Page 9 of A Second Chance

Gwen followed Rebecca to a drink cart setup on the covered porch attached to the barn. She hugged Hannah, who was at the table pouring a glass of red wine. A wall of glass sliding doors on the side of the barn remained open creating an outdoor/indoor space. They had hung string lights from post to post that twinkled in the dusk.

“White wine, red wine, or beer?”

Gwen reached and snagged a beer from the cooler. “This will work.” Rebecca handed her an opener. She popped off the top and took a swig, scanning for another peek at the mystery man, but the guy was nowhere in sight. Autumn appeared from the barn and snatched her in for a hug.

“Was wondering where you were,” Gwen said.

“I had to take Danny to my mom’s. We’re kid free for the evening.” She picked up a bottle of white wine, pulled the cork out, and grabbed a glass.

Gwen and Rebecca laughed.

“Autumn’s ready to party,” Rebecca said.

“That, or more sleep… I don’t know anymore.”

“Dan will never let you sleep,” Hannah chimed.

“Well, let’s just drink and forget our troubles,” Gwen said.

“I’ll drink to that,” Rebecca held up her glass. They clinked their plastic cups and her beer bottle together and snickered.

Drinks in hand they wandered toward the fire pit, which remained unlit.

“What is taking you guys so long?” Autumn asked, sidling up to her husband.

“They’re saying I’m building the fire wrong,” Dan said.

“There’s no way,” Autumn said.

“Oh my god. It’s not rocket science, throw the sticks in with a match and let’s go,” Hannah said.

Gwen was the only unmarried person in her group of friends. When Rebecca started inviting her along, she considered declining, but she liked these people. Maybe she could occupy herself with the mystery man. She scanned around for him and made eye contact with Jason McMillan.

Nope, not a mystery man at all. It was her worst nightmare. By befriending his sister this was a possibility. But he’d moved away years ago. And now, there he stood across the fire pit, a long-sleeved Henley shirt stretched over those shoulders and biceps, and those jeans hugging everything just right. Gwen needed to disappear.

A flame sparked in the pit and the fire rose between them. Gwen shifted her awareness to burgeoning flames and wondered how to avoid Jason for the rest of time.

***

To his surprise, there was a woman there that he did not know – gorgeous, blonde, pretty smile, nice tits, late twenties. Jason spotted her talking to Rebecca and then over the fire pit.And no one was there with her. It might be his imagination, but was she avoiding him? The gorgeous woman remained clustered in with the girls and he may have to move in for an introduction by Autumn.

Weasel was in the middle of one of his infamous cop stories, but he was only half paying attention. He’d been keeping tabs on the cute mystery girl in his periphery. It occurred to him to ask who she was, but refrained, not wishing to draw attention to his interest. These guys would pounce and tease him mercilessly. But the jerks were all married and he couldn’t say shit.

Dan stood and looked at him. “Want a beer?”

“Na, I’m good.” He now abstained from alcohol. With the combo of PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, he needed nothing else screwing with his brain chemistry. Not to mention he’d seen too many vets rely on it as a coping mechanism and that didn’t end well. It wasn’t a strict, permanent ban. In the future, he might decide to have a celebratory glass. But he didn’t miss drinking and felt healthy, so he was off the sauce.

The ladies moved, and he rose next to Dan. “I’ll walk with you.”

Dan smirked. “Jesus, you’re stalking her like a cheetah on a wildebeest.”

“Who?”

He rolled his eyes, “The blonde you zeroed in on an hour ago. Her name’s Gwen… and yeah, she’s single.”

It’d been longer than that, not that he’d point it out. Jason shrugged and Dan laughed.

“Hey, need I remind you that you’re the one with a woman in his bed. I have to fight really hard not to focus on the fact it’s my sister.”

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