LITMIR.BIZ

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drink coasters that were already neatly stacked. “Aw, you know how it goes. She went from being a cougar to being all caught up raising her step-grandkids.”

      “What about your sister and brother? How come you’re the one left holding the bag?”

      “Luke and Cindy don’t want anything to do with him.”

      “If he’s such a pain, why bother? What keeps you hanging on?”

      He shrugged. “Don’t give me too much credit. All I do is stop in every couple weeks, see that he’s got food in the house, keep the weeds down.”

      Manolo shook his head.

      “Before I forget, Junie got all the RSVPs back but yours and Red’s. She’s not concerned about Red’s. Said Red can be a touch scattered. But knowing you, there’s a reason. You don’t make a move—or, in this case, not make a move—till you’ve covered every angle.”

      “Tell her to check tomorrow’s mail.” Sam couldn’t hide his grin. “Doc and I are coming together.”

      Manolo’s face lit up. “No shit. So. The lady finally put her foot down.”

      “What?” Sam’s shoulders went back and his chin disappeared into his neck. “Where’d you get that? No one tells Sam Owens what to do.”

      “Who are you talking to here?” Manolo tapped his chest with the side of his hand.

      Sam slouched. “Okay. There may be an outside chance that maybe Doc might have mentioned something about a rela—a rela—”

      “Relationship?”

      Sam decided he could use a drink, too. He reached above the bar for another glass.

      “Well, it’s about time, you old rascal!” Manolo’s hand clasped Sam’s palm-down, angling, locking thumbs. “I was wondering how long you expected her to wait.”

      “What’s that supposed to mean?”

      “You told me you had a thing for Red over a year ago. Remember? It was the same time you warned me to keep my paws off Junie.”

      Sam traced the wood grain in the bar with a finger. “Not even I can be right one hundred percent of the time.”

      “In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t need your permission to date Junie. Back to Red. Did you think nobody else knew about you two? You’re losing your touch, Spidey.”

      Sam wondered when he’d gotten careless about his and Red’s comings and goings. If he hadn’t wanted them to, no one would know.

      “It’s not all me. Doc wasn’t into the whole going steady thing either. She was cool with the way things are—”

      “Were.”

      “Until last weekend.”

      “Told you how it is, huh?” Manolo grinned wider, and the still-smoldering fire inside Sam at the idea of being controlled flared momentarily.

      “A minor glitch.” It would take a special kind of torture not yet invented to get Sam to admit that Red’s plan involved putting the brakes on their sex life. Even to his best friend. Especially to his best friend.

      Anyway, that wouldn’t last. With their explosive chemistry? He’d have her hollering out his name in ecstasy again in no time. Maybe as soon as tomorrow night, after their first, real date.

      “Hey,” said Sam. “What’s this about Junie and the girls going to see Lumber Jack Hammer?”

      Manolo waved away his query. “I heard about it. Some male revue or something.”

      “You worried?”

      “Me? I’m not worried.” Manolo’s grin waned. “Why. Are you worried?”

      “Do I look worried?”

      “Junie has eyes for no one but yours truly.”

      “At times I forget you’re not from around here. Hammer’s been known to get, let’s say, overly friendly with the women who go to his shows.”

      Manolo’s grin didn’t falter. “When a woman’s got this,” he asked, puffing out his chest, “what need would she have to go elsewhere?”

      Sam rolled his eyes. “You say so. Me? I don’t know why anybody’d want to get married. It’s like enlisting in the service.”

      “How’s that?”

      “You’ll have to learn how to eat, sleep, shower, and shave all over again.”

      “Wait till it’s your turn.”

      “That’s going to be a long wait. Nah, I kinda like seeing how many days I can go without a vegetable crossing my lips. Falling asleep to SportsCenter.” Sam clapped his hands. ”So. What about the rooms?”

      “Book a suite for each of my sisters and their families, and then one for Mom. If Dad comes, he can stay with her. If not, at least she’ll have a respite from her grandkids. My extended family can get a little rambunctious.”

      “I’m picturing a Star Wars bar.”

      Manolo brightened. “You got nieces and nephews too.”

      “Negative.”

      He slumped again. “Your siblings never tied the knot?”

      Sam shook his head as he took another swig of his drink. “The Owens clan’s no good at happy ever after.”

      Chapter 8

      The following Saturday, Sam found himself knocking on the door of Red’s trailer clutching a last-minute plant he’d grabbed at the market. Red loved anything having to do with flowers and gardening. Only now did it dawn on him: planting things went hand in hand with her hankering for roots.

      Sam shifted his feet on the doormat. In his hand, the cellophane-covered plant crackled. He propped up a wilting daisy. So, this was dating.

      The flower fell again just as a woman in wire rimmed glasses with wavy silver hair opened the door. “Come on in. Sophia’s back there getting ready.”

      “Thank you, ma’am.”

      She took the plant from him. “Aren’t these pretty? I’ll get a saucer to put under it.”

      The woman toddled over to a cupboard while Sam’s feet remained on the rug in front of the door. This was exactly what he’d been dreading. And she hadn’t offered him a seat—not that she seemed like the formal type.

      A muted clatter came from behind a closed door down the narrow hallway, followed by an ominous crash.

      “It’s okay,” called Red. “Just dropped my shoebox full of nail polish. It’ll only take a minute.”

      Said no woman ever. C’mon, Red. Had she actually chosen this time to paint her nails?

      “Sophia says you two went to school together. I thought I knew all her friends. My memory must be getting bad,” said her grandmother, setting the flowerpot in the center of the kitchen table.

      He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ve changed a little since then.”

      Grandma returned to her easy chair in front of the TV and motioned toward the sofa. “Well, you sure are a clean cut fellow now. Might as well have a seat. I don’t know how long she’ll be.” She picked up the remote and turned down the volume on the show she was watching. “My granddaughter might be smart as a whip and have a heart the size of Texas but she isn’t the most organized. Besides that, her dating skills are a little rusty. This is the first time she’s had a boy to the house since she graduated college.”

      Not having gone out with anyone else, it hadn’t occurred to him that Red might. He was surprised, then touched.

      “Did you play sports or act in any of the school

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