dairy farm had their milk machine clogged up with Gorilla glue. Stuff like that.”
“Bastards.”
“Yeah. Yasmin said it was all weird stuff. Like, not just smashing windows or spray painting.”
Charlie said, “Do they have an idea who it is? High school kids?”
“I guess maybe? The sheriff didn’t say.”
“You met the sheriff?” Nick’s tone sharpened.
“Yeah. They, um.” It wasn’t as if Nick wouldn’t find out. The insurance guy still hadn’t come by, and the tractor was stuck in the fence, waiting. “They did a bit of damage here the other night.”
“What? When? You didn’t tell me.”
“No one was hurt, and you couldn’t exactly get here any quicker.”
Nick’s huff of breath suggested he wasn’t happy with that explanation. “I’m surprised Luger didn’t take a chunk out of them.”
“He was in the house with me. Yasmin doesn’t trust him running loose unless one of us is watching him.” He tried to joke. “She said better a broken fence than Luger eating a sheep.”
“I suppose.”
Charlie said, “What’s the sheriff like? Was he interested in you?”
“She. Sharp. But once she heard I was a friend of Doc’s, she backed off.”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t like it, but I guess if it’s been all around the county for weeks, it’s nothing to do with us.”
“Can’t be. Right?” Brian had told himself that a dozen times.
“Right.” Nick pulled up in front of the house. “So. Here we are.”
They got out, and Luger romped up the steps ahead of them. Lori opened the door with a smile.
“Hi, Charlie.” Her voice cooled. “Hey, Nok Nick.”
“Hey, Lor,” Nick said. “You’re looking well stuffed. When do you pop?”
Brian kicked the back of Nick’s sneaker. “Doc said the baby’s due January fourth. I told you that.”
“Oh, yeah. Man, another three weeks of that has to suck, right, Lori?”
She folded her arms high above her swollen belly. “Zander says I’m doing great.”
Charlie moved between them. “That’s good. I hope we can get you moved before the baby comes.”
She uncrossed her arms. “Hell, yeah. Me too. Come on in. Yasmin’s been cooking half the day.”
They climbed the porch steps and went inside, where the scents of roasting and baking and simmering filled the air. Charlie took an appreciative sniff. “Wow, Lori, you’re sure you want to move out?”
“Positive.” Her voice suddenly warmed as Yasmin came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “It’s been great, don’t get me wrong, and Yasmin’s amazing. But I want to be settled in with the kid, somewhere that’s more ours.” She smiled shyly up at Charlie. “It’s so cool, you being willing to share a place with me.”
“He’d do a whole lot to help out a little baby,” Nick said.
Yasmin asked, “You boys gonna introduce me to your friend?”
“Yes, of course.” Brian put a hand on Charlie’s arm. “Yasmin, this is Charlie Connors, who’s Nick’s best friend. He’s a good guy. Charlie, this is Doc’s mom. Zander’s. Ms. Wydell. She’s really cool. I mean, she’s a great mom. And farmer.” He suddenly wondered if this was the first time he’d introduced people to each other. Might be. It was one of those things adults with friends did. He mentally ticked off another milestone in his adult-stuff list, even if it’d come out a bit scrambled.
Yasmin shook hands with Charlie and they said hello. Yasmin added, “My son’ll be home from his clinic in ten minutes, so we’ll eat in about twenty. Y’all want to sit down for a bit and relax? Maybe have some lemonade or coffee or sweet tea?”
Nick and Charlie turned down drinks, joking about being afloat in coffee from the long drive. As they moved into the living room, Brian lingered in the doorway. He watched Lori lower herself carefully into the bigger armchair, while Nick and Charlie dropped to opposite ends of the long couch with identical sighs of appreciation. Yasmin sat in the armchair across from Nick.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Nick in this room, but the last time had felt like a mirage that couldn’t be counted on. This time, Brian’s old life and his new life were settled on opposite sides of the coffee table, talking about apartment hunting tomorrow. It was cool, and great, and still a bit unreal. A tiny corner of him ached knowing that Damon wouldn’t walk in that door alongside Doc, to make the picture complete. But as he made his way to the shorter couch and sat on the end where his feet could tap Nick’s outstretched sneakers, the fizzy