And Oliver would be close by once the new store opened. They’d organized the demo party to knock out some walls in the apartment above the shop and convert the two small bedrooms into an office, from which Oliver could run his new law practice.
“Sorry we’re late!” Anya hurried up to the booth with Hayden dragging behind her. She stared pointedly over her shoulder at him. “Someone couldn’t find his phone.”
“Hey, buddy. Thanks for coming.” Nick hugged his son awkwardly, but awkward was an improvement for them at least.
“So you’ve got all your stuff.” Anya tugged at the backpack slung over one of Hayden’s shoulders. “And I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning before lunch.”
“Mom!” Hayden shrugged her off. “Stop. I’ll be fine.”
Oliver glanced at Nick and gave him a sympathetic smile. They were making progress, the three of them, to build a relationship, but the hurdles from Nick and Hayden’s difficult history, versus the ones that came up because Hayden was nearly sixteen—and had all the attitude to show for it—were hard to distinguish.
The market and the rest of their plans for tonight were a pretty big deal, though. Although Hayden had been willing to spend time with his dad, warming up to Oliver took longer, and coming over to the house even longer again. Too many residual feelings from that awful night at Nick’s. So they’d started small. A few hours in the afternoon for Nick’s birthday. Dinner on nights when Anya was working.
Tonight, though, Hayden would be helping out at the market, and staying over in the guest room at Oliver and Nick’s house. He’d made a few pointed comments about Nick and Oliver not being gross while he was there, but honestly, the lead up to the market and having Hayden stay with them made Nick so nervous there wouldn’t be anything on his mind but sleep by the time they all got home tonight.
Home.
When Oliver packed up his broken heart and moved here, he’d had one goal: succeed in the plan he and Cooper built and prove he could do it on his own. As he watched Nick lead Hayden around the stall and explain the setup and the pricing, he had to admit he hadn’t pictured it turning out this way.
And he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“You think they’re going to be okay?” Anya asked as she came to stand by him.
Oliver laughed softly as father and son worked through an order form with twin expressions of focus on their faces: their dark brows drawn together at the same angle, mouths pressed together in the same determined line. Hayden put the dimensions of the sample order in the wrong row, and got frustrated when Nick pointed it out, but they settled down quickly, and Hayden started a new form while Nick watched over his shoulder silently.
Imperfect, but getting better every day.
“I think we’re all going to be okay.”
