Page 11 of When You Got a Good Thing (Misfit Inn 1)

“Kennedy’s back in town after how long? That is a current event,” Jarvis argued.

“The last thing she’s thinking about is me.” And hey, that’s par for the course. At least she has a good reason this time.

“You’ve seen her then?” Essie asked, not looking in the least embarrassed about being caught gossiping about him.

“You know I was at the funeral yesterday.” Though seeing her at a distance probably wasn’t what Essie was fishing for.

“How did she look?”

Sad and lost and so fragile, a stiff wind might’ve broken her. “Like she’d just lost her mother,” Xander snapped. His tone of rebuke had absolutely no effect.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Essie said.

“I know what you meant,” he gritted out. “This is not a social visit. Not a return to the Ridge for some happy occasion, where we sat around and shot the shit, talking about the good times. Her world’s just been turned upside down. And I’m sure as soon as the fallout is sorted, she’ll be off to Venezuela or Greece or New Zealand or wherever the hell the wind blows her. Again.” Xander heard the bitterness in his voice and couldn’t seem to stop it.

“I gather you were the dumpee in this scenario,” Leanne said.

“Brilliant deduction. So glad you’re our Chief Investigator.”

His snarl didn’t faze her in the least. “What happened?”

“I’m sure if you head on down to the Snort and Curl, they’ll be more than happy to fill you in, since nobody has enough going on in their lives to talk about something else.”

Essie opened her mouth, as if to save Leanne the trip.

“Don’t y’all all have work? ’Cause if you don’t, I’m sure I can come up with more paperwork,” the sheriff boomed.

Just fucking perfect.

But they all suddenly found something else to do.

“Xander, see you in my office?”

“Yes, sir.” With one last glare, he took the save, shutting the door to the office behind him, as was expected.

“So Kennedy came home after all,” Buck said conversationally.

“Her mother died. Of course she came home.” Having seen her, he couldn’t quite believe he’d doubted she would for a moment.

“How are you feeling about all this, son?”

Xander leveled his father with a flat stare. “What? We’re gonna talk about feelings? Really?”

Buck had never liked Kennedy, and he’d made no secret of the fact that he was glad she left. She’d been the only thing he and Xander had ever really disagreed on.

“She walked away from you without a word all those years ago. There’s no shame or surprise in having some unresolved…stuff about it.”

“Stuff,” Xander repeated. Well, that was one word for it.

After two glorious years together, they’d been on top of the world, full of excitement and plans to see the world—or as much of it as they could fit in after graduation. Being a practical sort, Xander had thought they should work through the summer and build up a little bit of cash before they left. She’d agreed. Then, graduation night they’d had a huge fight. He’d been drunk and stupid and said things he didn’t quite remember. But he remembered enough to know he owed her a huge apology when he sobered up. Except when he’d showed up at her house the next day, he discovered she’d bailed on him, leaving town without a word. He’d been devastated.

Xander wished he was too manly to admit that, but she’d gutted him. And by God, he wanted answers from her. Ten years later and he was still pissed, still hurt that he’d had no chance to apologize, to explain himself. But seeing her again yesterday, there’d been other “stuff” there, too. He didn’t want to think about the other stuff, and he sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it with his dad.

“I can assure you there’s no stuff. I’m not some lovesick puppy in danger of being led astray. Kennedy settled things between us years ago, and that’s the end of it. No matter how much people around here insist on gossiping to the contrary.” It was a partial truth. She’d ended it. He planned to settle it now and get his answers before she left again for parts unknown. She owed him that much.

Something in Buck’s face relaxed. Relief at not actually being forced to go through with the feelings talk? “Glad to hear it. If you were going to cast your eye on a Reynolds, you’d do better with Pru. Now there’s a fine woman.”

“Don’t even go there, Dad. Pru’s like my sister. Always has been.”

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