Lyndsey waited. By the boy’s conflicted expression and the way he nibbled at his lip, she guessed he longed to say ‘yes,’ but hated to give in. ‘We’re leaving in about ten minutes.’ She glanced around. ‘You and I must be soulmates when it comes to liking our surroundings organized and tidy.’
‘I guess.’ Theo lifted his thin shoulders in a shrug. ‘We’re both the cuckoos in our families, too.’
Lyndsey struggled to breathe. It felt as though he’d punched her in the stomach. ‘Is that how you feel?’
‘Don’t you?’
‘Could we talk about this later?’ That kept the door to the conversation open and gave her the opportunity to think through what might be best to say. ‘So, ice cream?’
Theo bent down to shove his feet into an old pair of broken-down trainers. The disinterest in his appearance was a clear difference between Theo and herself, but then it clicked. Revealing his true nature in his obsessively neat room was one thing, but doing the same outside of it quite another. He flicked a lock of straggly brown hair away from his face and glowered at her. There was something forced about the attempt to look annoyed, as though it was expected rather than how he genuinely felt.
‘Are we goin’ or not?’
A fleeting impulse to hug him and reassure Theo that life wouldn’t always be this hard swept through her, but Lyndsey wasn’t about to push her luck. ‘We certainly are.’
* * *
This wasn’t how he’d pictured the afternoon going, but Griff wasn’t unhappy. Far from it. Everyone, including him, was more relaxed. They’d been fortunate to nab the last free table outside the ice cream shop, so now Nora was fast asleep in her stroller under the shade of a wide green-and-white striped umbrella. Becca had lost her tight, haunted look and was licking a strawberry waffle cone with a smile on her face. Theo was talking animatedly to Lyndsey about his favorite video games and another one he was in the middle of coding and trying to create.
And himself? He was indulging in three scoops of ice cream to make up for missing lunch — Rocky Road, Death by Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Chip. Lyndsey had teased what a typical man he was, choosing the most chocolatey flavor choices on offer. In return, he laughed at her single scoop of lemon sorbet.
‘So, have you finished the project you were working on?’ Lyndsey angled around to face him.
‘Yeah, I wrapped it up last night.’ He cracked a smile. ‘About two o’clock this morning, really.’
‘You’re pleased with it?’
Griff nodded. This was an opening. If he didn’t snatch it, the moment could be lost. ‘Would you like to see it later?’
A flush of heat bloomed in her rich caramel skin.
‘It would mean a lot to me if you came over.’ He sensed Becca’s ears prick up.
‘I’d love to.’
‘Good.’
‘You know something will happen to put a stop to the plan, don’t you?’ She gave a wry smile. ‘I wish—’
‘Me too.’ Everything else he wanted to say could wait until they were alone.
They switched to watching the crowds of tourists ambling up and down, checking out the various gift shops and places to eat, and traded guesses about where people came from and what might be in the various bags they were carrying. He gave Lyndsey an abridged version of Franklin’s long history, all the way back to when it was founded in the late eighteenth century by an Abram Maury.
‘Most similar small towns have disappeared, but thankfully, about fifty years ago, a group of concerned locals started a project to save the older buildings. A heritage group sponsors several popular festivals throughout the year, centered around local crafts and foods. They bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors.’
‘I’d love to have a proper look around another day.’
‘We can do that.’ Griff reached for her hand, and his heart raced when she flashed him a dazzling smile.
‘I should warn you, it might involve shopping.’ Lyndsey pointed to an elderly white-haired man, hauling a couple of carrier bags in each hand and trailing along behind his wife. ‘Do you really want to be one of those poor souls?’
She’d call him crazy if he admitted to being envious of the contentment written all over the man’s lined face. Shopping might not be his favorite way to spend the afternoon, but it was clearly no hardship to do this small thing for the woman he loved, possibly since they were in high school. Griff would happily do the same for Lyndsey if she gave him the chance. He realized he hadn’t hidden his pensive thoughts as well as he thought when she looked mildly embarrassed.
‘I’m bored,’ Theo moaned. Next thing, Nora jerked awake and signaled with several pertinent screams that she was, too.
‘Time to go, I think.’ Becca’s resignation was half-hearted.
The glorious smile Lyndsey threw his way resonated with hope and promise. He hoped they might fulfill a few more of their wishes tonight.
