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Stepping into Benny's the next day, I'm struck by how run-down the place is. The peeling wallpaper, stools with cracked vinyl, the single row of dull and scuffed Formica tables that run along the length of the front windows. It's a far cry from the bustling diner I remember as a kid.

Back then, Thickehead was a bustling small mountain town attracting a decent weekend and holiday trade.

But then a few of the surrounding towns took off as tourist hotspots with their fancy lodges and farm-to-fork dining experiences, leaving Thickehead stuck in the past.

Business for the diner, and all the other businesses on Main Street, took a nosedive. The private veterans rehab center where Logan works opening an on-site cafe a few years ago was the final nail in the coffin.

Despite being one of the hardest working people I know, Hattie struggles to make the diner profitable.

I take my trucker hat off, and as I approach the kitchen, I'm hit by a wall of guilt.

If things were already tough while Charlie was stationed at San Bernardino, how is she coping now that he's deployed on active duty? Not to mention raising two kids. And what have I been doing? Getting drunk and feeling sorry for myself for almost a whole damn year. Why the fuck didn't I come back sooner and help her out?

There's a middle-aged couple in one of the booths and Old Man Joe perched in his usual spot at the counter, diligently chipping away at his trusty crossword puzzle book. It's eight-thirty. This place ought to be packed with the morning rush. Instead, it's on life support.

"Hey, Joe." I clap the old man on the back as I walk past him. "How's everything?"

"The world is fucked," he answers, without glancing up from his puzzle book.

"It sure is," I say with a grin. Some things never change.

The kitchen door swings open, and Hattie's eyes widen in surprise when she notices me. "Holy shit. Wade! Gimme a sec." She lifts the two plates in her hands and scurries over to the couple in the booth. When she returns, she flings her arms over my shoulders. "It's so good to see you."

I wince, struggling to take the extra load. She must realize and pulls back immediately. "Sorry, sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No. It's fine." I drop half a butt cheek onto a stool and stretch my right leg out. "How are you?"

"Fine. How are you? And what are you doing here? Did you just get in?"

"I'm…okay. Got in yesterday."

"Yesterday? Where are you staying? Wait." A sly smile spreads across her face. "Let me guess. At Logan's?"

"Yeah." I shuffle my other cheek onto the stool. "Why are you grinning like that?"

"Oh, no reason."

There's definitely a reason, and I know full well what it is. Hattie's more like a sister than a sister-in-law, and she's the only person I've confided my feelings for Logan to.

"Um, this place." I circle my index finger in the air. "How's it going? It looks pretty dead."

"I'm very much alive, thank you very much." Joe throws some serious side-eye my way. He lifts his cup. "And some more coffee would be nice, thank you."

Hattie rolls her eyes and makes her way over to the coffee machine behind the counter. "Coming right up."

Two men and a woman walk in, all in fancy corporate wear. My guess is they're from the veterans center. It's the only place left around here where people wear tailor-made suits that cost more than most folks make in a month. They sit down in a booth, and Hattie approaches them with a smile and menus in hand.

While she's busy with them, I lean over the counter and press the Total button on the cash register, coughing loudly to cover the ding sound it makes. I glance over my shoulder. Hattie doesn't seem to have heard. Good.

I take out four of the five hundreds Dale gave me and slip the notes into the register, closing the drawer as quietly as I can. Hattie is still taking orders, but Joe is staring right at me. I bring a finger to my lips, and he shoots me a quick nod before returning to his crosswords.

Hattie runs the order into the kitchen then returns, staring at me with her almond-shaped hazel eyes, like she still can't believe I'm here. She's real pretty, slender, with freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. Her chestnut hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail with a few wisps framing her face. Most important of all, she makes my brother happy and is the best mom to Sofie and Jax.

"How are the kids?" I ask.

"They're doing well. They miss their dad." A somber look crosses her face.

"We all miss him." I reach my hand over the counter. "Hey, he's coming back."

She tries to muster a smile. "I know he will."

I look around the diner. "In the meantime, I can help fix this place up a little."

"Oh, I'd never ask?—"

"I know you wouldn't." Hattie is a proud woman—must be something in the water supply around these parts—which is why I'm sure that when she finds the money I put in the register, I'll have a hell of a fight on my hands to make her keep it. "But I'm offering."

Her eyes brighten. "Does that mean you're staying?"

"Yeah. I guess. For a while."

"Staying at Logan's place?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing." She starts wiping the counter with a smug expression on her face. "Just wonder how long it'll be until you two finally get your act together, and by that I mean get naked and do all sorts of hot man-sex stuff."

"Hattie!"

"Twenty bucks says it's within a month," Joe mutters from the other side of the counter. For an old man, he's got remarkably good hearing.

Hattie laughs while my cheeks flame under my beard. No need to let her or Joe know that, technically, Logan has already seen me naked.

"Seriously, though." She stops wiping and pins me with an earnest look. "You guys need to talk."

"We talk all the time," I reply even though I damn well know that's not what she means.

"I mean properly. I'm convinced that if you two had just talked after what happened at graduation, Sofie and Jax would have cousins to play with."

She stares at me for a few long beats, like she's trying to make her message sink in. I give a nod to let her know it has, and then she tells me about how well Sofie, who's eight, is doing in school, getting an A in math, while Jax, who's six, has been referred to an educational psychologist to get assessed for potential learning difficulties. "He's been acting out, too, ever since Charlie left. I can't get him to listen to a word I say."

"Want me to play the bad cop?"

"Would you?"

Her accepting an offer of help so quickly means the situation must be pretty bad. "Consider it done."

The kitchen bell rings, signaling food's up, and as she takes off, I start formulating a to-do list in my head. Fix the leaking tap in Logan's shower. Patch up what needs fixing around the diner. Have a word with my nephew about treating his mom with respect.

"You leavin' already?" Hattie catches up to me as I head for the door.

"Yeah. Got lunch with Logan."

A grin spreads across her face. "Drop by for dinner? Bring Logan of course."

I nod. "Sure. I'll let you know when."

She embraces me again, mindful of not placing too much pressure on me this time. "It's so good to have you back."

I inhale deeply, feeling the warm press of her body against mine. "Yeah. It's good to be back."

"And remember," she says, looking up into my eyes. "Talk."