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here?” I asked.
    “Why didn’t you talk for a year?” she countered.
    Neither of us answered the question, and eventually the awkward silence was too much. I finished my water and set it down. “Thanks for the drink.”
    “Thanks for the ride,” she said.  
    I pushed through the screen door, letting it slam closed behind me. As I was opening my truck door, Eden called out my name. I turned and glanced at her.  
    “You really think you can stop my roof from leaking?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Maybe…maybe I wouldn’t mind a little help.”
    “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”
    “See you tomorrow.”
    I drove back to the winery and set to work on the bar once more, feeling strangely triumphant. I’d spoken. I’d had an entire conversation. The rest of the day flew by as I scraped and carved, going through in my mind the list of supplies I’d need to do Eden’s roof, planning, thinking about Eden, wondering what her story was and how I could get her to tell it to me without having to share mine. Darkness fell, and I was lost in thought when Tom and Kirk wandered in, laughing and shoving each other. Max trailed behind, nose in his phone. They all stopped in the doorway, staring at the bar. It was after ten at night, I suddenly realized, and I’d finished the front piece and most of one side.  
    “Damn, dude,” Kirk said. “That looks amazing.” He came to examine the front piece with the carved vines, and then moved over to the one side I’d finished, tracing the contours of the wine bottles. “What’s the other side gonna be? Grapes?”
    Time to shock them. “Red wine glasses.”  
    Max was tapping at his phone when he heard my voice. He actually dropped it on the floor, then cursed as he bent to retrieve it. Kirk and Tom just stared at me.
    “Holy shit.” Tom laughed, incredulous. “You spoke.”
    “Yep.”  
    Kirk and Max exchanged looks. “Say something else,” Kirk said.  
    “Fuck you.” I grinned.
    “That’s Carter for you,” Tom said. Then his gaze went narrow, sharp with suspicion. “Does the fact that you’re talking have anything to do with that girl who was here earlier?”
    I turned away instead of answering, picking up my tools and tossing them onto the worktable.  
    “It does!” Tom slapped my back. “Did you bang her? Is that what did it?”
    I shoved at him. “Don’t, Tom. It’s not like that.”
    “Girl? What girl?” Max asked. Max, the oldest Haven brother, was the shortest of all four of us. He was built like a tank, hugely muscled, burly, biceps the size of my thighs and legs like tree trunks. He had the same black hair and blue eyes, but he kept his hair cropped close to the scalp and he wore a goatee. Kirk, Max, and I all tended to be taciturn, tight-lipped like our dad, whereas Tom was more like Mom, chattery, voluble, easily excited. Max, however, was the most reserved of all of us. He came across as grumpy to most people, but you had to know him to understand that he just didn’t have much to say.
    I glared at Tom. “Just someone I know. Not like Tom’s thinking.”
    Tom laughed at my denial, then sobered. “If she got you to talk when no one else could for a solid year, she’s something special, and I don’t give a flying fuck what you say.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Besides, she was hot as hell. You should make a play for her, if you haven’t already.”
    “Back off, Tom,” I warned, my voice a growl.
    He held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m just sayin’. If you won’t, I will.”
    “The fuck you will.” I turned and glared at him. The thought of Tom “making a play” on Eden made something in my gut churn. It felt an awful lot like jealousy. “Leave it alone. Leave her alone.” My voice and my body language were all screaming she’s mine , and my brothers sure as shit hadn’t missed that fact.
    “Carter, come on, I’m just messin’ with you.” Tom grabbed for my arm, but I shook him off.  
    “Well, it’s