“Hey, Uncle A,” Cutler said as he was coming from the dance floor. He had a layer of sweat across his forehead and a big goofy smile on his face.
“Hey, Beefcake.” I bent down and hugged him.
“Want to come see what Grandpa Keaton and I made this morning in his woodshop?”
“Sure,” I said. “Let me drop these off at the table.”
We walked over, and I handed Wren the beers and told her that I’d be right back.
Cutler walked me out to my uncle’s woodshop, and he pushed the door open.
“I made a few things I wanted to show you,” he said. “I made this for my mama.” He held up a wooden flower that he’d painted pink and white.
“Wow. This is gorgeous,” I said, surprised with how meticulously it was painted.
“Well, I drew it, and Grandpa did the cutting because my pops won’t let me use the saw yet, even though I know I’d be fine. I’m going to be a contractor just like him someday.” He chuckled. “And then I painted it this morning for her.”
He moved to the counter on the opposite wall and held up the pink heart. “This one is for my girl, Gracie.”
I studied it and saw the initials. “CH plus GR?”
“That’s right. Cutler Heart plus Gracie Reynolds.”
“You’ve got it bad, Beefcake,” I said with a laugh.
“Nah. Pops says when you know, you just know.”
This kid was wiser than his years. An old soul. He was something.
“Well, they’re both going to love them.”
“I made something for you and Wren, too.”
“Yeah? That was nice of you.”
“Mama told me she thinks you two are going to be sad because you’re not going to be living by each other anymore,” he said, his eyebrows cinched together with concern.
“It’s true. She’s going back to North Carolina, and she’ll start competing again and doing her thing. But we’ll still get to talk all the time,” I said, and I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or myself that everything would be okay.
“Gracie doesn’t live by me, but that doesn’t matter. Heck, I meet lots of girls at school, but Gracie’s always been my girl. No one else is like her.” He shrugged. “That’s how you are with Wren, right?”
“Yep. No one else is like her.”
He walked over to the counter and came back with two hearts in his hands. “There’s one for each of you. I noticed you have matching tattoos and I asked my mama about it. She said ‘In a heartbeat’ is your saying, ’cause you will always be there fast for each other, right?”
“That’s right,” I said as I studied the two red hearts with a zigzag line representing a heartbeat across the front of them.
“Now you both have these hearts to keep with you to remind you of your saying in case you ever forget.”
This fucking kid was too much. He’d become a part of our family instantly.
He’d fit just perfectly with all of us.
“This is absolutely amazing. I love it.”
“Yeah?” he said, smiling up at me.
“Dude. How do you know how to make these? These are perfect.”
