Brody couldn’t help the grin that broke across his face. He slathered more ketchup on his fries. “Yes, ma’am, they are.” For that ingenious idea, he completely credited Anthony. One morning last week, Brody had come to work to find Anthony in the kitchen slicing potatoes. In that deep, baritone voice of his, Anthony said he wanted to try his hand at homemade chips to replace the ones they’d been buying. Brody had just about kissed the man’s feet for thinking so practically. Making their own potato chips was much cheaper than buying bags of them, not to mention a whole lot tastier.

“Where’d you find this guy, anyway?” Avery asked.

Brody spread some mayonnaise on his burger. “He was the bartender. Dad fired our other chef, then by chance I tasted some of Anthony’s food.”

“So you’ve made him the new chef?” Avery wanted to know.

“Not quite yet. I’m still working on convincing him.” That morning, Brody’s hopes had skyrocketed when he’d spotted Anthony in the kitchen, already soaking up every word from Stanley, one of the sous-chefs, like a sponge. Then he’d mentioned the word “pictures,” and the man’s smile had faltered. Although Anthony’s proficiency for learning was off the charts, something was holding the guy back. As though his fear of failure outweighed his confidence in his own abilities.

Avery glanced around the restaurant. “Convincing? Does he not want to be a chef?”

“It’s not that. He’s just a bit apprehensive about running a kitchen.”

His brother Noah, Avery’s husband, had been quiet as usual sitting in the booth beside her. He swallowed a bite of food before saying “Yeah, how did Dad take you promoting the bartender without consulting him?”

Their father didn’t take well to not being consulted on anything. But Brody had done what he thought was best for the restaurant. And he’d been willing to lay down his career for it. “Actually he’s not technically the head chef yet. I just made him the interim chef until he has enough confidence to run the kitchen like a pro.”

“Sounds like you’re kind of stuck in limbo,” Noah said.

Brody shook his head. “Limbo between rock and a hard place.”

Noah held his hands up. “Just because I’m not involved in the family business doesn’t mean I don’t have one of these,” he said with a tap to the side of his head.

“I’m surprised you were able to get RJ to fill in. I didn’t think he liked it here,” Avery said.

Brody looked around for his younger brother, but he hadn’t entered the bar yet.

“I don’t think not liking the restaurant was the problem,” Noah answered.

“It wasn’t,” Brody added. “He didn’t want to be just a bartender. For some reason Dad always held him back. Besides,” he said with a shrug, “he’s happier with what he’s doing now. Cars have always been his passion.”

RJ went to car auctions and picked out diamonds in the rough. He fixed them up into world-class vehicles and sold them for quite a profit. In the last year or so, word had spread about RJ’s fine craftsmanship. People in the area had started taking their clunkers to him and paying him to restore them. Little by little, he’d been able to build a nice business for himself. What Brody didn’t know was how his little brother was able to spare time to pour drinks.

“Did you see the seventy-two Mustang he just did?” Noah shook his head and picked up his bacon cheeseburger. “I swear that thing was a piece of art.”

Avery picked up her water glass but didn’t take a sip. “Noah sulked for a week because I wouldn’t let him buy the car.”

Brody chuckled. His brother was damn lucky to have such a wonderful woman like Avery. They had a dynamite marriage and were head over heels about each other. Brody missed that—though not necessarily being married. He missed having a companion, someone who could finish his sentences for him and know what mood he was in even if he didn’t know himself.

Elisa knows those things.

The thought just about scared the shit out of him.

He cleared his throat and grabbed some more fries off his plate. “So Avery, what do you think? Is your dish good enough to serve half the town of Trouble?”

Avery chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then folded her arms on the table. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting very much out of the food. I mean, word spreads kind of fast in this town.” She paused for a moment and glanced down at her plate. “But I was blown away by this meal. Anthony is a gem and you need to hold on to him.”

Brody planned on it, even if that meant risking his father’s wrath.

Avery continued, “I think I’ve tasted enough to know this will be a hit. I’ll come by with Lisa next week; she’s the one who’s coordinating the fundraiser with me. We’ll select the dishes together.”

