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Nick had to ask. “How come you have lavender lemonade when it’s November?”
“I froze some this past summer. If Minute Maid can do it, so can I. What’s got you scowling tonight?”
No way was he telling Magnus Ferguson—the second biggest mouth in Cooper Springs—exactly how he knew Martin Purdy.Or that his new landlord ticked all his boxes.
“New guy moved in today.” He took a sip of the lemonade. It was delicious.
“Jeez, Nick. Be a good neighbor. We have new blood buying into Cooper Springs for the first time since 2007, don’t scare them off. Think of it likeField of Dreams—build it and they will come.”
Nick squinted at Magnus. “Have you been snacking on Forrest’s special brownies again? And also, I’m pretty sure the guy isn’t a vampire, so I don’t know why you’re talking about blood.”
Instead of answering Nick—which either meant yes, Magnus had enjoyed a brownie, or he didn’t think Nick’s comment was worthy of a reply—Magnus’s attention swung over Nick’s shoulder.
“Evening, Liam.”
“Magnus. Nick.” Liam Wright pulled out the empty stool next to Nick and sat down, bumping Nick’s shoulder companionably.
Arguably, Liam had saved Nick’s life, and more than once. He was Nick’s best friend, even if Nick didn’t often feel like he was that good a friend to Liam.
Laughter rose above the other chatter in the pub. Nick glared into the mirror, trying to figure out who it was.
“What crawled up your butt?” Liam asked, interrupting Nick’s surveillance. “This is a business you know, and,” Liam added, poking him in the side, “sitting here glowering is bringing down the tone of the establishment.”
“I’m not glowering.”
Magnus was still lurking. He coughed unrealistically, and his fuzzy eyebrows shot up, almost touching his hairline.
“What do you call it, then?” Magnus wanted to know. “Staring into the mirror with a scowl on your face. If I were my grandmother, I’d tell you to be careful or your face would freeze that way. But,” he continued, “I think it already has.”
“Fuck off,” Nick said mildly.
Magnus and Liam both put up with his moods, and Nick appreciated that about them. Magnus had even been the one to hook him up with the Davies estate. Before that, he’d been crashing on Liam’s seventy-thousand-year-old couch. His parents had moved away from Cooper Springs when Nick left for college, so staying with them hadn’t been an option, not that he would have asked them for a glass of water if he were dying of thirst.
He shot another glare into the mirror.
“Where’s Garth?” Nick asked to distract Magnus.
“Had to go help out his sister. She lives in Ashland or somewhere. It’s the slow season anyway. Say,” Magnus mused, narrowing his eyes first at Nick and then at Liam, “what are you doing Thursday?”
Nick groaned. He’d been so distracted he managed to forget the reason he’d been avoiding the pub recently.
“Nothing,” he said firmly. “I don’t celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. You know how I feel about it.”
An expression of extreme patience crossed Magnus’s face.
“Nick. For Dad and me, it’s not about the old traditions,” Magnus reminded Nick for at least the tenth time in two weeks. “It’s about the family we have and being together. In spite of your naturally prickly personality, Dad likes you and wants you to join. And, I suppose, I like you too, okay? You’re a good person, Nick.”
Nick released a sigh. Why was Magnus being nice? It peeved him. He didn’t want to like people. Hedidn’tlike most people, but Magnus, Rufus, and, of course, Liam had broken through Nick’s defenses.
Liking people generally led to disappointment. It was difficult for Nick to trust; he’d been born this way, he knew, and his childhood probably hadn’t helped. It took a lot for a person to earn his trust, and most folks seemed to not understand that he honestly just could not forgive and forget.
“No,” he repeated.
Magnus smiled again, showing his teeth. “Fine. I’ll just send Dad your way midday on Thursday, andyoucan explain to him why you’re going to hole up in that drafty old cabin with no real kitchen and no real food, instead of hanging out with people who consider you family. You’re not going to say no to an old man, are you? Besides, Liam will be here, won’t you, son? I won’t have to send Dad out after you, as well?”
Liam, The Traitor, nodded happily. That was Liam: happy. Always smiling. Nick should hate it, but he didn’t.
“Yep, I’ll be here. Looking forward to it,” Liam confirmed.
