The Things We Knew Read Online Free Page B

leaned against the wooden bench and let some tension out of his shoulders. Familiarity—smoky air, fried food, and the smell of the sea—settled in through his senses. “My dad needed me at the bank.” He’d leave it there.
    “Least you’ve got a job, man. Lots of my buddies on the mainland are looking for work.” Jed stood, wiped down the table, and picked at a dried-on piece of food with a dirty fingertip. “This is not the time to be unemployed.”
    “Can’t argue with you there. But if any of your buddies want to give it a shot, they’d be welcome to.”
    “Still butting heads with the old man?”
    His friend’s laugh was infectious. “We tolerate each other.”
    Jed nodded like he figured as much. “Gotta say, I’m surprised to see you in here. Thought you’d be all up with the country club muck-mucks.”
    “Only when I have to be, Jed. You know that.” Nick glanced toward the bar. The waitress was new. A Marilyn Monroe wannabe—platinum blond hair, too much makeup, and too top heavy. She’d noticed him and was doing her best to look busy and sexy at the same time.
    Jed jingled change in the pocket of his apron. “Never got you, Cooper. If I had your stash, I’d be as far from this fish town as possible.”
    That had been the plan. “Well, Jed, if you hadn’t quit high school . . .”
    “Shaddup.” Jed’s grin was as wide as his girth. “Hey, you . . . uh, seen your neighbor yet?”
    Nick fished his phone from the pocket of his jeans and checked his messages. Mindy. Mindy. Mindy . . . “Who? Miss Perkins? Thought the old battleaxe died.”
    Jed huffed and cleared his throat. “Lynette.”
    “Oh, Lynnie?” The memory of finding Drake Carlisle on his doorstep his first night home still rattled Nick. Something was definitely wrong with her father, but Lynette’s frantic face bothered him more. “Yeah, why?”
    Jed’s smile widened. “Talked to her?”
    Nick played with the handle of his mug and registered the interest in Jed’s eyes. “Not exactly. Kind of surprised she’s still here, actually.”
    “Yeah.” Jed wagged his head. “She never really left. Not like the rest of them. Didn’t last long at college. You know her old man got into some trouble a few years back. I heard he lost a chunk of change in the casinos.” Jed drummed out an annoying beat on the table.
    “Is he still drinking?” That had been Nick’s first thought when he’d opened his front door to find Drake Carlisle standing there, ready to accost him.
    Jed shrugged. “Don’t think so. If he is, he’s not doing it here. Used to be as regular as old Harry. So if you see Lynette, maybe you could mention me to her . . .”
    Nick slugged his beer. “I haven’t talked to any of them for a long time. They might prefer to keep it that way.”
    “But . . . you and Gray? You guys are still tight, right?”
    “Wrong.” Nick snapped a coaster in half and let it fall to the rough-hewn surface of the table. “If you’re interested in Lynnie, just ask her out.”
    “I have.” Jed looked away.
    Even in the dim light, Nick saw Jed’s cheeks darken. Somehow he couldn’t see Lynette ever agreeing to date Jed. Oddly enough, the thought comforted him.
    He smiled and smacked the big guy on the arm. “Well, if I see her again, maybe I’ll mention you. Now, how long is that burger gonna take?”
    Jed ambled off and Nick let out his breath. He hadn’t considered what feelings might be evoked, being home, seeing the Carlisles again—the family he’d once been so much a part of. The family he still, even after all these years, felt strangely responsible for.

Chapter Three
    L ynette pressed her back against the leather chair and tried to gauge the thoughts of the man seated on the other side of the wide mahogany desk. She’d debated coming here to see Nick at the bank. Surely Nick could help, at least advise her on what to do next.
    Because she was all out of answers.
    “So, Lynette.” Nick sat forward, elbows