by Taryn Quinn
She’d married up and I had a couple of half siblings I’d never cared to meet. Good thing, because she liked to forget we existed.
“So, when your brothers and pops come in, how long are they staying?”
“Good question.” I shifted to face the fire. Just like that, Jimmy intruded. I hadn’t even talked to Cohen about him. I was a damn coward. “My dad isn’t great about taking time off. None of my family is, really.”
“I’m shocked.”
I gave him a side-eyed glance. “Yeah, well, the Burns family are hard workers. Play hard too. Why I need a space for them, or they’ll destroy my house.”
“In boredom,” he quipped.
“Shut up.”
He scratched the dog’s ears. “I’ll make sure the whole thing is tip top, don’t worry.”
“I know you will.”
In no time, I’d already begun to believe that maybe this project wasn’t as insane as I thought. I wasn’t sure what to do with that slice of hope. It was such an abstract thing in my life.
My phone vibrated in my hoodie pocket. I contemplated ignoring it. Relaxing wasn’t something I did easily, but here I was. The ringtone was on the lowest setting, but the familiar tones of Ezra’s ringtone made me struggle out of the deep incline of the chair.
“Need something?”
I shook my head and hauled myself out of the chair. I pulled out my phone as I strode up the lawn. “Everything okay?”
“You answer the phone like there’s a five-alarm fire every time, Ging.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t call me.”
He expelled a breath. “Yeah. I hate when I call that I have shit news each time.”
My heart sank. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing doesn’t require a call.”
“Nothing happened with Cohen. Not that he’ll talk to anyone anyway.”
I winced. I hadn’t even tried to reach out. I was the shittiest sister on the planet. “Then what’s up?”
“They’re holding a memorial for Jimmy. I think we should be there.”
“I...” What was I supposed to say?
How was I supposed to grieve a man who had betrayed me so completely?
Nine
I didn’t watch her walk away but only because I was getting tired of being predictable. Not that I didn’t enjoy the view.
Better to brood into a beer and ponder my moves.
I didn’t make a habit of thinking too much. Action was my preferred MO, and honestly, I’d never had to second-guess how to behave with women. I didn’t like not feeling sure of myself in this arena.
Then again, it had never mattered this much before.
Sure, I struck out sometimes. Who didn’t? But this didn’t feel like a normal time up at bat. This felt crucial. Urgent.
Life or death to my dick, if not to the rest of me.
At least that was a good story to tell myself.
When Caleb wandered away from the circle of women to drop down in the chair beside me that Tish had vacated, I considered it a sign. I wasn’t of the woo woo variety, but my boy now consorted with witches and that had put some different ideas in my head.
I wasn’t against believing the universe was working for our highest good. A lot of kismet-ish stuff had happened in my life that had brought me to this place. There had to be some sort of grand plan, right?
I grabbed the guitar again because it was easier to speak while I strummed. “So, fate. You think it’s a thing?”
Caleb had been in the process of pulling the tab off his soda and managed to break it off in his surprise. He swore ripely under his breath, holding up a hand when his wife-to-be shot him a look full of reproach.
“You’re not allowed to swear anymore? Did you take an oath?”
“The baby can hear. She’s pretty lax about enforcement though.”
“Isn’t it like the size of a tadpole?”
“More like a fig. Fu—frick, I’m thirsty. Why did you have to ruin my soda with your existential crap?”
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the can out of his hand and used the tool on my belt to take care of the pop top. “Here you go, Big Poppa.”
He took it sulkily. “You need to warn a dude when you ask something like that.”
“Why? You must discuss these things at home. At least when you come up for air.”
“Not so much. It’s not a fad with Lu. Her spirituality is as much a part of her as her hair color.”
“I get that.” I set my guitar on the arm of my chair and reached for my beer. “I wasn’t joking around, man. I was serious.”
My best friend narrowed his eyes as he studied me, the firelight shifting over his face. “I see that now. Just caught me off guard.”
“Yeah.” I finished off my beer before crushing the can against my thigh. “Good time Lucky doesn’t have serious thoughts. What’s wrong with this picture?”
“I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t. I know you do sometimes. You must,” he added.
I had to laugh. “Yeah, so it’s not my usual. But in a town like this, if you pay attention you gotta wonder. Something weird is at play here. I mean, not everyone gets knocked up right away, despite what local lore says. But an awful lot do.”
“You think that’s fate?”
“I dunno. What led me here? I could’ve gone anywhere. And I landed in this place.” I set my can down in the sand and went back to playing the guitar, my thoughts circling like the lazy curls of smoke rising into the air from the fire. “Like how we got to be friends. That had to be meaningful.”
Even saying it made me feel like a Class-A asshole. We weren’t the types to explore our feelings. But with all that had been going on lately with Caleb coupling up with Lu and making a whole new life, I couldn’t deny things were different now.
It had to be. He was becoming a dad and a husband and all that went with it.
But what did that mean for me? I’d been at loose ends as I had so many other times in my life. Roaming from place to place, trying to see if this was where I was meant to be for more than a season or a year. But no matter where I’d gone or what I’d done, nowhere had ever fit until the Cove.
