“His grandma is a Buckland,” Chance explained.
“So that makes him a Buckland?” She frowned. “Do you hate him?”
Chance laughed. “No, but I was getting close to yelling at him a minute ago.”
“Why? He’s a sweet kid. You better not have.”
The fierceness in her expression made his breath catch. God, but she was such a fighter for the people she cared about. Did Pierce even know how lucky he was?
He’d just bodily threatened Chance to protect Cordy, so maybe he did.
“He was warning me that if I hurt you, I’d answer to him,” Chance said. “And to Sam, too, apparently.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Oh.”Her mouth fell open. “He… He threatenedyou?”
“Yep. He was dead serious. Wanted to know my intentions.”
“That’s never happened to me before.” Her voice trembled. “I didn’t even know Pierce was worried.”
“Yeah, well, it sounded like some committee had sent him. The Chance Kessal is Not Good Enough for Cordy Johnson Committee. Heard of it?”
She laughed as she shook her head. “No. I had no idea.” After a moment, she asked, “So Pierce is a Buckland? Is everyone in this town related to each other?”
“Hardly. But everyone’s connected in some way.”
“Like six degrees of separation?”
He snorted. “More like three.”
“Prove it.” She jerked her chin at a table. “How is Francine Holder there related to…?” Cordy scanned the room. “…um, related to Jack Weston over there?”
“Easy. They dated in high school.”
“Damn it,” she muttered. “I’ve got to make this harder.”
Cordy took her time, going slowly through the room. “Let me see… Ah!” She smiled triumphantly. “I’ve got a good one. Jason Cooper”—she pointed to a slicked-down bro in one corner—“and Renee Pierson.” Her finger swung over to a fifty-some-year-old woman who looked like she was sitting on her hands.
“That is a tough one,” Chance admitted. “They’re not related. Jason never did 4-H or sports.”
“But Renee did?”
“Won grand champion market lamb seven years in a row at the fair. She’s got a killer instinct when it comes to lamb showing.”
Cordy looked skeptical. “So they don’t know each other then? I’ve won?”
“Hold up. Never said that. Just said it would be tough.”
She crossed her arms. “You’re stalling.”
He was, but he wasn’t going to admit it. Not after bragging so hard. Chance squinted at his two targets, his brain churning.
Chance snapped his fingers. “Got it. Jason had to volunteer at the library thanks to some light vandalism at the school—he wroteJason rulesin all the boys’ bathrooms—and spent about three months shelving books after school. Renee’s sister, Marie, is the head librarian, and Renee herself is part of the creative writing club at the library, so they know each other from there.”
Cordy tapped her fingers on her arm. “That’s a pretty weak link.”
“But it’s still a link. And I guarantee Jason remembers Marie. She whipped him into shape in those three months.”
“She did?” Cordy raised an eyebrow as she looked over Jason, who did look especially bro-ish that night. “He was worse than that?”
