Free Everybody Knows (Sunnyside #1) by Jacie Floyd Page A

a
relationship like that. Only one day away from Chicago, and she missed her
friends already. She’d stayed up late last night Skyping with her bestie
Nathan, but in the long run, it might be hard to maintain the closeness they’d
developed in the last few years. She cleared her throat, and Zach turned his
attention to her.
    “You ready to go?” He looked her over, and his
eyes sparked a flare of heat.
    “You’re going to wear that to the library?” Kate asked.
    “Why not?” Harper looked down at her super casual
and slightly sexy outfit, second-guessing her decision.
    “It gives the wrong vibe.” Zach’s friend cracked
her knuckles. “Kind of looks like an open invitation.”
    “An invitation to work out?”
    “For a hard day of, um, Zumba?” Kate looked
skeptical. “I don’t think so.”
    Harper’s cheeks reddened. “I’ll change before I go
to the council meeting.” She bit her lip and looked to Zach.
    “You look fine.” He waved the discussion away.
“You’ve gotten a few surprises since you arrived. No reason you shouldn’t
surprise a few people, too.” He hooked an elbow around Kate’s neck for a
brotherly hug, kissing her cheek. “See ya later, babe.”
    “Yep, later.” She grabbed a bottle of water from
the fridge for him to take. “Make sure she doesn’t meet the town council
dressed like that. With Bert’s heart condition, he’ll keel right over. You
better have your medical bag with you.”
    “You heard her, smart ass. She’s planning to
change before the meeting.” Laughing, Zach took Harper by the arm and pulled
her toward town when she would have turned in the wrong direction. He tried to
take her tote from her, but she kept a firm grip on it. “Tell me the truth. Did
Kate give you a hard time?”
    She tensed, but looked up at him without
complaint. “Nope.”
    “Good. Sorry I forgot to let her know you were
there. She’s a little protective of Rachel... and me. My whole family, really.
The Monroes have lived next door to us since I was a little kid. Both families
were in and out of one another’s houses so often it felt like communal living
sometimes.”
    “That must be nice.”
    “Our parents were best friends in high school.
Kate and Rachel have been best friends since pre-school. Her brother and I were
best friends for a long time, too.”
    She let an extended moment pass. “Not anymore?”
    “No, he died.”

Zach could not believe he’d said that. He never
mentioned Tyler to anyone outside the family. Never. Everyone in town knew
about Ty and the way he’d died and Zach’s involvement, so they didn’t bring it
up. Much. Except when they poured their endless sympathy on him and attempted
to comfort him when they thought he needed it. Like they’d start doing again
now with this latest car crash.
    Hell, sympathy didn’t do him any good. Tyler had
died. No comfort to be found in that for Zach.
    “When?”
    “Seventeen years ago.” Seventeen years with the
guilt. More than half his life. Not his fault. Everybody knew that. Hell, even
he knew that. He told himself so every damn day. But if it wasn’t his fault,
then whose was it? The nagging echoes of remorse pinched him at the oddest
times.
    “It seems so much more tragic when someone dies
young, doesn’t it?”
    “You don’t know the half of it.”
    “You’re right. I don’t. Do you want to talk about
it?”
    Well, hell. Absolutely not. She’d just uttered his
seven least favorite words when they were strung together in that order. If
only he weren’t so bone-tired-weary from last night’s nightmare, he wouldn’t
have stumbled into this conversation.
    Uncapping the bottle, he took a long swig and
shifted his thoughts. The day was shaping up to be another scorcher with
temperatures over a hundred. Only seven AM, and he was already sweating. That
kind of heat was hardest on his elderly patients. He’d have to remind his
office manager to check on the ones who lived alone.
    “No, sorry. This