Page 13 of Just One of the Groomsmen
When they’d been caught by the next-door neighbor, Addie spun an explanation about spotting a hole in the shirt, and how her mama was good at patching and they wanted it to be a surprise. The woman bought it hook, line, and sinker (in her defense, she had been new in town and therefore, not yet aware of their reputation), not even bothering to get their names before they’d turned tail and fled.
Man, the girl could talk her way out of almost any situation—sometimes he’d thoughtshewould’ve made the better lawyer.
With that in mind, he wondered what he was still doing playing lookout. If anyone did threaten to call the cops, Addie could always hit up Easton for help. But what with his being on retainer, Tucker figured he might as well make sure tonight’s hijinks stayed in the solely ridiculous category.
Plus, he’d landed her in trouble enough times to feel like he owed her.
While his logical side knew they’d had to grow up eventually, he’d missed the way she was always down for an adventure.
These days, he felt a lot less adventurous.
Even this thing with his job felt more like jumping off a cliff with no parachute.
And there it was. The other reason he was sitting here, delaying the inevitable.
He could still see the shock on the partners’ faces as he turned in his two-week notice. Could feel it echoed in his chest, even as he’d tried to hide it.
They’d offered him more pay.
He’d wondered if he’d been stupid to turn it down.
Strike that past-tense version—hestillwondered.
Still fought the urge to tug on that cord and see if the parachute would catch him before he hit the ground.
Between his parents’ divorce, his mom moving in with a congressman before it was even finalized, and the foreclosure, Tucker had seen how the stress turned his father into a different man. After experiencing the awful instability, Tucker had sworn he’d do whatever it took not to have that threat of losing everything constantly hanging over him.
Yet here he was doing the exact opposite.
One of the reasons he hadn’t told any of his friends about quitting his job was because that’d make it real. He’d just let go of his best chance at being secure, financially and career-wise, and… He tugged at the collar of his shirt, his heart beating double-time.
What the hell was I thinking?
That was easy. Every thought had circled back to the night in the houseboat.
Tucker had tried the city thing for two long, hard years. Tried being a lawyer and having the type of high-paying career Dad had always encouraged him to have. He’d made good money and hated every second of it.
The lake called to him. Small-town life called to him.
He’d missed his friends and the ability to go to Addie for advice. If anything, talking to her on the phone only made her—and the old life he’d longed to return to—feel further away.
While he’d done his best to keep up with the gang over the past few years, he hated that he’d become so unreliable for the people who’d always been there for him, no matter what.
All it took was one night playing poker and he couldn’t stop thinking about returning home, where he belonged.
Life was too short to be miserable.
It was also too short to move back, screw everything up, and live with regrets.
Which was why he would give himself one more minute to think of Addie’s legs in that dress, and then he’d shift back into friendly territory and her in those baggy overalls.
Where his thoughts were definitely going to stay.
Chapter Four
“Addison will know.”
Her spine straightened as she heard her name coming from the lips of the biggest gossip in town. She wondered what she was supposed to know, since usually she tried to avoid knowing things—knowing things landed you smack-dab in the middle of drama.
