Page 87 of A Hard Habit to Break

Pete plastered on a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yada, yada. I’ll protect her feelings as soon as I stop bleeding because of her bird.”

“Ricky was here before Rachel, Pete.”

“Nothing like being attacked by the local wildlife in your own town,” he muttered. “The sooner she’s away from Service, the better.”

“Our town. Rachel included,” Noah grumbled, his voice edged with a protective instinct he didn’t realize had a menacing quality till now. “Let her alone.”

They stood there in silence, two men who used to share beers and bad jokes, now staring across a chasm neither wanted to admit was real. Rachel returned with a bag of frozen corn wrapped in a dish towel.

“Here you go,” she said, handing it to Pete. “This should help with the swelling. Be sure to cleanse the skin well with warm, soapy water.”

“You a doctor now?” Pete grumbled, pressing the makeshift ice pack to his shin.

“Nope. But, if we had a clinic, I’d tell you to have them take a look if the redness spreads, there’s drainage, or you develop a fever.”

“Yada, yada,” Pete interrupted. “I know the drill. And just because you came home thinking we need a clinic, doesn’t mean those of us who stayed don’t know what’s best for Service.”

Noah had known Pete since they were kids, and he’d never seen him behave this way. It was almost as if he had a personal vendetta against Rachel, even with her reasonable firstaid advice. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something more fueled the open hostility.

“Rachel isn’t wrong, Pete. Folks around here could benefit from having schools, healthcare, and gas closer to home.”

“We don’t need outsiders telling us what to do, Noah. So, Rachel,” Pete said, his tone deceptively casual, “you still on your two-week countdown? I mean, surely a woman of the world will grow bored with everything”—Pete gazed in Noah’s direction—“in a small town like Service.”

Noah stiffened. Pete’s cheap shot took aim at him as well as Rachel. Her smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

“Actually, I’ve missed this place more than I realized. Experiencing the world through different cultures and countries expands your perspective on what’s really important in life. It’s a journey I’d cosign for every person who’s able”—she looked at Noah—“but there’s no place like home.”

Noah wrapped an arm around Rachel’s waist, pulling her close. “And I, for one, couldn’t be happier about it.”

As Rachel leaned into him, Noah saw something flash in Pete’s eyes. It was gone in an instant, replaced by a forced smile. It was enough for Noah to realize Pete was jealous. Of Rachel? Of Noah’s happiness? Both?

“Well, isn’t that sweet?” Pete said, his words laced with an undercurrent of cynicism. “I guess true love conquers all, huh?”

Noah opened his mouth to respond, but Rachel beat him to it. “For us, it does. Unless you think the farmer’s daughter is beneath Service’s favorite hometown hero?”

Now, that was a specific kind of insult. For a split second, panic flashed across Pete’s face. He quickly composed himself, shaking his head.

“Not at all. I’m just looking out for my best friend. Can’t betoo careful these days, with would-be saviors trying to change our town, right?”

Wow, that statement didn’t reflect the town Noah knew better than his own mind. As Rachel and Pete engaged in a tense standoff, Noah found himself caught in the middle, torn between his loyalty to a friend he’d known all his life and his distrust of a man who openly antagonized the woman he loved, at every opportunity. It didn’t make sense, but Noah couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was more to Pete’s hostility than their band of brotherhood.

“Well, it’s a good thing Rachel’s as homegrown as you and me.”

“There’s that,” his friend chuckled.

Noah nodded, disliking what he’d witnessed. “Best be on your way, Pete. We’ll talk later.”

Pete tipped his hat. “Sure thing, partner. Rachel, you look different today. Did you change your makeup?”

Rachel’s face paled at the dig about her freckles. The truck’s engine revved, and Pete disappeared into the night.

“Six.” Noah looked over his shoulder as his best friend drove away, angered by the mean-spirited comment. “Pete’s being a jerk. If you weren’t here, I’d drag him to the falls and dunk him headfirst.”

“That I’d pay to see.” Rachel let out a brief, humorless laugh.

Noah brushed his thumb over her smooth cheek, the freckles smiling back at him. “You okay?”

Rachel shrugged, her brows pinched, an expression he didn’t care to see on her pretty face.