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grin, he passed the paper across the bar and reached for his beer again, turning his shoulder slightly to indicate he wanted to be left alone. It was a maneuver Grace realized was an artful way of telling someone to get lost without hurting feelings. She’d have to remember that, too. The bartender gave Luke’s shoulder a comradely pat before heading down the bar.
    Luke’s knee bumped Grace’s again. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose, but his expression seemed guileless. She re-crossed her legs to try to give him more room as she tucked her phone back into her handbag.
    “Trouble?” Luke asked over the crowd noise.
    Grace sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Long story. Family drama.”
    “Anything you need help with?”
    “That’s sweet, but no.” Grace didn’t want to say more, but Luke’s expectant expression forced her to relent. She said, “My sister-in-law is going through a rough patch. She and her two sisters have all been widowed very suddenly.”
    “Wow, what are the chances?”
    “Yes, it’s an awful tragedy. My mother used to say their family has a curse. All the Blackbird women kill their husbands.”
    He laughed shortly. “No kidding? You mean—really killing them?”
    “No, they die, not from murder, but other reasons.”
    He was amused. “And you’re a part of the family?”
    “Only indirectly. My brother was married to Nora.”
    His smile faded fast. “Was?”
    “Yes, he died last year.”
    Luke frowned. “I’m sorry.”
    Grace felt her throat close up at the mention of Todd, but she shook her head, determined not to display too much emotion—not in front of a stranger. “It’s all right. I’m--Todd was troubled. Wild and fun as a child, but he got mixed up in drugs and spun out of control. We’re still learning how to accept that he’s gone.”
    She was making it all sound so much easier than it had really been. But Mama always said Dear Miss Vanderbine didn’t let her personal feelings show.
    “That’s rough. How’s his wife doing?”
    “Sometimes good, sometimes terrible.” Grace tried to smile. “I asked Nora to help me with this book tour to give her something else to focus on. But now her younger sister may be in some trouble.”
    “What kind of trouble?”
    It was a complicated story, too, but Grace tried to stick to the simple version. “Emma’s husband was killed a few months ago, in a car accident. She’s devastated, too, but unlike Nora she goes on drinking binges. Her husband---come to think of it, you might have heard of him. He was a football player.”
    Luke looked surprised. “In the pros? What was his name?”
    “Jake Kendall. He played for--”
    “For Philadelphia,” Luke finished, his face astonished. “Hell, of course I knew Jake. He played quarterback for Michigan when I was at Notre Dame. We played against each other then, and later when we both hit the pros.”
    “Then you must have heard about his death.”
    “Sure. It was a hell of a shock.”
    “Yes.” Grace reached for her gimlet and stirred the swizzle stick. “Emma was in the car with him, but she survived. Nora’s very worried about her now.”
    Luke was silent. He didn’t drink from his beer, but he appeared to be studying it as if a secret floated in the foam. His ready smile was long gone.
    Grace leaned closer. “Have I said something to upset you?”
    “No,” he said at once, shaking himself out of a reverie. “Just—I heard rumors.”
    “About--?”
    Luke shook his head. “Just rumors. Nothing important.”
    Grace sipped her gimlet and tried to let the topic evaporate. Around them, the bar was noisy with people. A television flickered a news channel, showing snowy roads and cars spinning their wheels in slush.
    After a moment, Luke said, “How are you mixed up with Jake’s widow, exactly?”
    “I’m not mixed up. She’s my sister-in-law’s—”
    “Yeah, I know, but are you, like, involved in her problem?”
    “Involved? What on earth do