And me. He left town and disappeared.”
“He did.” The rat bastard. But letting his nephew know how ticked off he still was wouldn’t help. And he didn’t make the same offer he had to his sister to use his detective skills and find him. Will didn’t want to put ideas into the kid’s head. If he came up with it himself and Kim was on board he would do everything possible to find said rat bastard.
“The thing is, Tim, you and your mom were better off without a guy who would leave like that. And you’re lucky. You have family who love you. And that’s the most important thing.”
“I guess.”
“So, if you need condoms...” Will stopped until the boy looked at him. “There are a lot of people for you to turn to. Your mom. But I know that would be weird. Granddad. Luke. Me.”
“Okay. Got it.”
“Good.”
“Can I ask you something, Uncle Will?”
“Sure. Anything.” But he braced himself.
“What’s the deal with you and April?” Tim glanced over and there was a definite protective expression on his freckled face.
“That’s a good question. I wish I knew the answer.”
“So you don’t know why she turned you down when you asked her out?”
“Nope.” Will stuffed the paper their breakfast had been wrapped in back into the bag.
“Well, I like her,” the boy said. “And you keep telling everyone that you’re only here in town temporarily while Granddad recovers from his surgery. And you said me and my mom are better off without a guy who would walk out on us.”
“That’s right.” It was a good thing he’d braced himself. Will had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what came next.
“Maybe if you’re not staying you should just leave April alone.”
“That would probably be the wisest course of action,” Will admitted.
“So, are you going to back off?” Tim asked.
“Can’t lie to you, son. I’m not sure.”
Because he had a problem. April’s rejection made him want to see her even more. Did that make him a rat bastard?
* * *
After a long day at work, Will walked into Bar None for a beer. It was crowded, apparently the happening place on a summer evening in Blackwater Lake. But, like a heat-seeking missile, his gaze went to a bistro table in the far corner where his sister was having a glass of wine with April. Both women acknowledged him, but April smiled and waved as if she hadn’t rejected his dinner invitation a couple nights ago on the Fourth of July. Then she turned her attention back to Kim, clearly shutting him out.
So he headed for the bar and took the only empty stool, which, as luck would have it, afforded an unobstructed view of that corner bistro table where April was pretending she hadn’t been acting weird.
Delanie Carlson, the owner of the bar, walked over. The curvy redhead was somewhere in her twenties and had inherited the place from her father. “Hey, Sheriff. How are you?”
“Good.” Maybe. He glanced over at April, who was still not looking at him. Forcing a smile, he asked, “You?”
“Oh, you know. Can’t complain.”
“Looks like business is booming.”
“Yeah.” Her blue eyes darkened a little as she scanned the place. “What can I get for you?”
“Beer.”
“Bottle or tap?”
“Bottle.”
“Anything to eat?” When he shook his head, she said, “Okay. One beer coming right up.” She walked over to a refrigerator under the bar and pulled out a long-neck bottle. After twisting off the cap, she set it on a napkin in front of him. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks.” Will didn’t want to but couldn’t stop himself from looking at April again. If only he could stop dreaming about her, dreams so hot his sheets were practically smoking. He needed a distraction and Delanie was busy.
He glanced at the guy sitting beside him, who was also sipping a beer. Will had never seen him before. “You a tourist?”
“No.”
“New in town?”
“Not that new.” There was a blank expression on the newcomer’s face before he resumed staring at the bottle of beer in front of him.
Will siz
ed him up. He was fit and rugged looking, roughly two hundred pounds with black hair and blue eyes. There was a tattoo on his forearm.
He was starting to get a complex. First April rejected him and now this joker didn’t want to talk. It was strictly stubbornness and bad temper that made him pursue this line of questioning. “How long have you been here?”
“More than six months.”
“But less than a year,” Will guessed. The other guy merely lifted a shoulder. This was starting to feel like an interrogation in that special room with the two-way mirror. “Care to tell me your name?”
“Jack Garner.”
