a mission.

“Kids okay?” he asked as he unlocked the door and waited for Zack to precede him inside.

“Wild, as usual,” Zack said, then grinned. “But yes, they’re great. Even when the house is a zoo, I stop and look around and ask myself how I got this lucky.”

Wade heard the wonder in his voice and thought that maybe his sister was the lucky one. He hoped she knew and appreciated how devoted her husband was.

“How’s Louise?” Wade asked, suspecting she was behind this unexpected visit.

“She’s in a bad place,” Zack said, his expression sobering at once. “She thinks you’re mad at her.”

Wade smiled. “She always was perceptive.”

Zack looked startled by the response. “Then you are upset with her? I thought she was worrying about nothing. You two never fight. I wish I got along with my own siblings half as well as the two of you do. I figured you’d just been busy, maybe getting a life of your own.”

“Well, that too,” Wade conceded. “But I’ve gotten a little tired of her attitude about Gabi.”

“She only said what she thought because she was worried about you,” Zack said, jumping to her defense.

“I’m well aware of that.” He looked his brother-in-law in the eye. “And I even appreciated the concern the first time, but she hasn’t let up, Zack. It’s time she gave me some credit. I lived through the emotional roller coaster that was my life with Kayla. I’m not likely to forget it. This is not the same situation.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Zack agreed. “Gabi doesn’t strike me as anything like Kayla.”

“She’s not, and the circumstances are entirely different, too.”

“How? Maybe Louise would drop this if she understood,” Zack said.

Unfortunately, the answer was just some gut-deep belief on Wade’s part, not anything that his sister would find reassuring. “It just is,” he said, knowing the reply was unsatisfactory.

“Come on, man. You know that’s not going to cut it,” his brother-in-law said.

“Just pass along the message, okay?”

“If I have to,” Zack said, not looking very happy about the prospect.

“I’d appreciate it,” Wade told him. “Now, then. You’ve said what you came to say. And I understand that Louise is worrying because I’ve been staying away. Is that it? Any other messages you’re supposed to convey, or do you want a beer?”

Zack looked relieved to have the uncomfortable conversation behind him. “Absolutely. Being caught in the middle takes a toll. You and I, well, I like to think we’re friends. Louise...” He shrugged. “What can I say? I want her happy.”

Wade laughed. “I get that, trust me. I’m sure it’s especially difficult to be between a stubborn rock like my sister and an equally stubborn hard place like me.”

Zack lifted his beer. “Amen, brother.”

“I’ll stop by tomorrow,” Wade promised. “On one condition.”

“That she lose the attitude,” Zack said.

“Exactly.”

Zack sighed. “Good luck with that. When I suggested it, she told me I was reacting like a typical man who knows nothing about family dynamics.”

Wade tried unsuccessfully to hide his amusement. “And you said?”

“That I’d never been an overprotective big sister, but I had some idea of the havoc that butting in where you’re not wanted can do.”

Wade winced. “She must have loved that.”

Zack gave him a rueful look. “I’m here, aren’t I? It’s my punishment for not backing her a hundred percent. She sent me to do her dirty work.”

“Ah, so there was more,” Wade concluded. “Are you supposed to tell me to dump Gabi?”

“In so many words,” Zack acknowledged. “She suggested I phrase it more delicately. When I reminded her that I was a typical man, that I didn’t phrase things delicately, that even my bedside manner as a doctor has detractors, she threw a shoe at me. Thank heaven she has terrible aim, or that spike heel could have blinded me.”

“Sounds like fun times at your place.”

Zack nodded dolefully. “Which is why I’m going to have another beer after this one and hang out here. Want to watch some basketball? I think Carolina has a West Coast game tonight. Should be coming on about now.”

Wade tapped his beer bottle to Zack’s. “Sounds like a plan. Want pizza to go with it?”

“Absolutely, but weren’t you at dinner earlier?”

“I’m a guy. There’s always room for pizza,” he said, placing the call for a delivery. After he’d finished, he held the phone out to Zack. “Should you call Louise to let her know you’re staying?”

“Heck, no. Let her think we’re bonding and that I’m getting through to you. That’ll keep her happy enough.”

Wade shook his head. “The dynamics of your marriage are a total mystery to me.”

Zack laughed. “Me, too, my man. Me, too.”

And yet Wade didn’t have a doubt in his head that whatever those dynamics were, they worked for both Louise and Zack. He also knew that, as annoying as her tactics were, his sister wanted that same kind of strong, unbreakable bond for him. Sadly, she just didn’t believe he could find it with Gabi.

* * *

After several frustrating tries, Gabi finally found a pair of slacks she could still fit into, even though the waistband had to be held closed with a safety pin. She found a loose-fitting blouse in Samantha’s closet that had enough pizzazz to make the ill-fitting pants almost unnoticeable. She sighed as she studied the effect in her mirror. Clearly she needed to do some shopping soon, or else her only wardrobe was going to be comprised of elastic-waisted shorts and baggy T-shirts.

Excited about meeting Meg Waverly, she grabbed her purse and walked into the waterfront district, arriving at the shop right after it opened.

The woman who glanced up when she stepped inside looked to be in her late thirties or early forties. Her black hair was going unapologetically gray and had been pulled back in a tight knot that, despite its severity, flattered her face. Her eyes were a deep turquoise and alight with curiosity. She wore a pair of sea-glass earrings in that same shade of blue.

“Hi. I’m Meg. And I’ll bet you’re

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