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place down as soon as you’re done.”
    “We’ll help you,” Porter volunteered, taking the beers from
her and passing the bottle of Ultra to Reid.
    “That won’t be necessary.” Ice still outlined her tone, and
her expression when she looked at them hadn’t melted a bit either.
    She wouldn’t make it easy for them. Good thing they both
enjoyed a challenge.
    “You could do it yourself.” Reid shrugged. “Or you can let
us help, get it done faster, and then throw a game or two of darts.”
    “Haven’t you had enough darts for the night?”
    “That was serious play.” Not that what he suddenly had in
mind wouldn’t be. In fact, he’d take a game against her far more seriously than
any match with the team. “This is for fun.”
    “Do you still throw?” Porter asked her, tipping back his
bottle of beer for a long swig.
    “Every chance I get. It’s a great stress reliever, keeps me
from throwing other stuff when I get a tad angry.”
    Reid didn’t miss the insinuation in her statement. How many
times had she pictured his or Porter’s face painted over the bulls eye?
Probably far more than he wanted to know.
    “How about a fun wager?” Reid suggested. At one time, they’d
gambled on dart games often. The bet had always been little things like washing
the rims on his Mustang if he won, or doing her closing cleanup if she won, or
waxing Porter’s beat-up Chevy truck if he won.
    Marsha sighed. “I’m really not in the mood, Reid.”
    “Really?” Reid lifted a brow, determined not to back down.
“I think you’ll like what I’ve got in mind. You win, we leave and you won’t
have to deal with us again until next Thursday night.”
    Her eyes narrowed to slits. “And if you win?”
    “We get to buy you a beer, we sit down and we talk for a
while. Just like old times. We forget about everything for an hour, pretend
none of the last year happened, and enjoy ourselves.”
     
    Marsha stared at him, unable to believe she was actually
considering taking him up on that bet. Could she do it? Could she really sit
across a table or the bar from him and Porter and pretend the past never
happened for an hour?
    She wanted to, so badly it physically hurt. A ribbon of pain
twisted around her heart, squeezed, and the back of her throat started to burn.
The mere idea of having one hour the way it used to be brought her close to
tears.
    She swallowed and forced back those tears. No way in hell
would she let them see even a glimmer of moisture in her eyes. All her life,
she’d longed for a family. She’d had only her mother, a fantastic woman who’d
been taken from the world, taken from Marsha far too soon.
    She’d come to Spring Valley because of her mother and the
stories she’d told Marsha of the place. She’d wanted to get away from the
Coast, wanted to make a fresh start of her own, and Spring Valley had come to
mind.
    It had been the right call, too. She’d known it the moment
she’d hit the town limits. Then she’d met Martin, his daughter, and his boys,
and something deeper had clicked. Yes, she’d been attracted to Porter and Reid
on sight, but she’d never acted on that attraction. She hadn’t wanted to ruin a
good thing. All of them had made her feel like part of their family, even Blair
and her snooty attitude. Marsha had simply chalked it up to the way sisters
often squabbled. Then Martin died and her family dreams went to his grave right
along with him.
    “All right, Reid. You’re on.” The words spilled from her
lips before she knew she had even made up her mind to accept his challenge. The
grin that unfolded on his handsome face made her heart skip. Oh boy, she’d missed
seeing him smile like that, missed the light that sparked in his hazel eyes
when something excited him.
    He’d turned his cap around correctly after his last match
with the Southern Boys. It didn’t take him long to turn it backward again now
that the bet was on the table.
    “Grab your darts. Porter and I have been