Free At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks Page A

town. Your friends. In case . . . I don’t know, you want to go play poker or go hunting or fishing or something.”
“I don’t play poker. Or hunt or fish.” Or have any friends, either, he suddenly realized. Amazing that he hadn’t even noticed.
“I know,” she said. “But maybe one day you’ll want to. It’s what guys do down here with their friends. I know, for instance, that Rodney gets together to play poker once a week, and Jed is probably the most successful hunter in the county.”
“Rodney or Jed?” he asked, trying and failing to fathom spending a few hours with either of them.
“What’s wrong with Rodney and Jed?”
“Jed doesn’t like me. And I don’t think Rodney does, either.”
“That’s ridiculous. How could they not like you? But tell you what, why don’t you talk to Doris tomorrow? She might have some better ideas.”
“Poker with Rodney? Or hunting with Jed? Oh, I’d pay to see that!” Alvin howled into the receiver. Because Alvin had filmed the mysterious lights in the cemetery, he knew exactly whom Jeremy was talking about, and he still remembered them vividly. Rodney had thrown Alvin in jail on trumped-up charges after Alvin had flirted with Rachel at the Lookilu, and Jed frightened Alvin in the same way he frightened Jeremy. “I can just see it . . . sneaking through the forest in your Gucci shoes and lumberjack shirt. . . .”
“Bruno Magli,” Jeremy corrected. At Greenleaf for the night, he was still thinking about the fact that he hadn’t made any friends.
“Whatever.” Alvin laughed again. “Oh, that’s just great . . . city mouse goes country, all because the little woman made him do it. You’ve got to tell me when this happens. I’ll make a special trip down there with my camera to record it for posterity.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “I’ll pass.”
“But she has a point, you know. You do need to make some friends down there. Which reminds me . . . do you remember that girl I met?”
“Rachel?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Do you ever see her?”
“Sometimes. Actually, since she’s the maid of honor, you’ll see her, too.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Believe it or not, she’s actually dating Rodney.”
“The muscle-bound deputy? She could do better. But hey, here’s an idea. Maybe you and Lexie could double-date. Lunch at Herbs, maybe a little porch sitting . . .”
Jeremy laughed. “You sound like you’d fit in well here. You know all the exciting things to do.”
“That’s me. Mr. Adaptable. But if you see Rachel, tell her I said hi and that I’m looking forward to seeing her again.”
“Will do.”
“How’s the writing going? I’ll bet you’re getting antsy to chase another story, huh?”
Jeremy shifted in his seat. “I wish.”
“You’re not writing?”
“Not a word since I’ve been down here,” he admitted. “Between the wedding and the house and Lexie, I hardly have a spare minute.”
There was a pause. “Let me get this straight. You’re not writing at all? Even for your column?”
“No.”
“You love writing.”
“I know. And I’ll get back to it as soon as things settle down.”
Jeremy could sense his friend’s skepticism at his answer. “Good,” Alvin finally said. “Now, about the bachelor party . . . it’s going to be awesome. Everyone up here is on board, and as I promised, it’s going to be a night you’ll never forget.”
“Just remember . . . no dancing girls. And I don’t want some lady in lingerie jumping out of a cake or anything like that.”
“Oh, c’mon. It’s a tradition!”
“I’m serious, Alvin. I’m in love, remember?”
“Lexie worries about you,” Doris said. “She cares about you.”
Doris and Jeremy were having lunch the following afternoon at Herbs. Most of the lunch crowd had finished eating, and the place was clearing out. As usual, Doris had insisted that they eat; whenever they got together, she claimed Jeremy was “skin and bones,” and today Jeremy was enjoying a