agreed. “Obviously he raised the bar.”
She laughed softly at that. “I see you have the same glib tongue as well as the same blue eyes.”
Channing blue, his mother referred to the clear, deep shade that each of her children had inherited from their father.
He pushed the distracting thought aside.
“Jay said that you’re a teacher,” he noted.
“I am,” she confirmed. “I also work here two nights a week. I originally took the job because I had too much time on my hands—but since we’ve started planning the wedding, I’ve got none. Now, I’m only working until Duke hires and trains a replacement.
“Or until he fires me,” she suggested as an alternative. “Because I’m not doing a very good job, am I? Gabbing your ear off instead of asking what you want to drink.”
He scanned the taps. “I’ll take a pint of Icky.”
She grabbed a glass and tipped it beneath the spout. “So when did you get into town?”
He glanced at his watch. “About ten minutes ago.”
Her brows lifted. “This was your first stop?”
“As my brother’s fiancée, I’m sure you’ve met my parents and can appreciate the need for a little fortification before facing them.”
She gave him a stern look that probably worked well on her students, but he could see the ghost of a smile hovering at the corners of her mouth as she set the beer glass on a paper coaster in front of him.
Maybe he was surprised to discover that this was the woman his brother had chosen as his bride—and even more surprised that he was choosing to get married at all—but he instinctively sensed that Alyssa would be good for Jay. And though Spencer had never thought in terms of a wife and kids and happily-ever-after, he decided that his brother was a lucky guy.
“Does anyone know you’re here?” she asked, after he’d sipped and nodded his approval of the draft.
“Sitting on this stool?”
“In Haven,” she clarified.
“Nah. I talked to my mom yesterday and told her I was on my way home, but I didn’t tell her when I’d be arriving.”
“You didn’t want her to slaughter the fatted calf in honor of your return?” she teased.
“All the calves at Crooked Creek Ranch were scrawny,” he told her. “Which was probably just as well, because if one had been slaughtered, my mother might try to cook it.”
“More likely she’d have Celeste do it,” Alyssa noted, referring to the Channings’ long-time cook. Then her expression grew serious. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Healing,” he said.
“How long are you planning to stay?”
He lifted his uninjured shoulder. “I’m not sure yet.”
And while it was true that he wasn’t working with a specific timeline—except maybe the end of season event in Vegas—this was the first time he’d returned to Haven since his freshman year at UNLV that he wasn’t already counting the days until he could leave again. This time, it was entirely possible that he might decide to stay. For a while, anyway.
“Are you staying with your parents?” Alyssa asked, her question again bringing him back to the present.
“For now,” he admitted. “Although I’m not sure I’ll last even a week there.”
“Well, if you decide you want to hang around longer than that and you want your own space, you could always stay at my place,” she invited.
“I’m not sure how my brother would feel about me bunking with his fiancée,” he said cautiously.
Her cheeks flushed prettily. “Not with me—just in my apartment,” she clarified. “Most of my stuff has been moved to Jason’s place already, so it wouldn’t be a big deal to get the rest of it out of your way.”
His surprise gave way to curiosity. “Is the apartment furnished?”
She nodded. “It’s not fancy, but it’s got all the essentials.”
“Bed, shower and TV?” he guessed.
“And a fridge and stove in the kitchen, too.”
He didn’t tell her that he didn’t cook, because he knew he was going to have to learn to do more than warm up canned beans to serve on toasted bread. Just one more adjustment to be made in a life he soon wouldn’t recognize as his own.
“That could work,” he agreed.
“Just let me know when you want to see the place,” she offered.
He finished his beer and pushed the empty glass across the bar. “Would now be a good time?”
She laughed. “I’m working now. Plus, you were going to stay with your parents for at least a few days.”
“Only because I didn’t think I had any other options,” he confided.
She smiled at that, then she touched a hand to his arm. “It’s great to finally meet you, Spencer. And I know everyone will be thrilled that you’re home.”
He didn’t know if it was the warmth of her touch or the sincerity of her tone, but with those words, the weight that he’d carried on his shoulders since he’d started this journey began to lift away.
For the past five years, he’d lived like a nomad, not always knowing when he woke up in the morning where he’d be laying his head that night. He hadn’t had a home—just a series of hotel rooms that all started to look the same after a while.
But Alyssa was right—this was his home.
And it was good to be back.
* * *
Spencer Channing was coming home.
The town of Haven had been buzzing with the news all week—and it was only Wednesday!
Kenzie Atkins first heard about the rodeo cowboy’s imminent return on Monday at The Daily Grind, where she stopped for a tall vanilla latte every morning on her way to work.
“He’s coming home for his brother’s wedding,” Lacey Seagram told her.
It was a credible explanation for his return, except Kenzie knew that Jason and Alyssa weren’t getting married until December and the nuptials were taking place in California.
“I heard he was suspended for fighting,” Jerry Tate had reported to her the following afternoon.
He was a twice-weekly patient at Back in the Game—the local sports medicine clinic—who suffered from chronic lower back issues. Kenzie suspected
