Page 27 of Mulberry Hollow (Riverbend 2)

The young guy came up empty on the break, so Stewie took his turn, easily sinking a ball. He missed his second shot.

Wes fished a quarter from his pocket and set it on one of the rail cushions, then returned to the doorjamb, forcing his attention on the game. It would do no good to torture himself with the sight of Avery and her date. The image of her in the man’s arms was already set in concrete. He was glad when, a couple of minutes later, the slow song ended and the band kicked up a rousing country tune. But he didn’t let himself check to see if the couple remained on the dance floor.

Stewie was up again and sank two shots—one of them difficult. The younger man must’ve had money on the game—he seemed more depressed by the minute.

Wes wasn’t sure what made him turn, but the moment he did, Avery was there, making her way toward the short hall.

At the sight of him she stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened. “Wes. Hi. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Decided to check out that poolroom you told me about.” He took in her dress, those legs, in one fell swoop. “Wow. You look amazing.”

She released a nervous chuckle. “A step up from scrubs, I guess.”

“See?” Katie had come up behind Avery. “You should dress up more often.”

“Hi, Katie.” Wes had run into her a few times this week. “You look nice too.”

“Thanks. How are you, Wes? You wanna join our table? We could pull up another chair.”

Sit and watch Avery canoodling with her date? Pass. “Ah, nothanks. I’m just here for a game or two, then I’ll probably grab some takeout and head back to the house.”

“Go for the brisket special,” Avery said. “It’s delicious.”

Katie excused herself and headed for the restroom, and Avery’s gaze returned to Wes. Her lashes seemed impossibly long tonight, framing those beautiful eyes. But it was her full red lips that commanded his attention.

Avery shifted. “Um... you should come over to the table and meet my brother Cooper.”

“I’ve already met him, actually—and your other brother too.”

She blinked. “What? When?”

“They came over this week—separately—while I was working on the carriage house.”

“Oh, jeez. I hope they were nice.”

“They were... fine.”

“Oh no.”

He didn’t mention that Cooper had showed up in uniform. “They just wanted to make sure I knew they were keeping an eye on their baby sister.”

She closed her eyes. “For crying out loud.”

He chuckled. “No worries. I’d probably do the same if I had a little sister.”

“Their little sister is a thirty-year-old doctor who owns her own business.”

“All the same... You’re blessed to have people who care about you so much.”

“When you put it that way...”

Wes glanced over her shoulder where her date waited at the table. He was watching the band, seemingly unaware Averyhad been sidetracked. “I should probably let you get back to your boyfriend.”

“Oh, he’s not... it’s just a date. We’re not...”

“Hey, buddy,” someone behind him called. It was the young guy who’d just played. “You’re up.”

Avery backed away. “I should let you get on with your game. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”