“Yeah.” Caleb rolled the sweating can between his palms as he gazed across the circle of chairs to where Ryan’s dude Preston was seemingly having an in-depth conversation with Butch.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about my girl leaving me to sit with another man, but I supposed I was glad she was making friends. Everyone needed them.
Even Ruby, no matter what she thought.
As the silence extended, I strummed harder, launching into Don McLean’s “American Pie.” I’d learned that one on the road too, and our surroundings seemed made for the singalong tune.
Not that anyone was singing. Not even me.
“Look, man, I wanted to talk to you.” My best friend leaned forward and set down his can in the sand before linking his hands between his knees. “I know stuff’s been…different.”
I kept playing.
“We used to hang out all the time. It wasn’t as if I was looking for that to change. We always had so much fun.”
My fingers slowed, eventually stilling. “I get it,” I said quietly.
And I did. I always had. I’d had lots of friends over the years, and no matter how nomadic their lifestyle started out, in time, situations changed. Dudes found chicks and had kids and made a family. It was the goal. No one wanted to cruise the bar scene forever.
Even endless pussy got old. I know, I’d had trouble believing it too.
“Yeah. I just wanted you to know, like to say it, that it’s not about you or our friendship. That’s solid as bedrock. Nothing will change that.” His Adam’s apple bobbed with his swallow in the low light. “I promise, Luc.”
I swallowed too, shocked to feel heat behind my eyes. I hadn’t known I needed to hear it. Big tough guy who didn’t do emotions. Why would I need emotional shit like that? I knew we were good.
“Yeah. Me too. And thanks.” I took a breath and leaned closer, desperate to get back on an even keel. “So, how’s witchy sex? Preston told me it’s out of this world.”
“He did not. Preston excels at narrowed eyed looks, which is what you would get if you asked a question like that.”
“So, you’re saying it’s not amazing? Bummer.”
Smirking, he shook his head. “Dude, you are something else. Besides, even if I said it was, you’d be shit out of luck because the only two local witches are spoken for. So, why torment you with the forbidden promiseland?”
“I knew it was incredible. The way Luna moved around that stripper pole…” I said fondly, laughing when he slapped the side of my head.
“I heard that, creeper,” Luna called across the circle, making Preston glance up from his Zen moment with my chilled-out dog.
“Not a literal creeper,” I informed him when he aimed the very look Caleb had warned me about my way. “I see her purely, I swear. She’s basically my sister-in-law, and she’s with child at that.”
“He’s just referring to the day I moved in across from Lu,” Caleb chimed in, “and he accidentally on purpose opened her door while she was, erm, dancing.”
“I was doing my stripper pole routine.”
Preston did not look surprised. “You opened the door of a woman you don’t know?” His voice hardened. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?”
Ryan patted his arm. “Down, pitbull. Obviously, it worked out okay since Caleb and Lu are engaged.”
“And she’s very pregnant,” I added. “But you’re right. I went too far, and I apologized.”
“Very pregnant?” Lu peeled up her top and gazed down at her mostly flat belly. “I’d compare mine to yours any day, Roberts.”
“It was just a figure of speech.”
“Beware,” Caleb said under his breath. “You’re a vision, Lu.”
She smiled at him before pointing at me. “Men do pole work too, you know. I’d challenge you to do a routine anytime you want.”
I snorted so loud I could’ve damaged my sinuses. “Blondie, your pole would crash to the floor if I climbed on it.”
“You have no idea what my pole could handle.”
“Okay, okay, let’s walk.” Caleb stood and moved to the cooler to grab a couple more sodas. I disposed of our recyclables and followed him toward the water, mainly to keep from bantering with Lu until I got myself in trouble.
“You think she really wants me to get up on the pole?” I asked when we were safely out of earshot. I hoped. “Does she hope I’ll humiliate myself? I thought Lu was a benevolent soul.”
“She is, but she’s very proud of her athleticism. She told me she intends to keep dancing throughout her pregnancy.” He jerked a shoulder and popped the top on his can. “I reap the benefits, and she assures me it’s safe for her and the baby.”
“Do you do that kinky Magic Mike stuff for her?”
“Hardly.” He chuckled. “Can you imagine me on a stripper pole?”
I shuddered. “God, no.” But this conversation had rerouted my thoughts in a certain direction. “So, if you don’t strip for her, what do you do?”
“Just because I said we were on solid ground didn’t mean I’m going to give you sex tips.”
“I don’t need those. At least I don’t think. I’ve never gotten any complaints. And I’ve had many wanna-be repeat customers.”
“Do you mean actual customers? Like paid sex work? If so, dude, gross.”
“You aren’t funny.” I gave him a good shove toward the lake. In the early darkness, the water placidly lapped at the rocks and the lights from houses along the shore bobbed along the surface.
Laughing, he shoved me back before sobering. “Okay, I’ll bite. What are you asking?”
“I was there when you met Lu. I saw some of your fumbles in between.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Can you dispute it?”
“Nope.”
“So, how the hell did you seal that deal? Not physically,” I said exasperatedly before we went down that road again. “I mean, how do you chip the ice enough with your dream girl to get her to see you as the ultimate god of sex?”
