“Jackson is the most decent guy I’ve ever met.” Flynn jumped up, jerked the place mat out from under his plate and tossed it in the sink, and then returned to the table. “And shame on you if you’re just using him.”

“Using him for what?” Nessa asked.

“For a good time. Because he’s close by. Because you haven’t been with a man in a while. Take your pick,” Flynn said.

“Hey, that’s downright mean.” April accentuated each word with a stab of her fork toward him. How dare he judge Nessa when he’d done the same thing to women? To many women? “Are you judging Nessa by your own half bushel?”

“I’m sorry,” Flynn answered. “And yes, I was.”

“Apology accepted, but I’m not that kind of person.” Nessa shot a dirty look across the table. “We’ve been here three weeks now, Flynn. Is this the longest you’ve gone without putting on your running shoes to chase a woman?”

April’s eyes shifted from one cousin to the other and back again. She would have been willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that Nessa had slept with Jackson. There had been a glow about her as well as a smile she couldn’t wipe off her face when she’d come in after midnight.

Flynn took a deep breath. “Yes, three weeks is the longest I’ve ever been without sex, but I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I’m working hard to overcome the man I was, and I think I’m making progress.”

“Explain, please,” April said. “Did a woman do the same thing to you that you usually do to them?”

Flynn took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s exactly what happened, and now that I know how painful it is, I’m changing my ways. I never thought twice about having a one-night stand or a weekend fling. Last time around, I wanted more when Monday morning came, but she didn’t.”

“And?” April could tell by the way his eyes misted over that things had not gone well.

“She laughed in my face. Told me that she was already married and I’d just been her excitement for a weekend,” Flynn answered. “I have never, ever messed around with married women. As bad as my dad is when it comes to women, he has a steadfast rule about married ladies. Maybe he didn’t want to mess up two marriages at once. For my part, I don’t know why I didn’t figure things out, but I damn sure got burned.”

“Uncle Matthew might not go out with a married woman, but he doesn’t mind cheating on whatever woman he’s married to, which is about the same thing,” April said.

“I know, but I was trying to at least give him a little grace,” Flynn said.

“How long ago did this happen?” April asked.