“Dressed for a funeral and stiff as a corpse,” she remarks. “I see you won’t be bringing any new life into our small town, Smith.”
“That’s pretty much what I said,” Hunter says with a laugh.
All I can do is blink.
Look, I’m no spring chicken. I worked in the sports industry. It was high profile, glitz and glam. I went to parties where there were Playboy bunnies and A-list celebrities. The women there were un-fucking believable, which makes sense because they were ninety percent plastic at this point in their careers. They were basically walking Bratz dolls.
But Molly Moore… Christ, she’s soreal. Those eyes, that body, thatsmile. Damn. My cock presses against my zipper, and I have to clasp my hands in front of my crotch as I clear my throat.
A million years ago, I had a crush on her. I never outright told Hunter—I’m not stupid. The man was a hell of a marksman in the woods even when we were just kids—but I nursed the crush all the same. There had been some almost moments between us. A few encounters alone.
An incident underneath a cherry blossom tree…
I’d kind of been in love with her.
There’s not a lot I held onto about this place. I’ve always been all about a clean break. Clearly. But I’d clung to this one remnant of my childhood here, this one memory I couldn’t bear to part with because it reminded me of the one aspect of Little Haven I could never lie to myself about. It reminded me of Molly Moore.
And… and if I couldn’t lie to myself, I figured I might as well lean into it. I might as well burn some part of this place into my skin, let it at least remind me of the people—the person—who always thought I was something special.
“I’ve got to get Baby Kate back home for a nap soon,” Lindsey explains. “So I called up Hunter and Molly to see if they could get you over to the inn. Figured you could catch up and they could give you all the hot town gossip.”
“You already told him about Bobby Stewart’s pecker?” Hunter asks.
“It’s the only noteworthy thing that happens annually in Little Haven,” Lindsey answers with a roll of her eyes. “It came up right away.”
“I’m sure you mean that news of him came up right away,” Molly corrects. She catches my eye as she smirks. “I suspect his dick hasn’t been able to properly come up in a very long time.”
My sister and Hunter laugh before Lindsey shoves her coffee mug into my hands, waves an arm at all of us, and starts back through the crowd.
“I’ll text you!” she calls to me. “Jakey expects you for dinner soon!”
Hunter jerks his head to follow her. “We should get out of here. I don’t want Agnes’s terrible coffee and I don’t wantRudy Lipnickilistening in on our conversation just because his cable got cut off.”
An older guy nearby stiffens his shoulders, and Hunter smirks.
“Turned it off myself last week,” he whispers in my ear as we walk. He takes my mug and ditches it, half-empty, in a bin. “Every month Rudy blows his cable money on the races out in Mountain Hope.”
“So, you’re still with the cable company, then?” I ask as Hunter pushes open the exit door and we all walk outside. The snow instantly blows back in my face. It’s picked up just in the few minutes I’ve been inside.
“Bitch, Iamthe cable company,” Hunter says. “I manage the plant off Main.”
I bury my cold fingers in my pockets as we walk down the icy street. I don’t know why I had any expectation for Hunter and Molly to have brought a car. Everything in Little Haven is walkable, and the residents do it even in weather like this.
I glance down the street ahead of us. Another spot in town, preserved exactly the way I remember it. There are tiny Mom and Pop shops with verandas that sag under freshly fallen snow. The same old school streetlamps line our path, antique looking things that cast the whole world in an other-worldly amber, despite it still being pretty early in the afternoon.
“You ever thought about transferring?” I ask Hunter. “Your company has branches out in New York City. You could always live it up with me, bachelor style.”
Hunter barks with laughter as we swing a left. “Brother, one of us stayed here to be the town hero. I can still pull whatever girl I want if I mention the 2004 regional championships.”
“Good Lord,” Molly mumbles beside me. “Please, Hunter, tell your best friend andlittle sistermore about how you penetrate every female tourist that comes through town. I’d love to hear more about the latest kink you’ve tried, or how Trini Anglemeyer convinced you to try nipple clamps the last time she was here. Believe me, I get enough of your sex life at work.”
“Oh, do you work at the cable company, too?” I start, but Hunter is already waving an arm at his little sister.
“All I’m saying is Gray should take advantage of the small town girls while he’s here,” Hunter argues. “He’s probably all used to those city bimbos. It’s time for a meat and potatoes gal. You like it in Little Haven—right, Gray?”
“Well, you’re not far off about the bimbos,” I say. “But like it here in Little Haven? I don’t know, man. That’s a big ask. Huge.”
I cross my arms, hunching my shoulders against the chill. The words coming out of my mouth don’t sound quite right being spoken here in town as much as they do when I’m reciting them to whichever dynamo exec or beautiful blonde is asking about my childhood.