Free A Small-Town Reunion by Terry McLaughlin

she’d decided on herwedding dress. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other again. Not socially, anyway.”
    “Aw, Addie.” Charlie blew out a long, unhappy sigh. “What happened? Did you two have a fight?”
    “No.” Addie ran the iron over a curve, melting another joint. “There wasn’t anything much to fight about—that was part of the problem.” She wiped the tip of the iron on the little chunk of wet sponge on the holder, watching a wisp of steam rise and tiny spatters of molten solder skitter across the blackened surface. “No heat.”
    “But you two were such a good couple.”
    “We were, weren’t we?” Addie picked up her brush and scrubbed bits of metal from the caming, remembering the first time she’d seen Mick—loping out to left field, wearing the sun on his hair and a grin on his face. Making an amazing catch, making her heart skip with possibilities. “He’s such a sweetheart. I wish I could have talked myself into loving him. But the harder I tried, the more I knew I wasn’t being fair to either of us.”
    “You’re feeling this way because Dev’s back in town, aren’t you?” Charlie jumped from her stool to pace around the worktable. “This is all his doing, isn’t it?”
    “No,” Addie said after a second’s hesitation. “Not exactly.”
    “What do you mean, exactly? ”
    “He came in yesterday, while Mick was here fixing my storage bins.”
    “Sounds like something he’d pull.”
    “Charlie.” Addie set down her brush with a sigh. “He didn’t know Mick would be here. He didn’t even know about Mick.”
    Embarrassment and regret washed through Addie as she remembered how quickly Dev had figured things out. How flustered and confused and clumsy she’d felt as he stood there, staring at her in that curious way. How her reactions to Dev’s presence must have hurt Mick, if only a little.
    She’d relived those moments, over and over, through the night and again this morning. And wondered what she was going to do—how she was going to deal with Dev if he suspected she was attracted to him.
    “That’s no excuse.” Charlie squinted with suspicion. “What was Dev doing here in the first place?”
    “He came to check on the window repair.”
    “Is that what he told you?”
    “Yes.”
    Charlie threw her arms wide. “And you believed him?”
    “Why shouldn’t I?”
    “Because he won’t leave you alone, and he always hurts you. He’s always been nothing but trouble for you.”
    Addie leaned forward, fisting a hand over her heart. “I made that trouble for myself.” And oh, how the truth hurt. It punched her in the stomach and stung her eyes. But it was time she faced it and dealt with it. She’d cocooned herself in layer upon layer of daydreams about an impossible future with a man who’d never—not once, in all these years—shown any real interest in her.
    “You’re defending him,” Charlie pointed out, “just like you always do. The same way you stick up for everybody.”
    Addie struggled to get her response past the hot knot in her throat. “You make me sound like a doormat.”
    “No, that’s not what I meant.” Charlie strode toward the nearest counter. “But you’ve always been too nice for your own good. Too generous, too patient. Always looking for the best in everyone. Good ol’ Addie, every—”
    Charlie cut her rant short when she turned and caught Addie dashing away a tear. “Oh, Addie, I didn’t mean it,” she said, rushing around the table to wrap her in a clumsy hug. “You’re rotten. Rotten to the core. Most of the time, I hate your guts.”
    Addie sputtered through a choking laugh. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”
    “Nice? Me?” Charlie gave Addie’s shoulders a squeeze. “Now I know you’re upset.”
    Addie sniffed hugely and shook her head. “I’m not as upset as I should be. About Mick, I mean. And that tells me I did the right thing.”
    “If you say so.”
    Charlie dragged a stool closer to