“Even with.”
That eased Tucker’s mind considerably. She and Myles had had a rocky start. Tucker had been Myles’ best man in their spontaneous wedding—he hadn’t wanted to kick Myles’ ass—but Piper was his oldest friend. Womb to tomb. His allegiance would always go to her. Thankfully, she and Myles had found their groove before that had become necessary, and both were ecstatic to be starting a family—even if that had been a fairly epic surprise.
Seeing her now, married and happy, with a baby on the way, gave him an unexpected pang of envy. Tyler and Brody would likely be right behind. Norah and Cam, too, if they could ever clear their work schedules enough to set a date for the wedding. That left him.
He’d been the first of their group to walk down the aisle with his college sweetheart. Everybody had expected him and Laura to be somewhere around 1.5 kids, a picket fence, and a dog by now. Instead, he was still living the single guy’s life and feeling every hollow moment of it.
“So, have you started talking names yet?” Tucker pulled into the driveway of the Craftsman-style bungalow Tyler had rehabbed from the inside out.
“We’re waiting until we find out the sex of the baby next month. No sense in double the arguing since half the choices wouldn’t matter.” Piper slid out of the car before he could come around and get her door, then glared at him when he took her elbow at the steps.
“I promised Myles.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t fight him.
“May I submit Tucker as a good, fine Southern name?” he continued.
The door swung open. “Oooo, are we talking baby names?” Tyler asked.
“Tucker is.” Piper hugged her, then stepped inside, dropping into a crouch to love on Ollie, Tyler’s black lab, who stood wagging just inside the threshold. “Who’s a sweet boy? He’s looking great, Tyler.”
A year before, Ollie had suffered a spinal stroke, leaving him paralyzed on one side. Rather than having him put down, Tyler had waited it out, seeing how much he’d heal and spending a small fortune on physical therapy in the process.
She beamed. “Yeah, he’s turned into a poster child for the PT department at the MSU vet school. He’s not where he used to be, but he’s walking again, which is huge. I even caught him trotting after a squirrel the other day when he thought I wasn’t looking.”
Tucker ruffled Ollie’s ears. “Good for you, buddy.”
“To return to the baby name discussion, I’m just gonna throw it out there that Tyler would make an excellent, gender neutral choice,” Tyler said.
“It is not a discussion. And you’re going to have to campaign better than that. I mean, preggo girl foot rubs at least,” Piper said.
Tyler laughed. “So noted. Come on. Brody’s out back manning the grill.”
After the traditional back-thumping man hug, Tucker snagged a beer for himself and a gingerale for Piper, then settled in for the visit he’d been craving.
“So, are we gonna talk about the elephant on the patio?” Brody asked.
Tucker stilled, bottle halfway to his lips. Had they already heard the news? “And what elephant would that be?”
“We’re all competing against each other,” Tyler pointed out.
“Who’s started choreographing already?” Piper asked.
“Can’t choreograph until we draw our dance,” Tucker said.
“When’s that happening?” she wanted to know.
“Orientation meeting is tomorrow night,” Brody told her. “And I fully expect to get my ass kicked.”
Piper plucked a tortilla chip from the bowl on the table. “Who’s your partner?”
“Adele Daly.”
“But she’s graceful.”
“Behind the bar, sure. But dancing around and performing tricks with bottles of vodka and whatever is a far cry from this. I’ve danced with her before. She keeps trying to lead.”
“You’re just mad we don’t get to dance together,” Tyler teased.