narrowed. âZan.â
âIn the flesh.â He rocked back on his heels, studying his old friend. While heâd seen Brett at a distance when heâd crashed the wedding reception, he hadnât been near enough to completely register the changes the years had wrought. The other manâs hair was shorter now, and scars slashed his eyebrow and across the bridge of his nose. Heâd probably gained thirty pounds of pure muscle. âIâm not sure Iâd beat you at arm wrestling like I used to.â
âThatâs revisionist memory, pal,â Brett said, then turned back when the barista called his name. Swiping up his drink, he didnât give Zan a second glance before strolling around a corner to the seating area.
âWell,â Zan said to the empty space around him, âthanks for the effusive welcome. Itâs great to see you again, too.â Not sure if he should be amused or affronted, Zan shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Apparently Brett wasnât interested in hashing over old times.
Not that Zan mulled over them very often himself. He wasnât a person who liked to look back, and it didnât take a genius to understand it stemmed from the family tragedy he wanted to forget. Still, heâd had many good times with Brett. Heâd been living with his grandfather just a few weeks when after school one day the towheaded oldest Walker had casually asked him, âYou fish?â
Zan had lied, of course, and said yes. Little time passed before they were fishing buddies, and biking buddies, and, later, chasing-after-girls buddies. Nearly inseparable, though their temperaments were not completely aligned. When Zan had proposed trouble, Brett had counseled caution. Zan ran red lights, Brett took note of stale yellows. During the execution of Zanâs wildest pranks, Brett had participated only as lookout.
But theyâd both had a dogged determination, so when his own tall Americano was ready, he took the same path as his old friend. He really wanted to have a conversation with the other man. What was the story about his wife and marriage? How were the rest of the Walkers faring?
Sue him, but he was curious about what Poppy and Shay had been up to during the past ten years.
Not to mention their older sister.
Turning the corner into the seating area, he caught sight of Brett in the far corner at one of the brightly painted picnic tables set on the scarred cement floor. Across from him sat dark-haired, blue-eyed Mackenzie Walker.
Zanâs world spun again as a thousand memories assaulted him.
Cheeky little-girl Mac, with her gamine grin and her resolve to do anything and everything along with her big brother and his best friend. Like Brett, heâd ignored her, teased her and even went to great lengths to ditch her until her pouting lower lip would melt his will.
Coltish preteen Mac, all skinny arms and legs and big eyes that followed his every movement. Sheâd had dark mutterings about every high school girl who caught his and Brettâs attention freshman year.
Then sheâd been in high school, too, and other boys were fixating on her . For a time, heâd fooled himself that his own interest in Mac was merely brotherlyâand that the eye daggers he threw at the guys who hit on her were because he only had her best interests at heart. Then one summer afternoon, a playful wrestling match rocked his world when he flipped her to her back and found himself hovering over her, his hips between her spread legs.
This is Mac , heâd tried telling himself. Mac, who in winter had a habit of shoving snow down the back collar of his jacket. Mac, whoâd once pretended to have a leg cramp while swimming in the lake so heâd jump in to save herâwearing his favorite leather boots. Mac, whoâd hidden his car keys when he was sixteen so he was late to pick up Hot Body Harmonie Ross the night he was her date to her senior