I’d never met Gabriel. He’d left right before I moved into town, but from what I’d heard, it didn’t sound like he needed anyone.
“You could try to convince him to come back,” Kelsey said. “It took Mom a while, but it worked on me.”
Atticus laughed. “He wouldn’t listen if I tried. I’m his stepdad, not his real one. Though, I wonder if he would’ve listened to him. Kid’s got a hard head.”
“I know someone like that.” Kelsey looked at me.
“This town is filled with stubborn people.” Atticus shook his head. “You two do me a favor and keep this between us, okay? If the kid knew I said anything, he’d kill me. He doesn’t want anyone in town to know about him.”
“You trusted the right people,” Kelsey said.
“I figured. Thanks for asking, Theo. I needed to vent a little.” He handed over his card with a smile, and I ran it, still marveling over the fact that he’d talked to me.
I’d stayed one foot out with the town.
Now I didn’t want to.
“Looks like a lot of stuff is changing,” Kelsey said. “You, included.”
Joey agreed to meet the next day. Piper was worried about things going wrong, so she wanted to meet up only at Bennie Grove Farm so Mollie could keep an eye on things as well.
I knew she was nervous, judging by the way her leg wouldn’t stop bouncing. I was too, but I was ready for this to gowrong. Him not liking me sometimes felt more comfortable than everyone else’s unyielding acceptance.
“That’s them in the silver car,” Piper said. I nodded and pulled in next to them. She went to open the door, but paused before she touched the handle. “Just so you know, there’s nothing they can say that would ever change my mind about you.”
“I know.”
“I need some of your calmness.”
“You are doing perfectly fine,” I reminded her. “Take a breath, and then we’ll go out.”
She nodded and sucked in air before opening the door.
I’d met Joey and Mitch before, before I’d even decided what to do. It had been nerve-racking then, but something had changed ever since.
Joey frowned when he saw me. His ire was obvious. I only nodded pleasantly.
His partner didn’t seem to have the same reservations.
“Hi,” Mitch said with a smile. “It’s really nice to meet you. Again, I guess. Do you shake hands?”
I held my own out. “I do. And the first time was more of a passing glance.”
I saw Joey bite down on his words. Piper’s smile dimmed.
Mitch elbowed Joey, which pulled the other man out of his thoughts.
“Uh, nice to see you both too.” He gave a smile before looking at the farm. “This is a nice place. They do blueberries too?”
“They do,” Piper said. “I haven’t gotten a chance to come by yet, but I get a lot from Mollie when she’s at the farmers market.”
“You went?”
“Yes, I told you before that I’ve gone. Theo goes with me.”
Joey’s gaze bounced between the two of us. “You two go together.”
“When the shop’s not busy, yes. I ask him to take a break when I want to go down.”
