Page 16 of Holiday Pines

“You can’t come to Tucker’s and not throw at least one round.” He started toward the back, then glanced over his shoulder. “Unless you’re scared I’ll beat you.”

Is he... teasing?

Jake grabbed his beer and followed.

The dartboards were in the back corner, two of them, well-used. At the nearest one, four guys were mid-game, trash-talking with the ease of old friends. Money sat on the high-top table nearby—looked like twenties.

Wes headed for the empty board, nodding at the group. “Hey. fellas.”

A stocky guy with a beard looked over. “Hey, Wes. Surprised to see you on a weekend this time of year.”

“Special occasion.”

One of the other guys—blond, bespectacled, and rangy—grinned. “You playing for money? Because we’ll take it.”

“Not tonight, Sam.” Wes gestured to Jake. “This is Jake. Jake, that’s Sam and his brother Dex. And that’s Chuck and Brody—they own the BBQ place and bakery on the square.”

Brody, the bearded one, raised his beer. “Welcome to Spoon. Fair warning: Wes here is a hustler.”

“I am not.”

“You are absolutely a hustler,” Chuck said, lining up a throw. His dart hit with a thump, the board chirping approval. “You show up, act all rusty, then fleece people.”

“That was one time.”

“Three times,” Sam corrected.

Wes rolled his eyes, grabbed darts from the empty board. “Ignore them. They’re just sore losers.”

The group laughed and went back to their game. Their board flashed and blee-blee-bleeped as someone hit a triple.

Wes handed three darts to Jake. “You go first.”

Jake positioned himself, eyeing the board. It had been years since he’d thrown darts—college, maybe, at some bar he couldn’t remember the name of.

He threw.

The dart hit the outer ring.

“That’s a double. Not awful,” Wes said.

“I warned you.”

“Try again.”

Jake threw twice more. One hit near the bullseye. The other missed the scoring area entirely and bounced off the plastic casing.

“Jesus.” Wes walked over, retrieved the darts. “You’re a hazard.”

“I’m out of practice.”

“Clearly.” Wes lined up, his movements smooth and polished, and threw. Bullseye. The board chirped enthusiastically.

Then another.

Then a third.

The board flashed, lights cycling through red and green.