choked on her wine, and Trey patted her back solicitously. Time to steer this fantasy in a direction more flattering to herself.
“Unfortunately,” Sadie said, “Wes is a traditionalist—he envisaged me staying at home having babies. But of course, my work is too important to me. I couldn’t contemplate giving it up, so I had to break up with him.”
Uh-oh, Trey had a dangerous gleam in his eyes. She should have remembered that the few times he’d engaged enough to tease her when they were kids, he’d effortlessly come out on top.
“Wes would make a great dad, judging by his talent with animals,” he said. “Dogs, cats, rabbits…and does he have a way with hamsters.”
Sadie almost growled. Not only had he given her a boyfriend with the uninspiring name of Wes, a vet when she would have preferred a cardiologist, but now he was consigning Wes to the bottom rung of the pet ladder.
“But his main client is the Memphis Zoo,” she said.
“You mean he works on lions and stuff?” The breathless inquiry came from one of the twins. Sadie was too flustered to identify which one.
“Lions, tigers, elephants,” she confirmed.
“Which is his favorite?” the other twin asked.
“The, uh, leopard.” She realized the girls wanted more. “Because it’s so noble and intelligent and sensitive. Just like Wes himself.”
A snort from Trey.
“Oh, honey, he sounds incredible.” Yikes, Sadie’s mom was just about in tears at the thought of the man her daughter had loved and lost.
“Mom, I’m over it, really,” she assured her. “Wes was a great guy—he fit the dream, you know. But it wouldn’t have worked.”
“I heard he was never the same after that camel bit him,” Trey said.
Sadie began to mentally run through ways of killing him. She discarded them all on the grounds they wouldn’t inflict sufficient pain.
“I wish you’d told me,” Meg said, hurt. “I would have been there for you.”
“I know, sweetie, but by the time you arrived back stateside, I’d been having fun hanging out with Daniel, and my number-one focus was introducing you two to each other.” Not quite true, but at least she was talking about real people.
“You’re something else, Sadie,” Daniel said admiringly.
“She sure is,” Trey agreed.
That something else was likely a poached egg—Sadie felt as if she didn’t have a bone left in her body. “Dad, I’m starving. Is dinner ready?”
“Coming right up.” Her father brandished his tongs. “Don’t worry, honey, my pork chops will take your mind off that leopard-loving loser.”
Trey let out a burst of laughter that lit up his face and reminded Sadie he really was a great-looking guy. Shame about the personality.
“What I don’t understand…” Jesse began.
“If you all don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about Wes,” she announced bravely.
Jesse’s wife, Diane, smacked him upside the head for his insensitivity, which gave Sadie some satisfaction, while the rest of her family agreed immediately to a ban on talking about Wes. At least in front of her. Sadie had no doubt that after she returned to Memphis their sympathetic discussions of her failed love life would be a bonding experience.
Meg hugged her, and Daniel planted one of those kisses on Sadie’s hair. Much to Trey’s irritation, Sadie noted with satisfaction.
Still, his nutty story had taken the heat off her. As people headed toward the food, she murmured a grudging “Thanks. Sort of.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said with unaccustomed grace. Then, “Now, how about you do me a favor?”
She gritted her teeth. “I already did. I let you live.”
Humor flashed in his eyes, then disappeared. “Stay away from my sister’s boyfriend.”
Typical. For as long as Sadie could remember, Trey had moaned about Meg’s inability to “stand on her own two feet.” But he could never resist butting in when he thought his sister needed help.
As if Meg needed protection from her best friend!
Before she could tell Trey to mind his own business, her father handed her a plate piled with food. Then Daniel arrived back with his meal. “This looks great.” He sounded his normal self, not as if he believed she was secretly in love with him.
“Dad’s the best barbecue chef, so long as you don’t count the calories.” Sadie struck a casual, friendly tone, aware of Trey’s close scrutiny. Did he expect her to obey him?
“Want to go for a run in the morning?” she asked Daniel. “That way I get two helpings of dessert. You should come too, Meg.” Smart strategy, she congratulated herself. By acting natural and casual with Daniel, she would deflect any lingering suspicion of past feelings for him. Trey’s sharp, disapproving intake of breath was icing on the cake.
“You guys go for it,” Meg said. She hated running, and when she wasn’t flying liked to sleep in until nine. “I’ll catch up on some z’s.”
“So, 7:00 a.m.?” Sadie asked Daniel. “That’ll give us time for a decent run before the day gets busy.”
Daniel picked up a piece of garlic bread. “You’re on.”
Sadie smiled at him. And ignored Trey’s thunderous expression.
SADIE STEPPED OUT ONTO her parents’ porch at six fifty-five on Sunday morning and took a deep breath of fresh air scented with grass, her mom’s lemon trees and Nancy’s gardenias. In the jacaranda tree that grew on the Kincaid side of the fence but spread most of its shade over the Beechams’ yard, a mockingbird had burst out with its early-morning song. As she laced up her running shoes, it moved from a series of whistles to smoochy, kissing sounds.
Sadie stood on one leg to begin her quad stretches. Or what she hoped were quad stretches. When she’d fallen in love with Daniel practically at first sight and he’d asked if she ran, she’d said yes. Which was the right thing to do because he’d asked her to go running with him, and hadn’t minded that she was a beginner. And that was the start of their…friendship.
“This’ll be good for you,” she reminded her reluctant left quad. Her stomach growled, but she’d learned the hard way that if she ate now she wouldn’t be able to run more than a hundred yards without developing a stitch.
As the Kincaids’ front door opened she hopped a little, pulling her left foot closer to her butt to lengthen the stretch.
Trey stepped onto the next-door porch.
Wearing shorts and a T-shirt. And running shoes.
He waved. “Morning.”
Sadie’s foot thudded to the floorboards. “What are you doing here?”
“I stayed the night—didn’t want to drive after all that drinking.”
As she recalled, he’d had maybe two beers over four hours. Nowhere near the limit. Not that she’d been watching.
He strolled down the steps to the sidewalk. “Thought I’d join you on your run.” He patted his flat stomach. “Anything to counter the effects of age.”
She didn’t give him the satisfaction of admiring his physique. “I guess it’s a free country—I can’t stop you running with us.” She jogged to the sidewalk, trying to look fit.
“Us?” His forehead creased. “Did I forget to say Daniel’s not coming?”
“Excuse me?”
“I