Page 68 of The Fire
“That’s, ah… nice of you to say,” I mumbled. I rubbed at my shoulder, which was such a default Jamie action that I dropped my hand and shifted my weight, trying to remember how I used to stand before Jamie had come back into my life.
“I’m not trying to benice, Parker. I’m trying to say that you absolutely have to claim a booth for Lilac Day,” Angela said. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
“And yet… no.” I shook my head. “I couldn’t possibly. I mean, thank you. For thinking of me. But… no.”
Angela frowned. “But why not? We’ll find you cooking space, if that’s the issue. Mari would let you use her cooking space at Burger Geek. Or, word around town is, you might have a connection at Goode’s Diner.” She winked and patted a hand against the side of Jamie’s truck. “You could use their kitchen.”
I felt my cheeks heat. It had definitely not gone unnoticed that Jamie and I were back on… somewhat better terms. We’d never talked about our relationship openly, and sure as hell never hinted we were anything more than friends in public, but I was confident that the O’Leary gossip mill was making it seem like Jamie and I were picking up our relationship where we’d left off. Love, to hate, to love again, with just a snap of the fingers.
I didn’t blame them for believing it, considering how badly I wanted to believe it too.
“That’s kind of you, Angela,” I said. “Really. But I don’t have a restaurant right now, and it wouldn’t feel right.”
“Ah, that’s just temporary, Parker.” She frowned. “Isn’t it? You’re going to rebuild, aren’t you? I heard you were thinking of leaving town at one point over the winter, but you stayed.” She nodded once, like this confirmed things for her. “O’Leary is your home.”
I shrugged, thinking maybe I needed to let my mom and Angela Ross debate my future and let me know what they figured out when they were done.
“Everything feels up in the air right now,” I said. “I can’t even think about rebuilding until the insurance claim gets paid.Ifit gets paid.”
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “It’s that investigator person? He’s still holding things up?”
“Yeah, I guess. Him. The company.” I shrugged again and pushed a hand through my hair. “I’m kinda stuck.” And I hated it.
“You need an attorney,” she said sagely. “I know a guy.”
I snorted. She said it like some kind of mafia don, and the more I thought about it, the more I could picture Angela Ross as the mob boss of O’Leary. Literally no one else in town would do it better than she would.
“My dad said the same,” I admitted. “Says I’m a fool for not getting one in the beginning. I’d already have my money and be on my way.”
Angela snickered and gave me a knowing glance. “That sounds like Lance. I used to wonder how he’d ever convinced your mother to move here when she disliked it so much, but then I’d remember how convincing he could be. The man could sell ice to an Inuit.”
“Salesman of the year at Felmann’s for ten years running,” I agreed.
Angela laughed. “And didn’t we all know it?” She clapped a hand to her mouth. “Sorry, honey. I forgot who I was talking to for a second.”
“It’s fine,” I said, waving away her apology. If anyone knew exactly how my parents had been, it was me. My mom had spent years on the town council, and my dad had coached baseball for way longer than I’d wanted to play, but they’d made it pretty clear that they only tolerated O’Leary. And they’d moved away the minute Dad retired.
“Now, you on the other hand. You belonged here from the minute you were born. O’Leary born and bred, even if you did have that littleblipin Boston.”
I grinned. “A ten-year blip?”
“Takes some people longer to come to their senses than others.” She winked, before continuing, “I think it drove your mother crazy that you liked it so much.”
“Yep. Still does. She was stunned that I ever decided to move back when Boston had so much more culture andopportunity.” I leaned against the truck. “But yeah, she’s definitely not keen on me staying.”
“Ah, Beatrice.”Angela shook her head.“You know, your mama and I didn’t get along very well when she lived here.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I’m aware.”
“Two women who liked getting their own way, and we never seemed to agree on anything.” She smiled, just a little. “But somehow I think we were more alike than not. We both thought our boys hung the moon. And neither of us knew when to let go.”
I smiled in confusion. “I mean, maybe at first that was true. But I haven’t lived near her for a while, you know? She calls and tells me what she thinks Ioughtto do, but I do what I want.”
Angela blinked and her smile turned lopsided. “Take it from me, if she’s still calling you and putting thoughts in your head, honey, she hasn’t let go. Tell her when you want her opinion, you’ll ask for it. That’s what my boys did. Nicely, of course.” She winked. “And believe it or not, it made our relationships stronger.”
“Sure. That’ll go over well.” Angela had to be joking. Beatrice Hoffstraeder firmly believed everything in the world was her business.
“You’ll get to a point where it won’t matter how it goes over,” Angela said confidently. “With your mom or anyone else. It's the best part of getting older. Reallyfreeing.” She looked over my shoulder and waved to someone on the sidewalk. “Gotta run. See you later, honey. Remember what I said about the farmer’s market, okay? O’Leary needs you.” She squeezed my forearm once in goodbye, before running off.
