“Bree!” Sami exclaimed as Kennedy plopped the tray on the table. “It’s so good to see you!”
“You too!” She looked adorable tonight in her little pink sweater and jeans, but as I leaned in to give her a half-hug, I couldn’t help but notice the stress around her eyes. Was that from college? Home? It felt weird not knowing, and the rift time and geography had put between me and my friends was all but tangible as I took my seat.
“Poker?” I asked, producing a deck of cards from my pocket. If it didn’t exactly feel like old times, I’d pretend until it did.
“I’m in,” Craig said.
“Why not?” said Sami.
Maya gave me a huge grin and produced a bag of poker chips. Maya was like that—always prepared to carry on the traditions you didn’t even realize you had.
I looked to Kennedy, who shrugged his agreement. I tapped the cards from the pack and started shuffling as Maya divvied out the chips. I’d been playing poker with my friends for years. I loved the game, but tonight it was more than that. It gave me something to do with my hands, something to distract me while Kennedy sat so close.
“Okay, give me the scoop.” I dealt, and Kennedy poured a round for everyone. “What have I missed?” I instinctively looked to Maya, who’d stayed in town and attended a local community college. They were my source for all Abbott Springs gossip.
“Bernie was arrested for indecent exposure last week,” Maya said. She made a face at her hand then added, “A group of high school boys asked her to strip for them after a basketball game, and she did. Right on the lawn in town square. In the snow.”
“Are we playing for money?” Craig asked.
“No!” everyone but Kennedy said in unison. We used to play with cash but Kennedy whooped us all—every time. He was so damn careful and methodical, and it seemed to always work in his favor. He might not win every hand, but he’d inevitably win the session.
“Dad won re-election in November,” Kennedy chimed in. He threw in a couple of chips for his initial bet and looked to Sami.
Sami frowned at the small pile of chips in the middle of the table and shook her head before laying her cards on the table.
Maya matched Kennedy’s bet and said, “City council voted down Mrs. Winchester’s proposal for mandatory Christmas decorations, but it was close.”
Craig added his chips, bringing the bet to me.
I took a long pull from my beer and contemplated my cards. An unmatched seven and two. Most people would fold, but most people were boring.
“Mandatory Christmas decorations?” I tossed a few chips to the center of the table, doubling Kennedy’s bet. Everyone groaned. “Mrs. Winchester proposed that?”
“Yeah, she launched this whole campaign. She called it ‘Keep the Light Christmas’ or something like that.”
I frowned. “Isn’t she Jewish?”
“She likes the tourist draw of the over-the-top decorations,” Kennedy explained as he tossed in chips to call my bet. “She thinks we could capitalize on it more if everyone participated. You know, in a secular way or whatever.”
Maya folded—probably before she should have—and Craig shifted in his chair and scowled at Kennedy. If I had to guess, I’d say he wanted to fold but his misplaced machismo wouldn’t allow him to bow out before Kennedy. He called too, and I muttered, “So pretty much nothing’s changed.”
Kennedy leaned back in his chair, eyes on his cards. “It’s Abbott Springs. Nothing changes.”
“How’s your family, Kennedy?” Sami asked in her usual quiet voice.
“Good. Great.” He shifted in his seat. His family was the face of Abbott Springs—and his father worked hard to keep it that way. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to fill the table in on the latest restoration project or community gathering his parents had funded.
I turned the river. An eight of spades, a king of hearts, and a three of clubs. Craig groaned, but Kennedy kept his typical poker face and placed a modest bet.
Craig threw his cards on the table. “I fold.”
Sami folded too.
Down to just me and Kennedy. I didn’t bother looking at my cards again. I knew what I had, and knowing Kennedy, I also knew there was about a one percent chance that the upcoming cards could make my hand into something that could beat him. But the chance was still there.
“All in.” I pushed my chips to the center of the table.
Kennedy crossed his arms. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Nope.”
He stared at me for several long beats. I smiled sweetly, hoping he couldn’t hear the way my heart was slamming in my chest in response to his eyes on me.