“You’re my best friend. You couldn’t escape me if you tried.”

CHAPTER NINE

“THANKS,” AIDAN SAID GRUDGINGLY. “I owe you.”

Del waved off the words. “I’m happy to help.”

Aidan shoved his hands into his jeans front pockets. “Two of my guys are out sick with whatever’s going around, and Rick’s still recovering from falling off the mountain. Mom can usually fill in, but she’s not feeling well, either.”

“Like I said, it’s no big deal.”

“You don’t have a shoot or something?”

“Nope, I’m all yours.”

Del studied his brother. They looked a lot alike. When they’d been kids, it had been easy for strangers to pick out the Mitchell brothers. Back then the boys had thought the similarities were funny. Now they simply existed. But even though Del and Aidan shared traits on the outside, he wasn’t so sure they had much else in common.

He’d been pleased when his brother had called and asked for his help today with a local tour. Not only was he happy to fill in, he was hoping that by being there when his brother needed him, he could open the lines of communications.

Aidan handed him a stack of maps. “It’s a pretty simple walking tour of the town. You hit the highlights, talk about the history. We have a deal with Brew-haha. Patience will have drinks and pastries for everyone there. Once they have their drinks, you give them the store maps and leave them downtown to shop. Oh, and tell the guys about the sporting goods store over by The Christmas Attic. After an hour, they get lunch from Ana Raquel. She has the food truck by the park. Once the folks have their lunch, you’re done.”

Del studied the map. It was similar to the one he’d used when he’d been in charge of the company. There were a few modifications, but nothing he couldn’t handle. “I got it,” he said. “I even remember my town history.”

Aidan didn’t look convinced. “It’s just that I have a three-day river rafting trip heading out in a couple of hours that I need to get started. Then I’m taking a group for camping and bird-watching for two days.”

Del stared at his brother. “You go bird-watching?”

For the first time since Del had arrived, Aidan smiled. “Naw. I go camping. Some university professor guy comes along for the bird-watching.” Aidan sighed heavily. “We have a lot of birds in the area and now I know about all of them.”

“Bummer.”

“Tell me about it.” He glanced toward two women in their twenties in the waiting area of the tour office. They were both wearing shorts and hiking boots, with backpacks resting beside them.

Pretty enough, Del thought, watching his brother eye the women. “Compensation for having to listen to lectures on birds?” he asked.

Aidan raised a shoulder. “Very possibly.”

An interesting life choice, Del thought, knowing that kind of serial hooking-up wasn’t for him. Unlike his brother, he wasn’t into the thrill of the chase. He was, at heart, a one-woman guy. The trick seemed to be finding the right woman.

Aidan reached for a piece of paper on his desk. “Okay, here’s your group. They’ll be here at nine-thirty. There are ten in all.”

Del studied the sheet. There were the names, along with the route Aidan wanted him to take. It hadn’t changed all that much in the past ten years. The tour started by the lake, went by the park, then to City Hall and Brew-haha and ended by The Christmas Attic.

“Easy enough,” he told his brother. “I got this. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Sure thing.”

He knew Aidan was expecting him to say more. Maybe mention that they hadn’t been spending any time together. But a busy morning with tours heading out wasn’t the time. He would approach Aidan later.

“I’ll go grab a coffee and be back at nine,” he said.

“I’ll be gone by then. Millie will get you started.”

Millie was the fiftysomething woman working the counter. Del had already met her.

Del waved once and left. He left a message for Maya, explaining why he wouldn’t be joining her on their planned editing session. After that, he spent a few minutes on his smartphone, reviewing town history. He had a feeling that once he started talking, it would all come back to him.

He wanted to do a good job for Aidan—so his brother could stop being so pissed at him. Since coming home, he’d started to realize how much he’d missed his family. The fault was his—he’d been the one not to stay in touch. His initial goal had simply been to avoid the place where his world had crashed around him. Now he saw he’d taken that too far.

At eight forty-five he was back in the office. He checked in with Millie, then introduced himself to the tourists who would be on his tour. A little before nine Maya walked in.

She had on a pink sundress and flat sandals. Her long blond hair had been pulled back in a braid. She looked pretty, and while technically the dress didn’t show anything it shouldn’t or come close to being short, she looked amazingly sexy.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, hoping his pleasure at the sight of her wasn’t obvious to everyone around him.

“I got your message. You haven’t done this in ten years,” she told him. “I thought you could use help.”

“Like you know more about this town than me?”

She smiled. “I was always better with the in-town tour groups and you know it.”