I cough out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I couldn’t be more serious.”

“You quit because of me?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I hated working there. But yeah, listening to your arguments after I’d spewed that bullshit pushed me over the edge.” He balls up what’s left of his food and stands abruptly. “See you inside.”

What is it about me that turns the Bedd siblings’ stomachs?

It doesn’t take long before I’ve got new companions at the picnic table, and by the time Tiddy rings a dinner bell, which apparently means the games are about to begin, I’ve made five new friends. Who needs Sam and his mixed signals? Warning his grandma away from me one minute, claiming he quit his job because of me the next. But when I enter the dim bar and scan the crowd looking for Colleen, my eyes can only find the man I’m trying to pretend I don’t care about.

Sitting at a table with a woman draped all over him.

Of course, he’s got a girlfriend, Di. A man who looks like he does couldn’t stay single for long. Forcing my eyes to continue looking for the person who actually invited me to the bar, I finally find her waving from the back. After meeting the rest of her team, which includes a Big John, a Little John, a Tall Paul, and a Small Paul, none of whom could be under the age of seventy-five, I lean in to ask why she’s sitting with a bunch of grandfather types.

She just whispers, “You’ll see.”

Half an hour later, it’s crystal clear.

Apparently, Trivia Night at Tiddy’s Bar appeals to all ages. Well, people over twenty-one, anyway. The comedian’s jokes are a bit too saucy for kids. Every week, in addition to the usual topics like music, sports, and history, there’s a Farmer’s Almanac category. The Geezers, which is our team’s name, count on Colleen for all the pop culture references and any music released after nineteen ninety-five. Meanwhile, they’ve got the Farmer’s Almanac and history covered. With me chiming in on random other stuff, we mow the competition down like a John Deere over a putting green.

I have to admit that I enjoy watching Samuel’s face turn eggplant purple as his team loses round after round, despite what I know are deep skills on his part. In fact, beating him and Miss Boa Constrictor over there fills me with a smug superiority.

Until it occurs to me: this girlfriend must have other skills he appreciates.

CHAPTER 13SAM

Having extricated myself from Ginny’s clutches, I’m settling up at the bar when Gomer whines. Looking down, I see that Diane has sidled up next to me.

“Here to gloat?” I grumble.

“Well, I wasn’t going to, but now that you mention it…” She grins, and I swear my knees go wobbly at the sight.

I slap a handful of bills on the bar. “Geezers were on fire. Congrats.”

“Thanks.” She looks behind me briefly. “Hey, um, I don’t want to horn in on your date, but⁠—”

“Date? What date?”

“With your teammate?”

Following her gaze, I realize she’s talking about the woman now blowing me a kiss. “You mean Ginny?”

“If that’s the one who was whispering sweet nothing in your ear, then yeah.”

“First of all, she was whispering answers. That were mostly wrong. Second of all, that wasn’t a date.”

“Looked pretty cozy.”

“Trust me, that’s just how she is. We went on one date in high school, and she was making wedding plans the next day.”

When Diane looks skeptical, I raise my hands in the air. “As I did then, I made it clear that I’m not the settling down type. Especially now, when my career has me traveling all over. I can barely take care of my dog.”

“Right,” she says, her lips flattening.

I just stare at her, waiting, and she actually seems to get flustered. Something I’m enjoying way too much. “Did you need something?”

She huffs out an irritated sigh and crosses her arms over her chest. “Colleen ditched me. I mean, she warned me she’d have to leave early because she has an early meeting at school tomorrow, but I didn’t want to leave when we were on a roll.”

“You didn’t want to miss winning, you mean.”

“Whatever. In any case, I figured I’d get an Uber, but⁠—”

“They don’t exist in Fork Lick.”

She glances at a table in the corner. “Apparently, the drunk guy over there drives a cab, but the Geezers said only to use him between nine and eleven a.m.”

“So you need a ride back to the house?”

She nods.

“So you can sleep in my bed?”

It’s her turn to put up a hand. “It’s not an invitation.”

“I meant it literally. You are sleeping in my old bed. Or maybe Jackson’s. Meanwhile, I’m couch surfing and being treated to the various and sundry sounds of my brothers having sex.”

“I did not know that,” she says, backing away. “I’m so sorry. I’ll… I’ll find another place to stay.”

I just shake my head. “Gran would never forgive me. No worries. I’ve got earplugs on order at the Quick Lick.” Grabbing my change and leaving a tip, I gesture at the door. “Let’s go.”

The good thing about being in a small space with Diane: I’m no longer tired.

The bad thing about being in a small space with Diane: It brings back memories. Of that kiss in the elevator. That night at the hotel. That kiss up against the barn.

It seemed like she was into it all three times, but each encounter ended with her walking away. Am I that bad of a kisser? Or does she just hate me on principle?

“Are you coming in?” the woman in question asks.

A “woof” from Gomer brings me to the present, and I realize I drove all the way from the bar to our farmhouse on autopilot. Peering through the windshield, I’m relieved to find all the windows dark. “It looks like everyone’s gone to bed. So yeah, I’ll sneak in and sleep on the couch.”

Diane reaches across the cab to grab my forearm before I can exit the truck. “Why don’t you sneak Gomer in, let him sleep on the couch, and take the other twin bed in my—I mean your—room?”

I dip my chin and meet her gaze, unreadable in the dim light. “You sure?”

She releases my arm. “I’m not asking you to sleep with me. I’m just saying, we’re adults. You need a bed. There’s an extra one in my–I mean in your–” She breaks off, flapping her hand in the air. “In the room in which I am currently staying.”