Willowleaf Lane by RaeAnne Thayne Page A

accident that had killed another teen, Evie had stepped in to help the girl’s recovery.
    Charlotte started to ask about Taryn, but before she could get the words out, an old blue battered pickup pulled up to the curb beside them and the driver killed the engine.
    Tucker’s big droopy face hung out the passenger window and a moment later, Dylan climbed out the other side and walked around the front of the truck. He wore his customary scowl but for once, he looked more concerned than angry at the world.
    “What the hell happened to you?” he exclaimed. “I just saw you last night!”
    She sighed, wondering how many times she was going to have to go over this with people. Probably a couple dozen more that day, at least. “You know me. Clumsy as a deaf bat. I sprained my ankle while I was running this morning.”
    “That’s what happens when you go running. Sorry about that. You need a ride somewhere?”
    “I’m heading to the store.”
    “Let me walk you the rest of the way.”
    “Okay,” she managed to say, so surprised at his gesture, she forgot to point out that she was almost there, that Evie was already babysitting her or that Dylan had parked in a red zone.
    When they reached the store, Evie waved and headed back to the bookstore and coffee shop. Dylan lingered in the doorway, his features troubled.
    “I was thinking I might have dinner tonight at the café. If you’re not hurting too bad, want to come?”
    She stared at him, wondering if she had imagined the breathtaking words. Was Dylan actually instigating a social engagement, inviting his sister to have dinner at their father’s café? She could hardly believe it. She gave him a careful look but he certainly looked sober to her. He knew better than to get behind the wheel otherwise.
    “Yeah. Yes. Of course! I should be done at the store about seven.”
    “Okay.” He shifted. “I’ll meet you in front of the store. That way you won’t have to walk there on the sticks.”
    It was only a block away and she could probably walk but she was so thrilled at this new development that she didn’t turn him down.
    “Yes. Great. I’ll see you at seven.”
    Dylan looked pained for a moment, as if he had half hoped she would refuse, but then he nodded and returned to his pickup. She watched him drive away, effervescent hope bubbling through her.
    If twisting her ankle had in any way contributed to her brother agreeing to venture out into public long enough to have dinner at the café, she would trip over her feet in front of Spence Gregory’s house every day for a month.

CHAPTER SIX
    D USKY SUNLIGHT FILTERED up the canyon when Spence finally left the recreation center at the end of his first day and headed down the road that paralleled the reservoir toward town.
    His day hadn’t been completely miserable. He had met the new staff at the rec center and spent a little time talking to them, listening to their ideas, trying to assure them he had no plans to come in and radically change what they had already started.
    So far, so good. Though he had intercepted a few sideways glances and everyone treated him with wariness, nobody had come right out and called him a drug-dealing murderer. Always a bonus, when he could say that at the end of the day.
    The recreation center wasn’t finished yet. When it was done, it would have an extensive network of facilities, indoors and outdoors. An equestrian complex, hiking trails, a practice ski jump, even boating docks and a swim beach in the reservoir.
    It was an ambitious project for a town the size of Hope’s Crossing, created through a complicated mix of taxes and private donations, but he was already excited about the possibilities. For once, he thought he might be able to put to use the college business classes his one-time mentor had encouraged him to take during the off-season.
    At the thought of Mike Broderick—once one of his best friends in the world—his hands tightened on the steering wheel and that