Page 33 of Fallen Hearts

“I did, but Delaney actually suggested it.”

Her secret smile was easily interpretable. “She told you about Beck?”

“Yep. I guess it’s inevitable, running into exes in a town this small.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call them exes. They were honestly just kids. Where is she?”

Pia pointed to a table on the other side of the restaurant behind me. I turned and waved at Delaney, who was, indeed, watching us. She was all grown up, but as bubbly as I remembered. I turned back to Pia.

“So she’s back in town for good?”

“Pretty much. She got a job at a local pharmacy.”

“You mean,thepharmacy. We only have one.”

“The pharmacy,” she amended. “So whatcha getting?”

“Not sure yet. You?”

“Red beans and rice.”

“A sure bet.”

“Yeah, I tend to do that. Get the same thing at restaurants, if I know I like it.”

“So not a risk taker?”

Pia didn’t immediately answer. Was she suddenly thinking the same thing as me? By her expression, it seemed likely.

This wasn’t about red beans and rice.

“Not usually.”

There was an expression Rangers used when playing with fire:dancing with the dragon. That’s exactly what I was doing by pursuing this conversation.

“Never?”

“I wouldn’t say that. Maybe some things are worth taking a risk for.”

“Such as?”

Pia swallowed. “Nothing specific comes to mind.”

Liar. But I didn’t call her out since I wasn’t willing to dance with this dragon any longer.

“Jambalaya,” I said.

It took her a second to recalibrate.

“Sounds good. Well, I better get back to Delaney.”

“I’ll have to say hello to her before we leave.”

“If we go first, we’ll do the same,” she said. “But I can’t say I’m rushing out of here anytime soon.” Pia stood. “The sax player is amazing. So much good live music in a town of this size. O’Malley’s. Here. It’s awesome.”

“Cedar Falls is known for it. At one point, there was a push to make music a selling point of the town. Though it’s not quite Nashville, the sentiment sort of stuck.”

“I’ve heard that’s a great city.”

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