“The writer. I read your book.”
“Good. I have a mortgage to pay.”
“Didn’t say I bought it. Just read it.”
They stared at each other for several moments and finally Jack said, “Okay. I’ll bite. What did you think?”
“It was good.” Will was picky about his reading material, but he’d really liked the book. “The action was realistic. I’m guessing you spent some time in the military.”
“Army special forces, Ranger division.”
That explained why the details were spot-on. “I look forward to the next one.”
“Yeah.” Jack frowned and took a long pull on his beer.
Will glanced over at April again. She was wearing a pink sweater set with black slacks and had her hair long and silky past her shoulders. She looked so kissable it made him ache. Part of him thought if he stared long enough he’d catch her looking at him. And then what? Even his nephew had advised him to keep his distance. But too often rational thought and hormones didn’t see eye to eye. So here he was being pathetic.
“Why don’t you just go over there?”
Will met Jack’s gaze. “What?”
“You keep staring at that table in the corner. Don’t know which one of those ladies you’re interested in, but do something about it, man.”
“The blonde is my sister and she’s engaged.”
“Got it.” Jack saluted with his beer bottle, letting him know he’d received the warning loud and clear. “So it’s the cute brunette.”
Jealousy balled in his belly and he wanted to warn him off April, too. But he had no right and that just pissed him off more. “That hasn’t been confirmed.”
“Yeah, it has. If I were you, I’d just go over there and sit down.”
“Who made you my wingman?”
“It’s a dirty job, but apparently someone has to do it.” Jack looked amused.
“Why would I take your advice?” Will challenged. “Because you know so much about women?”
“What I know about the fairer sex would fit on the head of a pin.”
“Then I have to ask: What makes crashing their conversation a good move?”
“It’s what you want. You’re preoccupied. You’re staring at her and it’s getting obvious.” Jack paused, then added, “And, frankly, you’re just not very good company.”
Will stared at the other man for a second or two then laughed. “Don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel.”
“Will do.”
When Jack grinned, Will’s gut told him it was something the man rarely did. He held out his hand. “Will Fletcher. Acting sheriff of Blackwater Lake.”
“Good to meet you, Sheriff.” Jack shook his hand. “Now leave me alone and let me brood.”
“Roger that.”
Will picked up his beer and headed over to the table where the two women sat. “Mind if I butt in?”
“Hi, Will,” his sister said. “Have a seat.”
He’d planned to anyway, but it was nice to be invited. “How are you, April?”
“Good, thanks.” She gave him a big smile. “So you survived the Fourth of July.”
“I did. Here’s to that.” He held up his beer and they clinked their wineglasses against it.
“I saw you talking to Jack Garner, the writer,” his sister said.
“Yeah. Nice guy.”
“He doesn’t usually talk to anyone when he comes in here,” Kim added. “Before you ask how I know that, I should tell you that I don’t spend that much time here in the bar. Delanie told me.”
“Well he’s probably got his reasons for keeping to himself.” Will knew some guys on the police force who developed PTSD from incidents related to the job. He figured in army special forces Jack Garner had seen things that changed him, things he didn’t want to talk about.
“Actually, Will, I’m glad you’re here,” his sister said.
That was a surprise. “So I get a pass on crashing girls’ night?”
“It’s not so much girls’ night,” April said. “More of an emergency management meeting.”
“What’s wrong?” He looked from one woman to the other. “You’re not calling off the wedding.”
“No.” Kim’s voice was adamant. “But you know all those files and the paperwork on the table the other morning?”
“The crap?” he asked wryly.
“Yeah. That.”
“What about it?”
“I’m beginning to be overwhelmed.” Kim caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
“You know I was kidding about that, right?” He hadn’t meant to freak her out.
“I know. It’s just that I’m feeling the pressure. On top of the fact that my dress is back-ordered.”
“It just kills me that I can’t be your maid of honor,” April said.
