Courage (Heroes of Big Sky #1) - Kristen Proby Page 0,3

a while,” he says. “I’ll have dinner with you guys. I don’t have other plans.”

“We’d like that. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. But you could make your famous tacos.”

I smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. Monica loved my tacos.

“Deal.”

“Let’s grab lunch,” Sam suggests a week later. We just finished signing the papers to sell the salon, one of the last details to see to regarding the estate.

I shrug a shoulder. “I’m really not that hungry.”

“You have to eat,” he says gently. “And so do I. The kids are with Aspen. Let’s go be crazy and eat junk food at Ed’s.”

Ed’s Diner is my favorite. He knows this.

And it totally works.

“Yeah, okay. Let’s do it. Shall we walk over?”

“Good idea.”

The diner isn’t too far away from the title office we just left, so we set off on foot, soaking in the sunshine.

“I feel guilty for selling the salon,” I say and watch as a kid on a bicycle zooms past us.

“You said you didn’t want to continue running it,” he points out.

Poor Sam. I’ve been so up and down over the past month, I’m surprised he hasn’t shaken me silly. Instead, he’s been kind and patient.

And hot, but I’m so exhausted, even my libido has gone on vacation.

“I don’t want to run it,” I agree. “And I’m certainly not in the right headspace to hire someone else to do it. I know that selling was the right call, and Reagan will do a wonderful job. Also, Monica used her inheritance when your parents passed away to start the business. This way, that money will go into a trust for the kids. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Then why do you feel guilty?”

“I live my life in a permanent state of guilt.” Sam reaches over to take my hand and gives it a squeeze. “And I know that Monica would roll her eyes and tell me to get over it. To stop it. But I can’t.”

“It hasn’t been long,” he reminds me gently and pulls me to a stop so I don’t walk out in front of traffic. “Red light.”

“Oops, thanks. I’m going to just enjoy a greasy cheeseburger and your company.”

“Good plan. I’ll do the same.”

We hurry across the street and into Ed’s, which is surprisingly quiet for near lunchtime. There’s almost always a wait to be seated because it’s so popular—among the locals and tourists alike.

But today, luck is on our side and the hostess immediately shows us to a booth against the windows.

Ed’s has been in business for longer than either of us has been alive. Ed himself still runs the kitchen, and little about the place has changed in decades. It’s an old-fashioned diner, just like in the movies, with red vinyl seats, a long soda fountain bar, and a jukebox in the corner that plays everything from Elvis to Bon Jovi.

Ed claims he won’t put any music in that thing that was made after 1990.

This diner has been an integral part of my life. We came here for birthday dinners when I was a kid, and after football games in high school. I sat at a nearby table and mooned over Sam as he joked around with his friends across the room.

And this was where Monica told me and Aspen that she was pregnant with the twins.

I take a deep breath and set the menu aside. I don’t have to look at it to know what I want.

“Hey, you two,” Flo, another staple at Ed’s, says as she approaches our table to take our order. “What can I getcha?”

“I’ll have a cheeseburger, no tomato, with fries and mayo on the side. A Coke to drink, please.” I smile at Flo as she writes down my order and then turns to Sam.

“I think I’m in the mood for the BLT, onion rings, and a Coke, as well. Thanks, Flo.”

“You got it. Shouldn’t take long.” She winks and walks away.

“Okay, I admit it. Now that we’re here, I’m hungry.”

Sam grins. “You can never resist Ed’s.”

“It’s true. It’s a drug, and I’m completely addicted. How are things at work? I haven’t even asked you what’s happening with the position in Spokane. I’m sorry. I’m a shitty friend.”

“Nah, we’ve had a bit on our minds.” He shakes his head and rubs his lips together. “The guys in Spokane said they’d hold the position for me for six months. And, of course, the job here didn’t want to lose me in the first place, so everything’s fine.”

“But you sold