Tough Luck Hero

“I’m steady. All things considered, you should appreciate that. I’m not the kind of person to run for the hills when things get difficult.” It was always easiest to turn the condemnation to Gage. Their oldest brother had left town under a cloud years ago.

“So instead you ran off and married a near stranger.”

“I told you, Lydia isn’t a stranger.”

The moment he said that he realized what a lie it was. He had seen Lydia out of the corner of his eye at events for years. Hadn’t really started speaking to her until he’d gotten involved with Natalie. And then, every time they’d spoken, it had ended pretty badly.

He always managed to get her hackles up, and he didn’t feel a whole lot more sanguine about her.

Of course, now he was going to be dealing with her long-term. In close proximity.

Maybe this was what happened when you spent years being responsible. Eventually, it all imploded and you made one decision that was so bad it rendered all the others useless.

And, thinking of said bad decision, he had to go yank it out of its den and force it over to his place. And he was imagining that was going to go over well, even though they had agreed on it yesterday. Why? Because he and Lydia couldn’t seem to have an interaction that went well.

Actually, they either didn’t go well, or they went too well.

He had the sudden impression of fingertips trailing over his bare chest and the sensation shocked his system like a bolt of lightning.

“Are you okay?” Madison asked. “You look like someone just let a hamster loose in your shorts.”

He frowned. “Thanks for that. I have to go.”

“In all seriousness,” Maddy said, standing as he did. “If this is a hostage situation, blink twice.”

“It is not a hostage situation. And that wasn’t serious.”

“Really seriously now. You aren’t having a crisis, are you?”

“I know what it’s like,” Sierra said, rising slowly and unsteadily. “That feeling of just being...lost. This—” she pointed to her stomach “—this is where that ends.”

His entire face felt like it had been pushed into a barrel of bees. “This is different. Lydia is a completely sensible choice.”

“And is that all marriage is to you? A sensible choice?” Sierra asked.

“Why else would you get married?”

Sierra practically flailed. “Love?”

“Not you,” he said, looking at Sierra, then to Maddy. “You. Why else would you get married?”

“I wouldn’t. So you’re on your own here.”

“But if you did...”

“Obviously it would be for money,” Maddy replied. “And a big penis.”

Sierra snorted. “Nice.”

“Thanks for that,” he said.

“If you can’t stand the heat, don’t come into my kitchen,” Maddy said. “Or something.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Look, I’m going to make time to come by and see Mom. Until then, don’t tell her anything.”

“Don’t you think the news is going to make it through the gossip chain?” asked Sierra.

“The odds are high. But you said Mom was catatonic, so I’m assuming she’s avoiding the garden club at the moment.”

“She’s avoiding anything that isn’t prescribed by her doctor at the moment,” said Maddy.

“That will probably buy me some time. Until I get a chance to sit down with her. And figure out how to spin this in a way that isn’t going to cause even more trouble.”

“And until then?” Maddy tilted her head to the side, her golden-brown ponytail swinging with the motion.

“Until then...I have to deal with my wife.”

* * *

LYDIA HAD JUST hung her purse on the peg in her office at the Chamber when Sadie Garrett burst through the door.

“So. I’m going to need to hear this entire story from the beginning, with no detail spared.” She plopped down into the seat across from Lydia’s desk, her blue eyes a little too keen for Lydia’s liking.

“Good morning to you, too,” Lydia said.

“The greeting was implied.”

“We couldn’t have done this over the phone?”

Over the past year and a half she and Sadie had become fairly close, which was surprising considering they had started out as romantic rivals. Okay, they hadn’t really been romantic rivals. That implied that Lydia had ever had a fighting chance with Sadie’s gorgeous sheriff.

All she’d ever done was pine. Without any subtlety. But she didn’t want to remember that whole chapter of her life.

She was happy with the way things had turned out. She needed a friend more than she needed a boyfriend.

“No,” Sadie said, her voice getting shrill. “We cannot discuss your hasty Vegas marriage over the phone.”

“It’s way too early in the morning to discuss my hasty Vegas marriage.”

“That’s why I brought coffee.” Sadie smiled broadly, pushing a large white cup halfway across Lydia’s desk. “It’s a peppermint mocha. Full fat. The good stuff.”

“With whipped cream?”

“I’m not an animal. There is both whipped cream and little candy cane pieces.”

Lydia sat down grudgingly, pulling the cup toward herself, curling her fingers around it. It was warm, and she hadn’t realized she was cold until the heat from the cup began to seep into her skin.

She lifted the cup to her lips, the minty sweetness exploding on her tongue. “Okay,” she said, swallowing her first sip, “you have earned details.”