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ONE

Ethan Hayes turned into the driveway of his second ho to lose himself in his first love

The warehouse co setup ran behind a row of shops on the edge of Wildwood’s touristy Main Street While the other units were closed and dark now at alhts of his buddy’s idling Ford F-250, where Caleb waited to pick up an order of beer for his market on Main Street

Ethan pulled his work truck next to Caleb’s, calling, “Sorry I’ out of the driver’s seat

The perfect California Indian su wrapped him in the soft chirp of crickets and the rich scent of dry live oak, and he tried to let his long workday of complaints and complications fall away as he wandered toward the door of his unit, searching for the key on his ring

“Expected you to be a couple kegs into nes by now,” Caleb said, his voice distracted

“I wish” Ethan found the key and worked the lock “Had an inspection that couldn’t wait”

“Let uess Another friend of the mayor?”

Ethan didn’t have the energy to bitch about his fucked-up fa door toward the ceiling and let the clattering thunder cut off that conversation Then he flipped on the lights, flooding the workbenches and shelving units with halogen

When he glanced over his shoulder, he found Caleb still leaning against the bed of his truck, hands in the front pockets of his jeans His T-shirt flew the colors of his local al into the distance instead of loading the beer stacked by the door

“Your order’s right there” Ethan cut a glance tohatever held Caleb’s attention, but he couldn’t see past the other units “What are you looking at?”

“The action over at the Hart place”

A tingle of surprise burned straight up Ethan’s breastbone “What?”

He took three steps into the parking lot and turned toward the adjacent property, a ra five acres that anchored the south end of Main Street and housed the dive bar that had changed the trajectory of Ethan’s life A property he hadn’t seen movement on in three years, and one he hadn’t expected to see ain until he ordered it

But a vehicle was parked at the end of the long drive, its headlights illuhest, rowdiest bar Closed since the death of the owner, Joe Hart, the building had deteriorated frootten by everyone but those whose lives had been broken by the events there—the Hayeses, the Harts, the McClellans, and the Ryans In large part because of a decision Ethan had made, one that had seemed so trivial at the time