Free Sweetheart Cottage (Cranberry Bay #1) by Mindy Hardwick

could understand why Ivy hadn’t found that special partner, but Bryan suspected it had something to do with her feelings for Josh. Something that Josh seemed not to notice. “Bill has a stamp he keeps in the left corner of the bar.”
    Ivy shook her head. “You ought to be waiting tables, not me.”
    Bryan shook his head and smiled, as, across the room, Josh waved at Ivy.
    She leaned over and whispered against Bryan’s cheek. “I’ll be right back. Someone is calling me.” Ivy lightly stepped through the center of the pub and stopped in front of Josh. She leaned close to him and touched his arm.
    Bryan turned back to his work as a song’s lyrics blasting from the pub’s speakers caught him off-guard. It was the song he had once declared as his and Rylee’s. That night, he had pulled his car up alongside the river’s bank, opened the door, and let the music seep into the night air. He held her close and danced with her under a full moon. Something inside him ached. The ache that never quite went away, no matter how much he had tried to get rid of it. He shook himself. He couldn’t think about any of that now. Those days were gone, and he’d never again trust her with his heart. Bryan pulled the listing data back up on his computer. The best thing to do was focus on his work.
    After a few minutes, Ivy set a dark bottle of ale in front of him. “November’s special is a handcrafted beer out of Portland JR’s Brewing. I can’t tell you if it’s any good or not. Josh wouldn’t give anything away.” She laid the folded and stamped card beside him. “But I did get you a stamp for November.”
    “Thanks.” Bryan took a drink. It was a little sweeter than he liked his ale, but he’d never been one to complain.
    The front door opened, and a blast of cold air shot through the pub. Councilman Cole Mays and Mayor Mitch Webb stepped inside. Both of them shook their dark jackets, and water splashed off their shoulders. Bryan peered at one of the large upper windows. The trees swayed, and water ran down the outside pane.
    Mitch spotted Bryan, nodded, and headed his way. Cole stopped to talk to Jack and Josh.
    “You’re not trying to work are you?” Mitch slid into the booth opposite him.
    “Nah.” Bryan shut his manila folder. He grinned at his longtime childhood friend.
    “Good. Because the town council meeting is over, and I need a beer.” He glanced at the heated game of pool between Chuck and Tom. “Maybe even a good game of pool.”
    “Bad?” Bryan drank another swig of beer. He wiped his upper lip with his index finger.
    “It’s always the same.” Mitch shook his head. “Until we get some new blood into town with new ideas, nothing is going to change on the council.”
    “What about some old blood with new ideas?”
    “Sounds good,” Mitch said. “Someone you know got something? Sawyer?”
    Bryan clenched his jaw. Of course, Mitch would assume Sawyer had ideas for how to help Cranberry Bay. Everyone always looked to Sawyer. First as captain of the high school baseball team and later as one of the area’s largest residential developers.
    Cole slipped into the seat beside Mitch. He leaned back and stuck his long legs out from under the table. “What’s going on with Sawyer? Did he score some more land?” Cole ran his hand through his thick dark hair.
    “Most likely.” Bryan took a long swig of his drink. His brother scooped up land like it was a handful of chocolates at a holiday party.
    “Got room for one more?” Josh slipped into the booth beside Bryan, jarring him and shoving him to the left corner.
    Bryan straightened and gave Josh a playful shove back. “Always.” Sometimes he felt closer to his longtime childhood playmates than he did to his own brothers. They’d bonded over an elementary lunchroom table, four apples, and three ice cream sandwiches and had seen each other through the ups and downs of their lives.
    “What’ve you got?” Mitch rubbed his brow. “I’m up for