Would it be completely wrong of him to jump on the table top and celebrate like he’d just won the World Series? His sister-in-law had just made his entire month.

He placed his palm on top of her hand. “Avery, you have no idea what this means to me.”

A sparkle lit up her brown eyes when she smiled. “That’s what family does for each other, Brody. This place used to be really great. I want to help you get there again. And you really deserve it. Having just eaten this meal, I promise you I’m not doing you any favors.”

“Would you mind removing your hand from my wife, please?” Noah said with a smirk.

Brody ignored him and picked his hamburger up. “So how are things on the baby front? Any luck?”

Noah’s brows lowered for a moment, then Avery placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “I told him.”

His features softened at his wife’s words. He leaned closer to her and placed a kiss on her temple. “That’s okay.” Noah redirected his attention to Brody. “We’re going to see a fertility specialist next week to discuss our options.”

Brody glanced at Avery, then back to Noah. “As in for fertility treatments?”

Avery pursed her lips and grabbed Noah’s hand. “I just found out I have endometriosis. It’s a condition that can make getting pregnant very difficult, if not impossible.” She paused for a moment and sucked in a breath. “We got very lucky with Lily. It’s also why I miscarried.”

Noah pulled his wife close to him. “And if she’s the only one we have, I’ll be the happiest man in the world.” He ended his statement with a kiss to Avery’s cheek, followed by another one to her lips.

Avery’s response was a sad smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. His sister-in-law had such a strong and confident air about her. Brody could tell that she was crumbling inside.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. What could he say to them that could possibly be of comfort? “I’m sorry” was all he could think of. And even that seemed inadequate.

A heart-wrenching, melancholy air surrounded Avery. The twitch of her lips was probably meant to be a smile. He’d do anything for his brother and sister-in-law, and he didn’t like to feel helpless when someone in his family needed something.

“We haven’t told anyone else yet. We’ve wanted to wait after we see the specialist, so we know what we’re dealing with,” Noah said.

The food on Brody’s plate suddenly seemed unappealing. He pushed the dish away. “Ah, hell. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a killjoy.” Why couldn’t he have given a moment’s thought before asking them about their troubles?

This time Avery’s smile was a bit stronger, as though she were trying to fake her own strength. “It’s okay. I’m going to have to get used to talking about it. People will ask questions when we tell them.” She placed her smaller hand on his. Her fingers were cool and soft. “It’s okay,” she said again.

This woman’s courage astounded him. Who knew what sort of internal battles she fought every day due to her fertility issues. Brody couldn’t imagine how such an uncertainty was tearing her heart apart. And Noah stood by her side unfailingly. Perhaps someday he would have a marriage as strong as theirs.

In the beginning, he’d thought his and Kelly’s marriage was one of those that could go the distance. Not long after leaving college and returning to Trouble, he’d realized he’d been deluding himself. For a while, he’d looked for a reason to blame Kelly. In truth, she hadn’t done anything other than love him and be the best wife she could have been. Had he been the best husband possible in return? At the time he’d thought so. Now he could look back and see what he could have done differently.

A heavy silence settled over the three of them. They each ate quietly for several minutes before the voice of their youngest brother finally cut through the tension.

“Why do you get a break, while I’m back there busting my ass?” RJ asked when he stopped next to their table.

Noah leaned back in the booth and eyed RJ. “You don’t look like you’re busting ass right now.”

RJ waved his hand toward the bar. “Jake’s covering. I just wanted to come over here and give you shit,” he said with a punch to Brody’s shoulder.

Brody had learned long ago to ignore his brother’s strange sense of humor. RJ often called things as he saw them but had a way of putting his own unique twist on things. He’d been the life of the party ever since his mother, Carol, had married Martin. The scene behind the bar hadn’t quite been the same since RJ left. The crowd had become less and less lively over the years.

“So what, the three of you decided to have a little dinner party and not invite me?” RJ asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. A mischievous glint lit up the younger man’s green eyes… the same light that always had women gunning for him.

“Calm down, RJ,” Avery soothed. “We wouldn’t dream of having a party and not including you. They would be way too boring.” The humor that had been absent from her voice a few minutes ago returned.