Aiden holds up a hand. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to accuse you of anything. I just… while we’ve sort of drifted apart over the years, Evie’s become a really good friend. Don’t get me wrong—I’m happy you’re back, even if it’s temporary, and we should definitely hang again before you’re back in Manhattan for good. But I just feel the need to look out for her. Especially this time of year.”
“Busy season?”
He shrugs. “She runs herself ragged. Izzy looks out for her, but she’s a force. Won’t stop unless you really push her. And it’s not healthy.”
I nod. “Sounds rough.”
Aiden shrugs. “She’ll be okay. She’s tough.” He’s quiet for a moment, then starts laughing. “I guess I just wanted to make sure your intentions were good with our Evie.”
I laugh. “I’m glad you’re looking out for her. She deserves that,” I say, biting my lip. “I like her.”
He snorts. “Yeah, no shit.”
“You asked!”
“It was less of a question, and more of a reminder that I’ve punched you before and I’m not afraid to do it again.”
“Alright, alright. I’m not a completely different person. I still have morals.”
“You had morals?”
I give him a flat look, and he snickers as he takes another sip of his beer.
“For real, though. Eve is the reason Izzy and I are close now. We both grew up with this hatred toward the bastard half-sibling, not ever really stopping to think that the real bastard is our dad. I mean, when you’re a kid you don’t really question things. My dad was never fully in my life and never fully in hers. We ended up at the same college—both of us were upset about that—and one day, Eve asked why Izzy hated me so much when she’s never even met me andIzzy couldn’t give her an answer. So she hit me up on Facebook.”
“And you just… got along?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. I mean, I like to think I’m pretty easy to get along with. It probably helps that that was when Charlotte—” He stops himself, shaking his head and continuing with his story as if he didn’t accidentally drop the name of the girl who seemingly permanently broke his heart. “I was having a tough time to begin with, so when she reached out I just kind of held on. She’s a nicer person than I ever could have imagined, and I’m mad that we lost out on so many years because our dad’s a jerk.”
I nod, taking a quick sip of my whiskey. “Well, I’m glad you got that too. And I’m kind of bummed I wasn’t here to see it happen.”
Aiden shrugs, never one to take things personally. “Hey, you’re here now.” He knocks his glass against mine. “And something tells me you’ll be seeing a lot more of Izzy.”
“What, with Eve?”
He gives me a big grin and a nod, but before I can protest—because I’m not sure if Iwantto—he changes the conversation by grabbing his phone off the bar and unlocking it to check the weather.
And it looks like there’s a hell of a lot of green swirling around.
“Storm coming?” I ask, thankful for the out because as much as Iwantto continue talking about Eve, I’m not sure I can do so without showing my cards.
That, and a nice storm always serves as a good distraction around here. The town goes into a frenzy when it’s going to be a rough one. The farmers like Aiden with a bunch of animals to care for turn their focus solely tokeeping them safe. And Eve probably has to make some tough decisions when a storm hits too.
Aiden nods, locking his phone and tossing it onto the bar again as he takes another sip of his beer. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.”
I pause, my whiskey glass halfway to my lips. Even as a teenager, I was impressed by Aiden’s ability to predict the weather. He was always cagey about it, claiming he didn’t rely on any sort of replicable science, just an intuition that isn’talwayscorrect.
But he was always conservative with his guesses. A storm might not be as bad as he says it is, but if he’s sounding the alarm, it’s always worse than the meteorologists expect.
“That makes me a little nervous,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “I’m not sure. I just… the animals have been weird today. I already went out and bought everything we might need and started getting the barn ready for some extra guests, but I’m still apprehensive. Just like I always am before a big storm hits.”
I nod. “Why don’t we finish up here so you can get back to the farm?”
Aiden eyes me. “I hate to drag you out just to leave after one beer.”
I shake my head, parroting his words back to him. “Hopefully I’ll see you around.”
