Page 33 of Undone

“And?” I said.

“And what?” Shannon looked between the two of us.

“And I got up close and personal with Indigo and only slightly freaked out,” she said. Shannon whooped in response.

“That’s fantastic. Of course we need to celebrate.” Shannon turned to look at me. What are you thinking? Magiano’s is spoiled for me now that I’ve had Zoe’s pizza. What about the chicken and ribs place near Beaumont? It’s not that far and I’ve been dying to try their barbeque. Oh, and maybe we could see who else is available and turn it into a party.”

Admittedly, my idea of a celebration hadn’t involved anyone other than me and Zoe, but Shannon was on a roll and itwouldbe good to get out. Every time I’ve driven past Charlie’s Pride, the smells coming from their smokehouse made my mouth water and the one time I’d managed to eat there, I’d vowed to come back.

“I don’t know, Shan,” Zoe said. “I was really hoping to work on these photos.”

“Come on, Josh is right. This is definitely cause for celebration.Twocelebrations. Please?” Shannon held her hands together and whatever look she gave her friend, Zoe relented and agreed.

“Okay, that does sound good. Give me a couple of hours to work on this and we can head out. Sound good?”

We all agreed, and Zoe settled at the kitchen table, tuning us out whileshe got to work. I grabbed a soda and headed to my office. Shannon caught up to me before I got there.

“Josh?” I turned to see her biting her lip as if she was wrestling with something. I twisted the cap off the bottle and took a sip waiting for her to talk. She frowned at me. “Okay, fine. You’re not going to make this easy.” She paused again and I took another sip.

She growled and it was all I could do to keep a blank face. She crossed her arms and looked down toward my feet. “It occurs to me that you might have had other plans for a celebration with Zoe.”

“I did.”

“Plans that didn’t involve me.”

I wanted to grin, but instead huffed out a sigh. “I did.”

“I’m sorry that I jumped in when you were trying to make plans. If you’d rather I didn’t go, I can make up an excuse that’ll keep me here,” she said. But when she looked up at me, I realized that she really did feel bad. And theywerebest friends. Of course she wanted to celebrate with Zoe. I decided not to torment her by dragging it out.

“Well, I had been considering Magiano’s but you’re right. Charlie’s Pride is a better option, and that place is no fun unless you come with a crowd. Good choice, Sis.”

I left my sister standing in the hallway with her mouth hanging open before I heard her mumble, “Who are you and where is Josh?”

I chuckled as she stomped away. Agreeing to go to a noisy restaurant outside of town was out of character for me but given everything that Zoe had managed to accomplish today, it was only fair that I step out of my comfort zone, too.

The pungent, flavorful scent of smoked pork and tri-tip hit us before we exited the highway and I drew in a deep breath.

“Oh wow, how can anyone work around here smelling that all the time? My stomach would constantly be grumbling,” Zoe said as I took the off ramp and headed for the giant sign with a pig wearing a chef’s apron.

“Right? I can’t believe they’ve been open for more than a year now and I haven’t made the time to stop,” Shannon said. “The smell makes my mouth water every time I drive past.”

I turned into the parking lot and was surprised to see two SUVs belonging to the Poplar Springs sheriff’s department. Our town sheriff was leaning against his car talking to one of his deputies. “Huh, I wonder if something happened?” I gestured to the vehicles.

“Oh, um, well, you know how you said that this place is more fun with a crowd?” Shannon started.

“Yes?” I said.

“Shan, what did you do?” Zoe said at the same time.

We both turned to look at her and she grinned. “I might have sent out a group text to see if anyone wanted to join us. Nothing big. It was so last minute, I didn’t know if anyone would actually come.”

I rolled my eyes and Zoe made some sort of strangled noise before glaring at her friend. Shannon shrugged and grinned.

I parked next to Brian and got out to shake his hand. A few years younger than me, Brian Thorne had recently taken over as the town’s sheriff. Next to him was Sofia, his most senior deputy, and her brother Rafael, one of the teachers at Poplar Springs High.

“Wasn’t expecting to see you here. How are you?”

“Good. Amy mentioned the invite, and we were planning on meeting up for dinner anyway and thought this would be fun. You don’t mind, do you?” Brian said as Zoe and Shannon joined us. “Hi, I’m Brian Thorne. Not sure if you remember me, but you were a few years ahead of me in school.” Introductions were made all around.

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