The Wild Zone Read Free Page A

brotherly camaraderie. During the almost two decades he and Jeff had been friends, Will had been nothing but a thorn in his brother’s side. He wasn’t even a real brother, for shit’s sake, just a half brother who was as unwanted as he was unloved. Jeff had had nothing to do with him, hadn’t spoken to or about him in years. And then, ten days ago, Will showed up on his doorstep out of the blue, and all of a sudden it’s “little brother” this and “little brother” that, and it was enough to make you puke. Tom gave Will his broadest smile, wishing “little brother” would pack his bags and go back to Princeton. “I mean, we don’t want it to look like we’re ambushing her.”
    “Who said anything about an ambush? We just go over there, thank her for introducing us to the pleasures of vodka-laced antioxidants, and offer to buy her another.”
    “I have a better idea,” offered Kristin. “Why don’t I go over, chat her up for a few minutes, and try to feel her out, see if she’s interested.”
    “Find out her name anyway,” Will said, trying to think of a way to extricate himself from the situation without embarrassing himself or alienating his brother.
    “How much do you want to bet her name starts with a J?” Tom asked.
    “Five dollars says it doesn’t,” Jeff said.
    “More names start with J than any other letter.”
    “There are still twenty-five more letters in the alphabet,” Will said. “I’m with Jeff on this one.”
    “Of course you are,” Tom said curtly.
    “Okay, guys, I’m on my way,” Kristin announced, returning to their side of the bar. “Anything you want me to say to the lady on your behalf?”
    “Maybe we shouldn’t bother her,” Will said. “She looks like she has a lot on her mind.”
    “Tell her I’ll give her something to think about,” Jeff said, giving Kristin’s backside a playful tap to send her on her way. All three men followed her exaggerated wiggle with their eyes as she sashayed between tables toward the far corner of the room.
    Will watched Kristin retrieve the empty glass from the woman’s table, the two women falling into conversation as easily and casually as if they were lifelong friends. He watched Miss Pomegranate suddenly swivel in their direction, her head tilting provocatively to one side, a slow smile spreading across her face as Kristin spoke. “You see those three guys at the end of the bar?” he imagined Kristin telling her. “The good-looking one in black, the skinny, angry-looking one beside him, the sensitive-looking one in the blue button-down shirt? Pick one. Any one. He’s yours for the asking.”
    “She’s coming back,” Jeff said as, moments later, Kristin left the woman’s side and began her slow walk back to the bar, the three men swaying forward in unison to greet her.
    “Her name’s Suzy,” she announced without stopping.
    “That’s another five you owe me,” Jeff told Tom.
    “That’s it?” Tom asked Kristin. “You were over there all that time, and that’s all you got?”
    “She moved here from Fort Myers a couple of months ago.” Kristin returned to her side of the bar. “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot,” she said with a big smile in Will’s direction. “She picked you.”

TWO
    “W HAT ?” WILL WAS SURE he’d misunderstood. Kristin wasn’t really looking at him. Her smile was clearly meant for Jeff. It was simply a case of wishful thinking on his part.
    “You’re kidding me, right?” Jeff said, equally incredulous.
    “Well, well,” Tom snickered. “Looks like ‘little brother’ is the night’s big winner.”
    “You’re sure she picked Will?” Jeff said, as if needing verbal confirmation.
    Kristin shrugged. “Apparently she’s always had a soft spot for men in button-down shirts.”
    Tom laughed, enjoying the evening’s unexpected turn of events. Not that he liked losing any more than Jeff did. Especially to a smug little twerp like Will. “The Chosen One,” Jeff used to call him.