Page 9 of The Shots You Take

“Did you talk to Adam Sheppard at all?”

Riley rubbed his forehead. His family was not subtle. “A bit.”

“I was talking to Deb, and she said Adam is staying for a few days.”

Riley blinked. Deb co-owned the River Bend Motel with her husband. “Why?”

“Maybe he wants to reconnect with you.”

Riley barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Adam could reconnect with the bottom of the fucking sea for all he cared. “He’ll leave soon.”

“Well, Deb is certainly excited about her celebrity guest. And it might be nice for you to catch up with him. I know you drifted apart, but you were such good friends once.”

“Maybe,” Riley said, just to end the conversation. If they kept talking about Adam Sheppard, he was going to punch a wall.

Instead, he wrapped his mom in a hug and said, “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now please get some rest.”

“Okay.”

He left a few minutes later. He may have taken an unusual route home that happened to take him past the motel, but no one needed to know about that except God and Lucky.

Chapter Five

The following morning, Adam knocked on the front door of the Tuck family home. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets while he waited, then took them out, thinking it might appear disrespectful somehow. His stomach swam with nerves.

Voices sounded inside the house—muffled at first, and then someone he was pretty sure was Riley’s sister, Lindsay, calling out, “It’s Adam Sheppard.”

The knob turned, the door opened. Adam took a small step backward. The woman who opened the door stared up at him, and yes. He was sure this was Lindsay. He’d caught glimpses of her yesterday, but the last time he’d spoken to her she’d been an undergrad. She’d be in her late thirties now, but didn’t look too different than she had back then: about half a foot shorter than Adam, with a slim, toned body, and long, wavy hair the same reddish-blond color as Riley’s.

“Hi, Lindsay,” Adam said. “It’s been a while.”

She smiled. “Surprised you remember me.”

“Of course I do. I’m sorry about your dad,” Adam said. “Harvey was a great man.”

“He was. Thank you.”

“If there’s anything I can do…”

Lindsay’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t think there’s much that can be done about the situation.”

Adam’s gaze dropped to the black rubber mat under his feet. “No. I know.”

“Are you looking for my brother?”

Adam’s glanced back up. “Is he here?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Adam put his hands in his pockets again. “Sorry to bother you. And sorry for…sorry.”

He turned to leave, but stopped when Lindsay said, “You any good at drying dishes?”

Adam eagerly whipped back around at the invitation. “Sure. Yeah. I can do that.”

Lindsay stepped back from the door, and Adam followed her into the house.

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