"I do, I've learned a lot using Google," I assured him. "We're also going to need a lot more beer and wine tomorrow, sounds like. But that can wait until tomorrow."
Then I turned away, only to hear Berto tell Emily, "Zeke seems like a good kid. He's Faith's best friend, right?"
"He's gay," Emily said. "I'm supposed to make sure that all of Violet's friends know, so I'm not outing him. But Faith says she's his girlfriend at school so the others won't pick on him, and he makes sure the bullies don't pick on her."
"Sounds just like Violet and Cyan," Berto chuckled. "You know about what happened to Faith, right?"
"Yeah," Emily said, making me pause to keep listening. "That had to be so hard on Luke. I can't even imagine what they went through."
"The problem is that most of us can," Berto told her. "It's why we do this, because the kids that come here will have been through the same thing. Doesn't even matter what, but it's horrible, and they have no idea how to deal with it. I'm so glad you're going to be helping."
"Me too," Emily agreed. "Thank you so much for the job. You can't imagine what this means for us."
"I had nothing to do with the job," Berto admitted. "I'd love to take credit for it, but I prefer to impress a beautiful woman with real accomplishments, not by selectively answering questions."
Emily laughed. "Well, I'm impressed. More, if you can really cook fajitas."
"Then I will make the best fajitas you've ever had."
I was struggling not to laugh as I reached the kitchen. Violet noticed, though. Her eyes narrowed and she watched me. When I moved over to help her unload the box of glasses she had, Violet lifted a brow, but I shook my head. A moment later, Berto walked through the room standing just a bit taller than before.
Yep, Violet noticed. When he kept going, she leaned in and lowered her voice. "What's going on?"
"Oh, I think Cobalt is trying to impress the single woman at Southwind. I mean, since there seems to only be one."
Violet's mouth dropped open. "Really?" Then she pushed the box at me. "Hey, Berto!" And my girlfriend chased after him, clearly intending to get Cobalt's side of this story.
Evidently, Zeke's instincts were on point. He'd noticed it first, but it seemed that Berto really was trying to make a good impression. I just hoped that he wasn't leading her on. Emily was too nice to have someone yank her around. It didn't matter if that man had a color or not. I knew how hard it was to be a single parent, so I needed to make sure Berto understood that Emily would always put her son first.
If he wanted to have a little fun with no strings attached, that was one thing, but he needed to be careful with the kids. They had a tendency to get attached, and it sounded like Zeke had been through enough already. I paused with a glass halfway to the shelf.
They kept saying that this place was like a family. The rainbow was the closest thing we all had to one, so if that was the case, then I was going to act like Emily's brother. I might be a few years younger than her, but at our age, that no longer mattered. I would still look out for her in any way I could. After all, she'd just become a part of my family in her own way, and I had a funny feeling it was going to be a big part.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
By the time the sun was down, we were all worn out. Leaving Emily at her new home to unpack a few boxes before dinner, the rest of us made our way back to the house. Trucks were moved, cars were parked, and dinner was the thing on everyone's mind. Since the dining room table didn't have enough room to seat everyone, Ash and I decided that eating on the patio was the best idea.
While Berto and Luke handled preparing the food, Ash and I started moving around furniture. Tucked around the side of the house was one of those patio firepits. Since it was just now starting to get cool, we'd never had a reason to use it before, but tonight seemed like a good night. The thing was heavy, and took three of us to move, but when we lit it, it worked like a charm.
Next, we started moving tables together. There was the little one by the back door where we always had coffee, then the bigger one we'd used for Faith's birthday party. Over by the dog yard was another that matched the small one by the back door. In her day, Gran had gotten used to hosting a lot of people at one time, so we had plenty of space. We just had to clean it all up and move it together.
While we were in the middle of that, the back door opened and Faith ran out, squealing in glee. Her little puppy - who she had officially named Sissy - was chasing after her. Zeke followed after, carrying a few toys and my own little Lucy.
"Hey, Cy," he asked. "Will Lucy be okay with us throwing the ball for Sissy?"
"Should be," I told him. "Just make sure the puppy doesn't run her over."
Zeke grinned at me and kissed the top of my dog's head as he headed towards the fenced-in area meant for the dogs. I couldn't help but chuckle at the boy. I had a feeling he would go through the flamboyant gay stage at some point, but he wasn't quite ready to give in yet. Right now, he was still trying to convince himself that his sexuality didn't make him weak. In truth, I'd done the same thing.
"You know," Ash said. "Everyone agrees. Those two remind them of you and Violet."
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Zeke is actually gay."
Ash glanced over at me. "So were you. In case you forgot, I was straight. Luke was straight. Cy, sometimes we're wrong. It's not our fault, because we can't honestly know what we want until we see all the options."
"Just don't be disappointed if those two really are just friends," I pointed out.
Not long after that, the women came out of the house with plates, silverware, and glasses. Darnell was next, and he came carrying a cooler filled with drinks. Someone found chips, someone else made up some dip, and we all finally got to relax after the long and tiring day.
