The whistle of the kettle woke the elderly collie, who came to Jed’s side and nuzzled what I presumed to be his good leg, though there was no sign of the cane he’d been using yesterday. “Is she an assistancedogtoo?”
“Flo is Max’s, though she’s getting a bit old now. He’s supposed to be getting a new puppy soon, but he keeps puttingitoff.”
Desta appeared from nowhere and ran his bright gaze over Jed before he came to me and sniffed my hand. “What breed is the littledog,Zola?”
“I don’t know. Max found her at the side of the road a few months back, and we still haven’t quite got a handle on her. She’s a sweet girl but nervous. Barks at the wind when she forgetsherself.”
“She’s in with Pete. I left them to keep each othercompany.”
“Interesting.” Jed came back to the table with a teapot. “She doesn’t usually like men. Glennterrifiesher.”
“Pete’s only scary when he’shungry.”
“Max won’t let thathappen.”
I’d always enjoyed the warmth in Jed’s eyes when he talked about Max, and it was amplified now that we were on their turf. Last night, we’d done little more than scarf down bowls of Max’samazingbean soup before we’d fallen into bed, but even in that short time, the easy love between Jed and Max had stirred something in me. Pete and I loved each other as much as they did, but I craved the peace theyshared.
For Pete, morethanme.
ChapterTwelve
Pete
Max came up behind me and eyed the board I’d sanded down for him. “Have you worked on boatsbefore?”
“Nope. Haven’t been on one since I was about ten. My dad was an oilman, though. He had a little tug for awhile.”
“Ishedead?”
“Yeah, for a longtimenow.”
Max hummed, and his eyes fluttered in what I was pretty damn sure was an absence seizure, which explained the dog suddenly hovering at our feet. But it was over before I was certain it had happened at all. “Mine too,” he said. “I loved his fishing boat, though. Fixing it up was the only thing I was evergoodat.”
“Looks like you’ve done okay with it.” I glanced around the workshop at the piles of tools I could only dream of. “This place isawesome.”
“Yeah, we like it, but it’s not me tinkering around with boats that keeps the power on. Jed’s the breadwinner. I can’t keep up with him, even when he’ssittingdown.”
“He works at the VA,right?”
“Some days. He writes for theNew York Timestoo, and he does some translating work forUNICEF.”
“Wow.”
“I know. Jed’s my jam. I don’t have the focus to be as productive as him. You wanna help me bolt thistogether?”
“Sure.” I helped Max maneuver the board to the upturned boat on the other side of the workshop. “How long have youlivedhere?”
“With Jed? Seven years, I think… Something like that. I was here on my own for a while, though. Jed moved in with me when he first came home from Iraq. Guess he never left, but I wouldn’t have it anyotherway.”
The story was familiar. Ash and I had been roommates before lovers, but he’d been my world from the moment I’d met him, and I figured Max felt the same. He and Jed had vibes, man. Good vibes. They fascinated Ash, Icouldtell.
Speaking of Ash, I wasn’t altogether sure where he was. He’d woken me and told me he was heading into Portland, but that had been hours ago. The van—including theoh-so-importantpaintings—was still in the yard, so I assumed he’d gone with Jed in histruck.
We put the boat back together and carried it outside. Max shoved it to the water’s edge and then jumped aboard. “Gotta check it floats before I giveitback.”
I laughed like I had done so many times since I’d wandered outside to find Max dangling upside down with a hammer in his hand. The dude was batshit, and I kind of loved him. “Have you eversunkone?”
“Not with my dancing.” Max leaped nimbly out of the boat. “I forget to put bits on sometimes, though. Jed always checks my work before I hand it off, but you’re here, so I guess it’s uptoyou.”