“I didn’t think I needed one. But I also didn’t realize there would be this much stuff. Besides, you’re my photographer and I know the pictures will be amazing. That’s what this is all for. When Luke and I are old we can look at our wedding album and ask who the babies are in the pictures April Kennedy took. It’s just the putting-it-all-together part that’s getting to me.” She sighed. “Maids of honor come and go, but pictures are forever.”
Both of the women looked as if they were ready to have an emotional moment that would probably involve tears, and Will was beginning to regret crashing the party. Like most guys, he wanted to fix it. Anything to keep them from crying.
“So pick someone else to be your maid of honor,” he suggested. “You have friends, right?”
“Of course I do. But if I ask someone now they’ll feel like an afterthought. That might hurt their feelings.”
“If they’re really your friend, it probably wouldn’t be like that,” he pointed out.
“Family wouldn’t be like that at all,” April said. “They would just be there for you because you need them. It’s too bad you don’t have a sister.”
Suddenly there was a gleam in Kim’s eyes. “I’ve got it.”
“Unless Dad has a secret baby daughter somewhere, you still don’t have one. So what do you have?” Will asked warily.
“A brother and an idea. You can be my maid of honor.”
He shook his head. “I don’t meet the physical requirements. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a maid.”
“Okay. Man of honor then. Besides, what’s in a name? You can be my second, like when duels were fought in the olden days. I think you’d be fantastic, Will.”
“He would. What’s that police motto? To protect and serve? It takes a guy’s guy to be a man of honor.” April’s voice was pleading.
And Jack Garner was right. She was so cute he wanted her in the worst way. How could he say no to her? “Okay. But if the squad in Chicago finds out about this, I’ll get you back,” he warned her.
“Oh, Will—” Kim started to cry.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” He handed her a napkin then took her hand in his. “I said yes so you wouldn’t cry.”
“I’m just happy,” she said, dabbing her eyes.
“This calls for a toast,” April s
aid. “To Will, the best man of honor you could ask for.”
“Probably the only one,” he grumbled.
Kim laughed as intended. “To Will.”
They touched glasses again and he met April’s gaze. She wasn’t ignoring him now. She was looking at him as if he’d hung the moon. As if he was her hero.
If he invited her to dinner right this minute would she say yes? Not only did he not want to ask her in front of his sister, a guy’s ego could only take so much rejection. Private was better.
He didn’t know what April’s problem was. Other than the fact that he wasn’t staying permanently in Blackwater Lake.
Still, they both knew where the other stood and there wasn’t any reason not to have some fun while he was in town. When he got a chance, he planned to pursue that line of questioning.
And he was going to pursue it very soon.
Chapter Seven
April helped Kim carry her wedding dress upstairs. Not only had her first choice arrived without a hitch, it fit like a dream. No alterations required. The bridal shop at Mountain’s Edge Mall had offered to store it for her until the wedding, but Kim refused. She’d said everything was starting to feel too out of control and this gave her the illusion of having power over it all.
“I’m guessing this isn’t a slip dress.” April was wrestling with the bottom half of the heavy, bulky, zippered storage bag.
“Not a chance. I’m a mom, but I’ve never been married before and this is going to be my dream wedding.” There was a note in her voice that hinted at convincing herself more than anyone else.
“Would it be this heavy in a dream?” April asked, trying to tease her friend’s nerves into submission. It was obvious that asking Will to be her man of honor hadn’t taken the edge off the pressure she was feeling. “How are you going to move in this dress?”
“On my day I will float on air,” Kim assured her.
They finally made it upstairs and turned left toward Kim’s room. Her son’s, which his mother often said could be mistaken for a biohazard waste dump, was right next door. April knew Will slept across the hall.
She forced herself not to look in that direction and check out where he was hanging his hat these days. He hadn’t asked her out again, but the other night at Bar None he’d joined her and Kim. He seemed to have a good time and April did, too. It felt a little like a date and she hoped Kim’s strategy of making Will work for it wouldn’t cost her a chance to go out with him.
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