“He’s given me space, which I asked for. The anger has faded a little bit and I feel ... I don’t know, like I want to try to move on? Is it a stupid idea?”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “He doesn’t like me, which is fine, but he was a big part of your life, so if you want to try with him, then so do I.”
“Joey wasn’t always like this,” she said. “Seriously, things were decent before I moved here.”
“He feels like he failed, which isn’t a fun feeling.”
Piper let out a long breath and then looked at her phone. “He hasn’t seen how different things are here. Maybe it’s time for him to. We should do something with him.”
“We’re out of blueberries,” I offered. “We could get more.”
“Joey isn’t gonna like an offer of taking him to the farmers market, and you always work that day.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that. We’ve been meaning to go to Bennie Grove.”
“Oh.” Her eyes went wide. “That could be fun. And it’s a bit more relaxed. I’m gonna offer to meet up there. Thankyou, Theo.”
“Before you go—” I pulled out a box. “This is for you.”
“From Freya?”
“She made scones.”
“Yes,” she said. “Thank you.”
With a sweet smile, she was gone.
“Look at you,” Kelsey said from behind me. “I knew you would be a great boyfriend.”
“Yeah, yeah. How manyI told you so’s are you gonna give me?”
“A million.” She laughed. “Still, I’m happy for you. So is everyone else.”
“I hear.”
“And you’re not complaining. You know what I call that? Growth.”
I rolled my eyes and focused on the next customer.
“Hey, Atticus. Want your hazelnut latte today?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Make it a double espresso, please. Traveling out to see Gabe always takes it out of me.”
I nodded and put it in, but as I went to hit the button, I paused. I’d always cared about what happened in town, but I never asked. If I got too involved, I knew I’d regret it.
Yet I cared anyway.
“How are things with him?” I found myself asking.
Atticus blinked and I could feel a similar sense of shock from Kelsey, who had started his order. I wondered if he wouldn’t answer, and I’d know that I wasn’t truly a part of things.
I wanted to be, though.
“Not his best. This trip wasn’t planned, but he asked me to come out.”
“Gabe asked for something?” Kelsey said. “Wow. Must be rare.”
“It is,” Atticus said. “But I went and helped out where I could. He’s on his own out there, and sometimes I wonder if that’s what’s best for him.”
