Page 57 of Feuds and Interludes
Shane shook his head but he was grinning. “Watch this.” He placed his hand at my lower back and bent to whisper in my ear. “We might regret this later, but I’m having way too much fun to stop now.”
I turned and gazed up at him, fluttering the eyelashes just a bit. I placed a hand on his chest and pressed up on my toes to whisper back. “I’m not wearing any underwear. Any more fun and it won’t just be the hickeys showing.” I kissed his cheek for good measure.
We turned the corner and were faced with the sight of our grandparents kissing in the booth.
That cooled our ardor.
“Gran,” I said as we approached the table.
She pulled away from the kiss and didn’t even blush, didn’t seem concerned about being caught.
“There you boys are. Come. Sit.” She patted the seat next to her, which meant there was only space for me and Shane would have to sit next to Bruce. That made me sad. We were a new development, of course, but I guess I’d pictured us sitting next to each other, holding hands under the table in solidarity.
I glanced at Shane, and his scowl was back.
I slid in next to Gran and hugged her, kissing her cheek as Shane and Bruce hugged. I extended my hand to shake Bruce’s, and he looked at it in surprise for a minute before he awkwardly shook it like he might an overzealous fan’s. Shane, of course, had to show me up by being totally cool when he took Vera Jean’shand and graciously held it in both of his as he bowed to her. Man, he was good at this.
“Boys, we have news,” Vera Jean said. She barely waited for our asses to hit the seat before she grinned and linked arms with Bruce.
“By all means,” I said, thinking we had some pretty big news of our own.
The septuagenarians turned to each other and grinned before turning back to face us.
“Bruce is moving in with me.”
My face was about to break under the strain of holding up my smile.
“Wow,” was the clever response I came up with. I glanced at Shane, but he just turned a concerned expression on his grandfather.
“That’s right! I’m selling my condo, Shane, and I’m donating all the proceeds to the Collins Foundation. It feels good to do something in John’s name.”
“Pops?” Shane leaned a little closer and said quietly, “That’s your nest egg. Are you sure?”
“Never been surer,” he said, turning to smile at Vera Jean, who had such a starry-eyed gaze when she smiled back at him.
Shane looked to me with his eyebrows raised, as if he was struggling with what to say as well.
“When?” I finally asked, not sure I wanted the answer.
“I signed a contract with an agent two days ago and the movers are packing up my stuff tomorrow.” He leaned his elbows on the table and said the next specifically to Shane. “Life is short, son. Why wait?”
Shane held his gaze for a moment, and then faced me. “That’s very true.” He kind of shrugged with one shoulder and waited for me to respond.
“Well, maybe I should get the agent’s number,” I said with a laugh. “Guess I’m going to be in the market for a new home.” Sure, the laughter came out a little manic, but it wasn’t the worst response I could have made.
“Oh, dear boy, there’s no rush. Whenever you’re ready.” Gran patted my hand, and I swore I felt my cheeks crumbling like one of those dry skin commercials. Any second now my face would be a pile of rubble on the table.
Twenty-One
Shane
I had to do something, but what, I had no clue. Boone was about to crack and I couldn’t stand to watch it happen.
“You sure you want movers, Pops? I can come help as soon as I’m done up here, which could be anytime.”
Bruce frowned at him. “What happened?”
I didn’t want to make this about me, but perhaps the deflection would give Boone a moment to recover.
