Page 51 of Hometown Heart

His eyes flickered to mine briefly, a hint of a smile touching his lips before disappearing. "Thanks."

We drank in silence, the harbor slowly coming alive outside the window. A lobster boat cut through the fog, red and white against gray water. The town was waking up, unaware that something fundamental had shifted in Silas Brewster's apartment.

I waited, giving Silas plenty of space to find his words. The clock on his wall ticked softly, marking seconds that stretched between us.

When he finally looked at me again, his expression was guarded, almost wary—like he expected me to change my mind and announce what we'd done had been a mistake.

I took another sip of coffee, deliberately unhurried. Setting my mug down, I met his gaze steadily.

"What's going on in your head right now?"

Silas exhaled. "I don't—" he started, then stopped. "This isn't..." He shook his head, frustrated with his own inability to articulate the emotions churning inside him.

I waited.

He set his mug down. "I don't do this. Relationships." The word emerged almost reluctantly as if naming it might conjure complications he wasn't ready to face. "I don't know how to... do this. I'm not sure I would have known what to do if Nico didn't leave."

The admission was painful; I saw it in the tightness around his eyes.

"We figure it out," I said, keeping my voice even. "One day at a time."

"You make it sound so damn easy."

"It doesn't have to be hard."

"Doesn't it?" His gaze drifted toward the window where Whistleport was waking up below us. "Nothing worth having comes easy."

"Maybe," I conceded. "But worth having and deliberately complicated aren't the same thing."

He turned back to me, something vulnerable flickering across his features before he could mask it. "Cody—"

"Loves you already," I finished for him. "And before you make this about him needing stability or me focusing on being a dad, just know that I've thought about all of that. Extensively."

Surprise registered in his eyes.

"I'm not rushing into anything blind, Silas. I know what's at stake."

He absorbed my comment. "And you still want... this? I mean, me."

Before Silas could respond, three sharp knocks rattled the apartment door.

He tensed and stood. He set his mug down and moved toward the door.

Through the door's small window, I glimpsed Brooks's tall frame. Silas hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning the knob.

"Morning," Brooks greeted. His gaze flicked past Silas to where I stood in the kitchen doorway, and his expression shifted slightly. It wasn't surprise. It was more like satisfaction in seeing the dots connect as he expected. "Jack. Didn't expect to see you this early."

"Brooks," I nodded, grateful for the coffee mug that gave my hands something to do.

Brooks held up a paper bag with the Miller's Bakery logo stamped on the side. "June asked me to drop these by. Saidyou'd ordered extra scones for today." His easy tone suggested nothing unusual about finding me in Silas's apartment at seven in the morning, though the subtle rise of his eyebrow told a different story.

Silas took the bag, moving toward the kitchen with deliberate steps. "Thanks. Tell her I appreciate it."

"Will do." Brooks remained in the doorway, rocking slightly on his heels. "Great game yesterday, wasn't it? Cody's goal was something else."

"Good crowd, too," he added, his words casual but full of additional meaning.

"Yeah," Silas answered, his back to us as he busied himself with rearranging things on the counter. "Cody's finding his rhythm with the team."

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