Page 155 of The Right Kind of Wrong

“I also never properly thanked you for getting the truck running for me. Or fixing the air conditioner when it broke.” All the while that Monroe had been there for her, Denny had been, too.

And she finally felt like she was in a place to be grateful for that help instead of embarrassed by it. For all the people in Cypress Falls that had made her situation worse, there were people like Denny and Gumby and Holland and Monroe who’d made it better.

Who’d supported her with kind gestures and never made her feel guilty about it.

Case in point—“That’s what friends are for,” Denny said, blushing. “At least, I hope that we’re friends.” Then, he added, “Monroe told me y’all are going steady. I’m real happy to hear it.”

The knowledge that Monroe had made it a point to text Denny last night and tell him the news made a pleased warmth rush through her.

“Thanks, Denny. I’m really happy about it, too.” Now, it was Blake’s turn to blush. She was an almost thirty-year-old woman, but the idea of having a girlfriend caused the warmth to rush to her face. Not because she was embarrassed but because she couldn’t fathom how she’d gotten so incredibly lucky.

Denny shifted again, looking awkward in the doorway. He stepped farther inside, shutting the door behind him. “It can be hard to be gay in a small town.”

Blake nodded slowly. “I know. Well, I guess I’m learning, technically. But I’ve got people who have my back, and that counts for a lot.”

Denny nodded once, then nodded again, like he was psyching himself up. “I’m happy as all hell that Monroe’s back. Even happier that you two found one another. She’s—well, she was my person, once upon a time. No one ever looked twice at a gay boy like me if I was palling around with a girl. It meant a lot to have her in my corner. To have her to share the experience with, at a time when it felt incredibly lonely.”

Blake held her hand up to her heart. She knew what it felt like to have someone like that as an adult, but she pictured a young Denny, lonely and struggling with his place in the world. “She can still be your person, too. I’m a big enough woman to share.”

Mostly.

Monroe pinged a part of her that defied conventional logic.

Hell, she’d been ready to give Denny the stink eye for the rest of his natural life—and then, maybe for a couple years after, to his tombstone—when she’d thought that he was competition for Monroe’s romantic affections.

He smiled, the tips of his big ears turning red. “Well, I actually have a person now. And I’m glad that Monroe does, too.”

Blake’s lips curled into a curious smile. “Is that so?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he asserted.

Blake shook her head, laughter bubbling up. “Denny, you cannot call me ma’am.”

“I’m sorry. Yes, Blake,” he corrected himself, grinning.

“Well, maybe one of these days I’ll get to meet him?” Blake asked, wondering who it could be. Monroe hadn’t mentioned it, and that made her respect her girlfriend even more.

In a town where secrets were currency, the people who kept yours were even more valuable.

“I’m hoping,” he said before letting out a low whistle. “Okay. I’ll get out of your hair.”

As he turned toward the door, Blake reached out and grabbed his elbow. “Actually, I was hoping you could help me with something for this weekend.”

Originally, her plan had been to pull it off as a one-woman show, but now she was realizing that she had friends who could help her, too.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“You’re acting weird,” Monroe told Denny, not for the first time.

Denny looked at her from the driver’s seat, having commandeered her SUV a few hours ago. Why she’d let him was anyone’s guess, but he’d asked to drive it. Besides, since coming home, she’d driven more miles than she had in the entire time that she’d lived in New York, which was all to say that she was fine with being chauffeured around for the day.

He grinned as he turned onto Main Street. “Can’t a man just do nice things for his best friend?”

From Maisie’s approved spot in her booster seat, she leaned forward. “I thought I was your best friend,” she said to Denny, jealousy that she was trying to temper laced through her tone.

Welcome to the club, kid.

“You are also my best friend,” Denny said seriously, catching her eye in the mirror and then grinning.