“Ugh,” Vickie answered, making a face. She hated messes and her back deck was nothing but a mess right now. “That storm we had last month brought down a huge limb from that maple tree. Luckily it missed the house, but it took out the whole corner of the deck. The tree guys finished cleaning up the debris last week.” She joined Zoey at the door. “Gordon Lexiter is going to do the deck work...hopefully sooner rather than later. He was supposed to start this week, but as you can see, there’s no sign of him yet.”

She knew people thought she was too demanding, but how hard was it to be punctual?

“Gordy’s a good guy,” Zoey said. “You two went to school together, right?”

“He was a year behind me, but yes. It’s not like we hung out in the same circles.” Not that anyone knew of, at least. But there was that one night...

Zoey laughed. “I wasn’t suggesting you were sweethearts or anything. Just that you’re both locals, like me.” Her phone let out a ping, and she pulled it out to check, then started laughing. “Mike and his stupid riddles.” She responded, then groaned, turning the phone so Vickie could read the texts.

M: What’s the opposite of a croissant?

Z: No clue

M: A happy uncle!

“You two have been trading jokes since you were kids.” Vickie rolled her eyes. “After all these years, the jokes aren’t getting any better.”

“I can’t argue that,” Zoey answered. “And speaking of Mike...did you and your pals really set him up with Rachel the librarian? She lives on a boat that’s lucky to be floating for all the books inside. What on earth made you think that was a good idea?”

Vickie let out a long sigh. That hadn’t been the book club’s greatest match. “We’re running out of options for the man. Cecile said Rachel was a nice, quiet woman who was a little shy. Mike’s a nice, quiet guy who never goes anywhere, so we thought maybe they could be a nice quiet couple together.”

“I think your little gang of matchmakers should take a break where Mike is concerned. I know it’s been three years since Becca died, but neither Mary nor I get the sense that he has any real interest in dating yet.”

Vickie sighed again. “Well, you two would know. She’s his twin and you may as well be. We just hate to see such a pleasant, handsome, successful man with no one by his side.” She tipped her head and stared at Zoey. “You aren’t interested...?”

“Oh, hell, no!” Zoey’s face scrunched up. “We’ve known each other since third grade, and there’s never been a hint of attraction between us.” She leveled a look at Vickie. “Don’t even think about it.”