Lucky Break Read Free Page A

didn’t want to think about. Too close to the person he couldn’t think about. But now—well, things were different. Enough time had gone by that he didn’t cringe when he thought about her. Sidney was part of his past, but now Shamrock Falls was again part of his present and future.
    “I ran into Mae when I came to check on Lucky’s. She mentioned the guest house and you know how she is—won’t take no for an answer, crazy woman.” They both laughed. “She asked me about watching the house, but called me yesterday to let me know I don’t need to. She said a friend would be staying there.” He smiled. “She hasn’t changed a bit. Wild and sarcastic as ever.” Aunt Mae had always been like another mom to him. To all of them, really. When his mom got hurt and couldn’t take care of him, she’d stepped in.
    Kade’s jaw clenched at the thought.
    Rowan’s eyes darted around for a second before landing squarely on him. She had that nervous look on her face. She never could hide her feelings and he knew exactly what was coming next. Over it or not, he didn’t really want to go there with Rowan.
    “What about Sidney? You talk to her lately?”
    He had a feeling Rowan knew damn well he hadn’t; they made a point never to bring her up when they called. But he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if Rowan ever talked to her. Kade knew he couldn’t let himself give in to those thoughts anymore, though. Sidney had always had too much control over him for too long and he never liked it. Not after telling her he wanted to go with her, only for Sidney to run away from him. “You know the answer to that, Freckles. Let’s not insult each other by pretending you don’t. We go too far back for that.”
    “I don’t talk to her often, either. Didn’t talk to her at all for the first few months she was gone. We do every once in a while now, but nothing like we used to. She’s busy and I get it. It’s just sad, ya know? After everything.”
    Yeah, he knew. They’d been too close for her to drop out of their lives the way she did.
    Tightness set in throughout his body. Dammit, he hadn’t thought Sidney would still bother him. He thought about her less and less over the years and he hadn’t planned to start harping on her again. Looking at Rowan sitting on the stool, he flashed back to seeing her there with Sidney right before graduation. An unexpected pang of sadness hit him.
    “You know what? Let’s not talk about Sidney.” Kade shifted on the stool and glanced at his watch. “I need to get going. I have a few things to take care of. I’ll give you a call tonight and we can catch up.”
    Rowan gave him a smile. “Sure thing. It’s good to have one of my best friends back in town.”
    Kade just nodded his head. He loved being around Rowan. But suddenly he realized it only made him miss Sidney more, too.

    Kade pulled his truck into Mae’s driveway. It was his second night staying in her little guest house, and he was grateful for her hospitality. He had just enough money from his loan to do the work he wanted on Lucky’s and get by until he could move into his own place.
    He killed the engine and stepped outside. He’d promised Mae he’d fix some loose boards on her porch, so he wanted to get that knocked out of the way before he headed to dinner with Rowan.
    Kade grabbed the supplies from the back of his truck and hauled them up to Mae’s porch. She’d taken Bob Dylan with her, so he was just keeping his eye on the house until her friend came today.
    The hot sun beat down on his bare back as he got to work. It felt different here than Seattle, even though both were in Washington. The air was clearer here. The heat still warm, but different. And he loved the small town atmosphere, loved looking around to see Douglas Firs as far as he could see.
    It didn’t take him long to get the boards replaced. He was packing things up and ready to head to the shower when he heard wheels crunching on the gravel