My mouth pops open a few more times, like a fish out of water. I try to answer, but it comes out more like a choked noise, akin to “gnnrk.”
His brows now knit in confusion, a lopsided grin tipping up one side of his lips, and he huffs out a little chuckle. “You’re cute as hell when you’re trying to grow a spine. Maybe I could teach you a thing or two there. Tell you what, you finish your pie, and think about youranswer, Brooks Gallagher. You deserve happiness and to be taken care of. Question is, do you see a washed-up idiot like myself being the guy that can do that for you?”
Pretty sure I know what my answer is, and I’m pretty sure he knows it too, without me having to say it out loud. His strong arm wraps tightly around my waist, and he lets me sink into him as I nibble the rest of my treat, and we watch the parade come to an end.
Guess I’m jumping into the deep end with Evan Waters.
We’ve made our way back to Mom’s art gallery just in time for Evan and I to help her load her table and outdoor booth display back into the shop. In the time it took for us to go back to Brome’s and store the cooler in Ma’s industrial freezer until I can pick it up later, the skies have turned a threatening looking gray. In the distance, the rumble of thunder echoes off the mountains.
Thunderstorms were not in the forecast today, but that doesn’t ever stop the occasional one from passing through, now and again. Other vendors are also packing up quickly, and now that the art is all tucked safely inside, Evan is moving on, trying to aid the shopkeeper next door by bringing in her rolling carts full of books. He just jumped right in and helped, of course.
If I hadn’t known Brenda nearly all my life, and known she’s happily married to Keith, I’d say she was checking Evan and his muscles out right now. I mean, I can’t really fault her. He truly is a sight, and he is way out of my league… kind of what I used to think regarding Kai.
Also, just like Kai, Evan will eventually learn he can pull way better than me, I’m sure.
“Honey, you’re drooling,” Mom chuffs, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around me, nodding out the glass storefront at Evan. “Lizabeth tells me he’s been quite the helper around the diner,” she muses.
“And at the camp,” I tell her.
She nods appreciatively. “I like him for you.”
I bite my tongue, in lieu of a response. Can’t very well tell her I’mnotwith him, since I guess I just agreed to give this a shot, after all. But I still don’t know how this will all play out. I still don’t see how this doesn’t have an end date. I still can’t let myself take those mental arm floaties off, while swimming in the deep end.
“You’re allowed to have good things, you know,” she continues. “You beat yourself up so much after Ry’s passing. We’ve all suffered long enough, don’t you think? Time to let some of that survivor’s guilt out, and some good juju in.”
“It’s not like I have a lot of time to spare,” I explain. “I’m far too busy—”
“No,” she cuts me off firmly, “for the past eight years, you havepurposelyspread yourself thin so you don’t have to sit and wallow. You’ve used Morgan as an excuse for that long, baby. Don’t think I don’t know my own son. Morgan’s about ready to spread her wings and fly the nest in the next year or so; I worry where that will leave you after. What that void will create.”
“Thought about getting Snarf into some cat shows or something,” I tease. “I could make him a celebrity.”
She rolls her eyes and pats my chest. “Or, you could settle down and relax a little. Happy. Maybe with a man who buys you your favorite pies?”
“How did you know—”
“Mother’s intuition and a small town, dear.” She smirks up at me.
“Ma told you,” I guess.
She nods. “It’s charming. Say, do you think Lizabeth and I could sneak one of those away for us tonight?”
“Nope!” I chuckle. “Those pies are mine, all mine. Sorry Mumma, but you gotta get your own.”
She laughs and offers me a wink. “I probably ought to go visit with Pete anyhow, and I always did prefer the wild blueberry pie better. Keep an eye on things here for a minute, would you, baby?”
I nod, and she’s out the door in a beat, thanking Evan profusely as he makes his way in. There’s no one in the gift shop right now, so I decide to show Evan around the gallery and some of the artwork the kiddos have created. I bring him to one art piece in particular—a simple, yet poignant, piece that features a black and white lighthouse flanked by stormy seas. Instead of sprays of yellow light from the top, however, rainbow beams are emitted.
“Beacon of Hope” by Colton Waters.
“My son—” Evan chokes out, looking startled at the art. “My son… drewthis? What’s this mean? Could this mean something I should know about? Fuck, I didn’t even realize he was this talented at drawing…”
I rest my palm between Evan’s shoulder blades, rubbing slow, soothing circles on his back. “I think maybe you need to talk tohimabout that, don’t you? He’s very talented, yes. This would make a really cool tattoo. Appears that now he’s taken his artistry to morelaw-abiding citizenmediums, and it’s going well for him.” I point at the small ‘sold’ tag at the bottom of the frame, grinning. “He just made two hundred dollars today.”
“Oh, Evan, you wouldn’t believe how quickly Colton’s piece sold today! I think his boyfriend was a little bummed it sold before he himself could buy it. It was the most adorable thing,” my mom notes as she blusters back in, blueberry pie clutched to her bosom like a precious baby. Totally oblivious—like she didn’t just let a giant cat out of the proverbial bag.
Evan’s jaw drops. “Boyfriend?” he questions, whipping back around to face me. “ Colt has a boyfriend? But I thought he andMorganwere a thing?”
Shoot, shoot, shoot—shoot! I swipe a hand down my face, hoping to wordlessly convey to my mother just what she’d done without thinking. Colton wasn’t ready to come out yet, but I’m not so sure my mom got that memo. In fact, Iknowshe didn’t, because she’d never intentionally out someone like that.
