At the base of the porch stairs, he flicked the cigarette into the dirt and ground it out with his boot. It was a nostalgic move, one that took Kellan back. He’d seen Vaughn snuff out a cigarette butt the same exact way a million times over the years they’d been friends. A sneaking disquiet oozed into the spaces of Kellan’s mind. He thought he knew Vaughn so well—better than anyone else on earth. He had his mannerisms down, knew all his jokes. They’d tackled their twenties and early thirties together, fended off mothers eager to marry their daughters to one of them, squeaked out of more than one hairy situation, and over time became as close as brothers. Closer, he amended, thinking of how he’d dragged his feet over calling Jake. Yet, clearly, something big had happened between him and Rachel, and he’d chosen to leave Kellan in the dark. Vaughn settled into a chair with a tired sigh and scrubbed his face with his hands. Kellan joined him, his curiosity and concern mounting.
