Page 57 (1/2)

Chapter 1

Is there anything ht?

Tucker McGee pondered that from his seat at the bar of The Mudcat Tavern In the wake of wrapping up an ugly divorce trial and a property dispute this week, he’d wanted to unith his friends But those days of regular socializing seemed to be over Brody had been back from Portland for almost a mo

nth and they’d hung out twice—once for his welcome home party and one hurried lunch Tucker didn’t bla up for lost time with his fiancée, Tyler God knew they deserved all the happiness in the world

But his other friends had been just as scarce Ca the town alongside his fiancée, Norah Burke, the new city planner And poor Piper was busy puking her guts up, though her first trimester was past She and her new husband, Myles Stewart, were sticking close to hoain Hell, even his law partner, Vivian, had tied the knot earlier this su-ter like the last single guy in Wishful, and wishing the beer in his hand was a plate of pie

Be honest It’s not about pie—it’s about the owner of the hand that delivers the pie Corinne with the wounded eyes

Tucker took another pull on his beer When, exactly, was the right ti to rebuild her world froure that out for the better part of a year, which had resulted in a lot of pie and an extra six h He hadn’t asked Not because he was some kind of pansy afraid of rejection, but because he didn’t want to be the rebound guy But biding his tiotten him anywhere

Irritated with himself, Tucker finished off the beer He didn’t even like his own coht

“Tucker,for”

He swiveled on his stool to find Norah cutting a swath through the Friday night crowd Caave her a hug “And where is your other half this evening?”

“Taking advantage of the long suot it into her head to turn her backyard into a Zen garden, coola”

“Better Cam than me The heat index was over a hundred today”

“Welcoust in Mississippi”

“Buy you a drink?” Tucker asked

“I’ because I have a favor to ask”

Tucker recognized the glearandiose sche small, which ood distraction from his lack of a love life

“I’ued What’s the favor?”

“Drinks first” She lifted a hand to wave at the owner of The Mudcat, orking taps behind the bar “Hey Adele! Can I get whatever hard cider you’ve got on tap and another of what Tucker’s having?”

“Coht up”

Drinks in hand, they retreated to one of the high top tables along the far wall

“Okay, spill it What have you got up your sleeve?”

“You do volunteer work at the woht?”