Caleb’s eyes widened enough that the light reflected from the fire pit seemed to dance in his pupils. “Well, huh, I don’t think that’s happened yet. Gives me something to strive for though.”
“Keep trying, Goldilocks.” Lu gave Caleb an enthusiastic thumbs up when he glanced over his shoulder in her direction.
“Damn bat ears.”
“It’s the pregnancy. Heightens all her senses, she claims.” He took a long drink and shook his head. “I gotta lay off the caffeine. It’s getting late, and we have early errands tomorrow. I’m going to be buzzing.”
“Oh, the wild life of a papa-in-training,” I teased.
“As for the ice… I didn’t break shit. I fell asleep in her bed after I mixed old rum with antibiotics and went home to the wrong apartment.”
“And that got you laid? Nice, dude.” I bumped my fist into his.
“You’re living on the edge, my man.” He pointed behind his head to where the rest of our friends were sitting.
I puffed up my chest and opened my soda. “I’m not scared.”
“Right. Anyway, I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“No.” He rubbed the slight scruff on his jaw. “Maybe it was fate, just like you said. Because God knows I don’t deserve her. I don’t have any clue how I got so lucky. I just try to be worthy of her every day.”
I slid a glance toward the now empty circle of chairs. Our friends were trooping down to the other end of the beach, probably to work off dinner. My dog brought up the end of the bunch, trailing after Preston and the bun crumbs he was using as a lure.
“Out of luck, pal. She missed your lovey-dovey speech.”
“Dammit.” Caleb sighed as his gaze followed mine to our friends. “Well, whatever, it’s all true. I worship the damn ground she walks on and I don’t hide it.”
“Hmm. What about playing hard to get?”
“If that backfires, you’re left playing with your own hand.”
“You do have a point.” I clapped him on the back and decided Ruby had been gone long enough.
If she thought no one cared if she just disappeared, she was wrong. I cared.
Far too much.
“I do?”
“Yeah. Look at all you have, man. You made out big time.” I gave him a quick one-armed hug. “She’s lucky to have you too. You’re a stand-up dude, and you’ll never leave her or your kid in the lurch.”
Not like mine had.
I wouldn’t do that either. Not that I had kids in mind for anytime soon or maybe ever. But if somehow it ever happened, I’d do what a real man did when he had children.
He took care of his responsibility.
Caleb nodded firmly. “No. I won’t.”
“I’m happy for you. Truly. And I’m glad you were able to make it tonight. I’m honored to be the kid’s godfather.”
“About that—”
I raised a brow.
He sighed and smiled. “We’re thrilled you agreed to do it.”
“Agreed? I strong-armed you into it.” I grinned. “And when I marry Ruby, I’ll ask you to return the favor.”
Jesus, what the hell was I saying? Marrying her was one thing. But needing godfather services meant…
No.
Oh, no, no, no.
Before I could incriminate myself further, I crossed the beach back toward the house to find my future wife.
And future not anything else.
I found her in the kitchen, her head bent as she methodically cut something with a pair of industrial-sized scissors. I didn’t know if she’d still be on the phone, but she definitely was not. And she appeared to be doing some kind of arts and crafts with scissors created for a gorilla.
Her long fall of red hair tumbled forward to shield her
face while she carefully cut the glossy pieces slipping to the floor like shrapnel.
I stepped forward and she swore, her head jerking up as she dropped the scissors. She flushed the color of her hair and jammed her forefinger in her mouth. “What do you want?”
“Always sweetness and light, Ruby.”
“Quit the ‘Ruby’ stuff. I have an actual name.”
Whatever progress toward friendship we’d made seemed to have been erased with one phone call.
“Let me see that finger.” I came around the island toward her, caught between amusement and annoyance when she held it to her chest and backed away.
“No.”
Every step forward I took, she took one back until she was edging around to the other side of the island.
“Ruby.” I let out a baffled laugh. “C’mon. At least rinse it off. You’re a big girl.” I went to the sink and turned on the cool water.
“It’s fine. I do a million things worse to myself every day. I almost hacked off a finger half a dozen times.”
“Is that all? You must play it safe at work.”
She marched forward and stuck her finger under the water, wincing only slightly. “It’s basically just a paper cut. See?”
She wasn’t wrong, but I still went down the hall to her bathroom and dug through the medicine cabinet until I found the banged-up tube of Neosporin and a Band-Aid.
When I returned, she was still standing with her hand under the water, her gaze miles away.
“Think this will help you avoid stitches.” I held up my items and her head whipped toward mine.
“Stitches—oh, shut up.”
“You first. Turn that off.” She’d shifted the stream over to ice cold. “You’re going to lose circulation in your fingers.”
Shockingly, she did as she was told, although she growled when I wrapped her hand in a dishtowel to dry it.
“You’re a surly patient,” I told her.
With the most beautiful pair of doe brown eyes I’ve ever seen.
Somehow I managed not to say that part.
I ignored her grumbling while I held her in place and squirted a dollop of Neosporin on the cut before slapping the bandage over it. I expected her to knee me in the nuts as soon as she was freed, but instead, I looked up to find her smiling.