“You’re kidding, right?” Conner closed the door firmly behind him and bolted it. “It was all I could do to find the road. We can have pizza tomorrow night.”

“We can have pizza tomorrow night. But the next night Maggie’s invited us to her house for dinner, along with Rush and Tracy.”

“Great!” Conner shrugged out of his coat, fending off Bucket’s overly enthusiastic welcome with one hand. “Sometimes I wish I’d been sharp enough to take that woman away from you and marry her myself.”

“You tried, as I remember. In fact, you told me that if I didn’t propose to her, you were going to step in and take over.” Travis walked to the counter, filled Conner’s coffee mug, and handed it to him. “Did you rescue our sign?”

“It’s in the bed of the truck. You can help me bolt it back up tomorrow. It’ll take two of us to do the job. But there’s another thing.” Conner took a seat at the table, sipping the hot black coffee.

“Let me guess,” Travis said. “You didn’t just rescue the sign, did you?”

“Tomorrow, after we put up the sign, I’ll need to borrow your truck and that tow chain in the shed to pull a car out of a ditch.”

“All right. But you owe me the whole story.” Travis gave him a knowing wink. “A blonde, brunette, or redhead?”

Conner groaned. “Damn it, you think you’re smart, don’t you?”

“Hey, I’ve known you since high school, and you haven’t changed. So tell me, what does she look like, and how far did you get with her?”

“Hey, I just took her home. And she was a nice girl, a teacher. She was so bundled up that all I could see was her face, but she did look kind of cute. Brunette, I think. I offered to pick her up in the morning and pull her car out, so she could drive it home. Maybe something will work out, maybe not.”

Travis reached down, scratched Bucket’s ears, and gave him a bite-sized piece of leftover doughnut. “I thought you were holding out for your dream woman to show up at the ball.”

“That’s the plan. In the meantime, there’s no harm in having a little fun, is there?”

Travis shook his head. “Something tells me you’re having too much fun. When are you going to grow up and settle down?”

Conner grinned. “Maybe when I find a woman who can hold a candle to your Maggie. Don’t worry. When the time’s right, and when I find the right lady, I’ll know.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, Maggie told me you were welcome to bring a date to dinner tomorrow night. If things click with your new friend, why not invite her?”