Page 17 of Someone to Call My Own

“Yeah?” the man asked hopefully. “These jeans might be a little too tight.” Chaz was standing behind the hunky town vet and doing his best not to stare at his ass, but failing miserably.Ah, this guy was the reason for Chaz’s nervousness.“I should’ve worn maternity pants like Chandler onFriendsin the Christmas episode.”

“It was Joey and Thanksgiving,” Chaz said suddenly, then turned bright red.

Dr. Vaughn turned to face Chaz, who luckily had shifted his eyes upward in time so he didn’t get caught ogling his ass. “Yeah, itwasJoey at Thanksgiving.”

“Let me help you get the food on the table while it’s still hot,” Meredith suggested. She grabbed Josh’s arm and tugged him toward the stove while shooing Gabe into the dining area with the rest of us. Chaz joined his two best friends, and the rest of us stood looking at each other while the three of them whispered to one another. Some might’ve found it rude, but I thought it was cute. It appeared that the three of them sometimes shared the same brain because they looked to be finishing one another’s sentences during their heated debate. Which one of us caused the stir though? I was pretty certain it wasn’t me, which left the vet or the twin. It was also possible that both of those men created a stir for different reasons.

“Hi, I’m Kyle Vaughn.”

I jerked my head away from the scene in the kitchen and smiled at the veterinarian. I didn’t hesitate to shake his hand when he offered it to me nor did I feel a damn thing when my skin touched his. I didn’t look to see if Jonathon was watching us because I didn’t need to; I could feel it. I was tempted to go back home, but I didn’t want to hurt Josh’s feelings. My rumbling stomach reminded me that I hadn’t eaten much that day, so I decided to tough it out. I could ignore Jonathon Silver for a few hours then I’d never have to see him again.

The three friends in the kitchen burst into raucous laughter over something Chaz said. They laughed so long and hard that they leaned on him while they caught their breaths. Then they collectively gathered themselves and started carrying food out to the dining area. One table was set up to hold the food so we could feed ourselves buffet style and the other was beautifully set with china and sterling silver utensils that rivaled my late grandmother’s.

Chaz rattled a few lines fromFriendsand Kyle joined him. Chaz smiled brightly at the doctor, and they kept repeating lines until all the food was on the table. We each grabbed a dinner plate and made a pass around the table to fill them. Chaz was in front of me, and Meredith stepped up behind me. Both of them seemed eager to make me feel welcome with small talk.

“How do you like living in Blissville?” Meredith asked.

“It’s different from my hometown, but I truly like it here. It’s quaint and friendly.” I left off how it differed from my previous life because I had no desire to expand on it.

“What do you do for a living?” Chaz asked. Josh had warned me it might come up. I had practiced my answer a few times earlier in the day, but it wasted my energy because I couldn’t remember a damn thing I rehearsed.

“I’m a writer,” I said.Oh shit. I made that sound as if I had actually published a fucking book instead of just thinking about it.

“Really?” Chaz asked, perking up. Then he began asking me a bunch of questions that I could only vaguely answer. I was hoping for a mysterious writer vibe instead of clueless dumbfuck, but I couldn’t tell by his expression what he thought.

I wasn’t sure where the hell to sit once I loaded up my plate with food, so I sat beside Meredith. She smiled up at me then turned her eyes on Kyle and Chaz who sat across from us. It seemed that the two men were making a connection in front of our very eyes. I was stunned when Jonathon Silver chose to sit down beside me instead of taking the empty seat next to Kyle.

I bowed my head as Meredith said grace, although I hadn’t given God or faith much consideration after I cursed him for leaving me behind to live a life devoid of love and happiness instead of taking me too. Neither time nor distance from the life I shared with River had changed my mind. I didn’t think the people gathered for dinner wanted to hear my sad tale, so I closed my eyes and pretended to pray too.

We dug into that delicious meal before the last echo of “Amen” left the room. Josh must’ve made every side dish known to mankind, and I vowed to sample it all. I glanced across the table and noticed that Kyle’s plate looked a little empty for as hungry as he claimed to be when he arrived. He had a huge portion of ham, but the rest was mostly vegetable side dishes and deviled eggs. I didn’t see so much as a bite of mashed potatoes, stuffing, or macaroni and cheese. How did a man live without biting into a buttery roll? I mentally shrugged and tucked into my food.

Halfway into my plate, I recovered my manners. “So, how did the two of you meet?” I asked, looking at Josh and Gabe so they knew I was addressing them.

I expected the typical story of meeting at a club or mutual friends introducing them. Nope! I listened as Josh theatrically wove a tale about a tall, dark, and dickish detective who showed up at his door to interview him as a potential witness to a murder.Murder!He just continued chatting after that little bombshell, and everyone around me seemed to accept it as nothing out of the ordinary. What the hell kind of town had I moved to? I glanced at Gabe, and he’s leaned back in his chair with his arms across his chest and a sly smile on his face as if he was enjoying Josh painting him with an unpleasant stroke at their first meeting.

Gabe didn’t interrupt the tale until Josh claimed he shot the mirror in his bedroom to distract a madman who was trying to stab him with a knife.What the ever-loving fuck?I glanced around the dinner table, and everyone was smiling as the two of them argued about Gabe shooting the mirror. Had I landed inThe Twilight Zone?

“Stop and think about how many gunshots you heard. The responding officers took my gun from me, and only one bullet was missing from the clip,” Gabe said.

Josh tipped his head to the side and appeared to think about what Gabe said for a few seconds. “Therewasonly one shot fired. The mirror shattering was very loud, but it wasn’t anything close to the noise the gun made when it went off. How the hell did the mirror just shatter?”

“I can’t answer that. I just know I didn’t shoot it.”

“Huh,” Josh said.

I couldn’t take it any longer. “One of your neighbors was killed?”

“She lived in the house you’re renting,” Chaz said automatically then froze when he realized what he’d said.

I nodded somberly. “I knew something bad had happened there because I could feel the residual negative energy in the house.” I felt my cheeks flush when everyone looked at me. “I’m just sensitive to stuff like that.” I hoped they would accept my statement without asking a bunch of questions.

“Tell us about yourself,” Josh said to Jonathon, diverting attention away from me. I was so grateful to him for his help. Everyone looked at Jonathon, but he was too busy looking at me to answer right away.

Finally, he looked at Josh and said, “Well, that’s not an easy story to tell.” I could tell he was searching for something that he could share. Something about Jonathon Silver felt dark and mysterious, possibly deadly. For some reason, it compelled me and made me curious instead of scaring the daylights out of me.

“Another time perhaps,” Josh said, saving him too. “How are things going at the club?”Club?I once again felt clueless.

I could see the tension fade from Silver’s frame, and he began to talk about the club. “I’m more excited about my revitalization plans for Cincinnati. I bought the club because it meant a lot to Nate, but I thought a better way to memorialize him was through improving the city he loved so much.”