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where.
    A pang of regret rumbled through her. A long time ago, she’d had a dream of opening up her own business. That was what they had been saving for, so she could realize her dreams and become her own boss, not someone else’s hapless crony. But that dream had never materialized and now she was in her early thirties, still struggling like she had when she was twenty. It left a sour taste in her mouth, but Austin managed to wipe it away quickly.
    Dahlia gasped as strong hands slipped around her from behind, pulling her against Austin’s strong body. He gently rested his chin on the top of her head, towering above her with his height.
    “What are we looking at?” he asked conversationally, eyeing the map she’d been standing in front of.
    “I’m not…sure, really,” Dahlia said, giggling.
    Checking quickly that Marcus was out of sight, confirmed by the haphazard clicks of billiard balls hitting one another, Dahlia turned around and laid a kiss on Austin’s lips.
    “Oh is that how it’s gonna be? Well, missy, you might get yourself in more trouble than you bargained for,” Austin grinned.
    She was about to quip back something equally as smart when the little bell on the door jingled and Dahlia just about jumped out of Austin’s arms. He smirked at the suddenness of her reaction, giving her hand a quick squeeze before walking to the bar.
    “You must have known I was in town tonight and that’s why you opened up!” Slate hollered, raising his hand in greeting to Austin and taking his hat off the moment he noticed Dahlia.
    “At your service,” Austin said mockingly. “Evening, Teresa.”
    “Evening, Austin,” Teresa, Slate’s wife and the owner of the local kindergarten, said. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure. Teresa Morenkov.”
    Teresa reached out her hand, smiling warmly, and Dahlia took it and shook it gladly.
    “Dahlia Roberts. Pleased to meet you,” Dahlia said, still a little flushed from that stolen kiss with Austin.
    It was only maybe their third kiss, but she had come to yearn for them like they were life-giving water and she was dying of thirst. Which may have been a close enough description, seeing as how she’d completely forgotten how good it could feel being close to someone again.
    “Are you new in town? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” Teresa asked, brushing her long hair back. “Austin, could I trouble you for some coffee?”
    “Coming right up!”
    She had curious, kind eyes and a calmness of spirit that was very different from Slate’s high energy, but it was easy enough to understand why those two worked together. Every adventurer needed a little bit of grounding and every kind, subdued soul needed a little bit of fire to get them going when they couldn’t find the spark themselves.
    Teresa grabbed the two lattes Austin placed on the counter and nudged toward one of the booths, beckoning Dahlia to join her. With a glance at Austin, Dahlia obliged, smiling a bit nervously. It had been a long while since she’d even found the time to talk to someone about anything other than work, bills, or the damage her son had managed to cause somewhere. The latter worry was taken care of for now as loud hoots and hollers noted that Slate and Austin had joined Marcus at the pool table.
    “I’m not from around here, really. I’m … visiting,” Dahlia said, taking her coat off and sinking into the comfortable seats of the wide booth.
    “That’s what we all say,” Teresa laughed, pouring sugar into her drink.
    “We all?” Dahlia asked, frowning slightly.
    Teresa’s eyes glinted with mischief and for a moment, Dahlia had to wonder if Shifter Grove already knew more than she did. Small towns and the way gossip spread… something that she was far too familiar with from her time in Arizona as a teenager. But back then, it had annoyed her and rubbed her the wrong way. In Shifter Grove though? Hell, it didn’t seem like anyone there had a single thing to hide to