Page 2 of At First Catch

Evelyn releases Dean’s hand and makes a beeline for Rook. “Dog!”

Rook rises from the brink of death.

“Morning, sunshine,” Dean says, Lila trailing him.

“Hadley, can you⁠—”

Lila stops herself before finishing the sentence.

She smiles sheepishly.

“Never mind. You already did.”

I glance down.

Her latte is exactly the way she likes it.

“Occupational hazard,” I tease.

Dean steals a blueberry muffin from behind the counter.

I point at him. “That isn’t free.”

He takes a bite. “I’m investing in local business morale.”

“You’re stealing carbs.”

“I’ll leave a twenty.”

“You say that every time.”

“And every time, I do.”

A few minutes later, Bailey barrels in carrying a stack of shipping boxes against her chest. My older brother, Crew, follows his wife with both hands hovering uselessly nearby.

“She refuses to admit these are too heavy,” he announces.

“They’re books,” Bailey says. “Not concrete blocks.”

“You almost took out a parking meter.”

“It startled me.”

“It was bolted to the sidewalk.”

“Sometimes stationary objects have bad vibes.”

Crew looks at me. “Do you see what I live with?”

“You married a lighthouse bookstore owner. This is your fairy tale.”

Ivy enters behind them, wearing oversized sunglasses and the expression of a woman who has been awake for approximately eight minutes and resents every single one of them.

“I need coffee before anyone speaks to me.”

“Too late,” Holt replies.

She lowers her sunglasses. “You are my least favorite Wright today.”