Free Lingering Touch: The Summer Park Psychics, Book 3 by Cassandra Chandler

otherwise.
    Finn seemed to sense that he shouldn’t push that line of inquiry. He let out a little scoff. “I still can’t believe Elsa’s shacking up with someone.”
    “She’s an amazing woman. Why is it so hard to believe?”
    “I don’t know. I guess I just imagined you two becoming spinsters together.”
    “You think spinster is part of my life’s plans?”
    She glanced over at him. He was glaring at her. Then he looked away.
    Yeah. There it was.
    She had always guessed that Finn wanted the whole package. Marriage, kids, picket fence. Jazz wasn’t interested. She didn’t need rings or ceremonies to bind herself to Finn. He shouldn’t either. And even though Jazz loved her nieces and kids in general, motherhood was not for her.
    She’d tried to bring up the subject once while they were dating. He’d scared her off from the topic before she could ask if it was a deal-breaker.
    “Kids? Kids are great. I have all of these cousins with bunches of them. I wish I had nieces and nephews to enjoy, but…you know. Curses of an only child.”
    The whole conversation had been so awkward and his reference to curses had freaked her out. They’d only been dating for a few weeks at the time. His position seemed pretty clear, though. She had hoped maybe after they’d been together longer if she brought it up again it wouldn’t be an obstacle. He’d left her before she had a chance.
    She’d known she was fooling herself anyway.
    “Yeah, well, I guess it’s just going to be me knitting on the porch in a rocking chair.”
    He let out a sharp laugh.
    “What is it now?”
    He ignored her cutting tone.
    “That is the funniest mental image. No matter how I try to picture it, I always see you standing up and throwing aside the needles, and saying, ‘Seriously?’ before storming off the porch.”
    At least he understood that domesticity wasn’t for her.
    They didn’t have a chance to say more. Jazz pulled up to the curb in front of his place. A few cars still dotted the street. The bar had probably just closed. Her heart beat in her throat as they walked toward the front door.
    Tommy had named the place Connelly’s and their name was painted on a tasteful and understated sign that stuck out above the street. Jazz had tried to get Tommy to let her upgrade the storefront, but he wouldn’t budge. He had teased her that she’d have to wait till Finn ran the place, since she had more sway over him.
    The windows were coated with opaque dark green paint to give the people inside privacy. Finn popped his dad’s hat onto his head and opened the door, then held it in place with his foot. Even wearing gloves, he seemed not to want to touch anything for too long. That handle was probably layered with memories, some of them recent, most of them clouded from drink.
    She slipped past him quickly so he could get away from the door.
    Connelly’s… She had missed this place too. The smells had changed. At closing, the scent of cleaner was front and center. But instead of the air being thick with grease, it was lighter. The sharpness of smoked meat was the main note she detected instead of the fryer.
    “When did you guys start doing BBQ?” she asked.
    “Daphne talked dad into setting up a smoker. She’s a really good cook.”
    Daphne again. Jazz’s replacement.
    “I know how you feel about BBQ outside of KC,” Finn said, “but you really should give it a try.”
    There was laughter in his tone, and for a moment, Jazz could almost believe things were back to the way they had been before. They used to meet at the bar most weeknights. The three of them would eat dinner together and talk, then Tommy would go to bed. Finn and Jazz would sit up and talk before finding their way to his room.
    Jazz couldn’t care less about Daphne’s BBQ. She could care a hell of a lot less about Daphne cozying up to the Connellys.
    The woman of the hour stepped out from the kitchen—at least, Jazz assumed it was Daphne. She held a plastic tub