The Good Race

Chapter 15

IT WAS A strange day all around, Danny thought, as he drove along the windy, dirt road leading up to the house. He had stopped thinking of it as Jackie's house and now just thought of it as the house. He wondered when he would start to think of it as their house. He supposed once that happened, he would no longer be able to deny that New Hampshire was his new home—as if he could deny it now.

As he approached, he frowned as he noticed an unfamiliar car parked in front of the house. He pulled up to the shiny red Corvette Stingray. Taking note of the license plate, FLYNLO, he sighed and sent up a plea for patience.

Willis.

He had promised Jackie he'd do his best to get along with her brother. He wanted to be with Jackie. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jackie, which meant his old nemesis was part of the package. He reminded himself that they both loved the same woman—albeit in different ways. If that was the only common ground they shared, it was, at the very least, a start. It annoyed him a bit that Ryan clearly had a key, but as he tromped up the front steps, he told himself this was the kind of thing he'd need to get used to. Ryan came with Jackie and that was that.

He opened the door and stepped into the house. Ryan was kicked back on the sofa surfing channels. He looked over when Danny came in.

"No sports channels," Ryan announced.

"I know," Danny replied. "It's maddening. She promised me she'd add them when I made a full recovery and could handle the stress."

"You look fit enough to me," Ryan said, tipping his beer to Danny.

"This is what I'm saying," Danny dropped down onto the couch. "I can't find her username and password to order them. I've been going nuts trying to find them over the last few weeks. She must keep them at the hospital."

"My sister's pretty stubborn when she wants to be."

"No shit," Danny agreed. Ryan shut the TV off and tossed the remote onto the table. "So, is this the big move?"

"No. I'm meeting with a contractor and architect to go over plans for the house and barn conversion."

"How long are you in town for?" Danny asked.

"Trying to get rid of me already?" Ryan countered.

"No. It seems I'm stuck with you. I'm just curious."

"Maybe a week or so," Ryan replied. "I need to get the lay of the land. I didn't see too much of the town before I decided to make the move. I wanted a change and Jackie's set up sounded perfect. Besides, I didn't like the idea of her living so far away. I've gotten attached to her. I'm used to having her around and I probably could have been a big enough pain in the ass to get her stay in New York, but she wouldn't have been happy. She's been looking for something." Ryan paused then met Danny's eyes. "Hopefully she's found it now. Anyway, I'm portable enough. I need space. This has it."

"I ran into an old friend today," Danny began. He was interested to gauge Ryan's reaction.

"Oh yeah? Who's that?"

"Sophie Van Stewart."

Danny had the satisfaction of watching Ryan bobble his beer. "You didn't know she lived here?" Danny smiled.

"No idea," Ryan replied.

"She owns the General Store."

"No kidding? Good for her. It'll be great to see her again," Ryan replied. He took a deep breath and another long pull of his beer. He was going kill his sister. Sophie Van Stewart? Beautiful, shy, sweet, perfect little Sophie? The one girl in school he deemed off limits to himself. Sophie was as sweet as the day was long. All that southern charm and soft upbringing and Ryan was, frankly, a goner. But Sophie wasn't for a guy like Ryan, at least not the guy he was when they all attended Trent.