Page 115 of Make Mine Sweet
“Not with Dutch.” I’ve been trying to make things easier on August by not taking Dutch into the back yard these last few days, but I don’t think it worked for either of them. My dog’s pining hard.
Just like his owner.
“Why don’t you set the table for us?” Tess tells him.
He frowns as if he might argue but eventually wanders into the kitchen. I’m not certain he’ll actually set the table, but at least he had the intent.
Tess and I watch each other over my steaming casserole dish. Reminds me of another food-related impasse we had. I move it a few inches closer to her, and she blinks as if waking up. She takes it from me, and her fingers brush over mine.
Not nearly enough, but I will take anything at this point.
“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” she says softly.
“Yes, I do. I want to do more than this, Tess. So much more.”
“Why?”
“Because I looked at that compass you gave me, and I found my true north.” I lean in so I can whisper. “It’s you.”
Her jaw works but no sound comes out. I’ve left my angel speechless. That’s okay. I have more plans to set in motion.
“Enjoy your dinner, Tess.”
I forgot how exhausting going to a bar with a twenty-something could be. Nathan Bridger not only knows everyone in here, but he’s a chatterbox. He’s introduced me to at least a dozen people tonight, every one eager to welcome me to Sunshine.
I don’t hate it. I’m still not as comfortable as I used to be in a situation like this, but I’ll get there. Or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll stay here in the middle of the sociable scale. It’s not the worst place to be.
A few people have asked about my leg, but most have asked me more mundane questions. And even the ones who did ask haven’t made it weird. Not a Mr. Miller among them. I’ll run into another one eventually, but I can’t let people with no social filter make me hide away anymore.
“Guy came to the medic tent every day of that festival covered head to toe in hives,” Nathan’s telling me. Our conversation has devolved to “dumbest things we’ve seen.” “We give him the same line of questions every time, trying to pin it down. He says he’s allergic to tree nuts but he’s careful to stay away. No trail mix, no coconut oil, nothing. But we go through everything he’s eaten anyway. Come to find out, he’s been eating Nutella all weekend.” Nathan’s laugh is almost as good as August’s, hearty and just slightly too loud. “He’d never had it before and was gorging on the stuff.”
“Most accidents I’ve seen in the wild are self-inflicted.” Didn’t pack enough supplies, drank water that wasn’t filtered, thought it’d be cool to pet a wild animal—you name it. We’re all our own worst enemies.
I sure have been.
“My older brother, Graham, is the poster child for that stuff. He’s a hopeless case on camping trips. These days, he sticks to field trips with his high school science class.”
“Is it just the two of you?”
“Nope. First, there’s our oldest brother, Luke. He’s taken over our dad’s hardware store. Very responsible, that one. Then Reed, who is the opposite of Graham in every way, and would rather live alone in his cabin in the woods than be around a living soul. Then Graham, then our sister, Lucy. She’s the wild card.Then, me.”
“And I thought two brothers was a lot.”
“Oh, it was chaos growing up. That’s what I want when I have a family. Kids everywhere.”
Not that long ago, I would have said that sounded horrible. Now, after spending time with one rambunctious child…it’s not such a bad plan.
He points the rim of his beer bottle at me. “Did you tell your brothers you’re staying yet?”
I stare at him. I haven’t mentioned a word about that.
He flashes me a cheeky look. “Come on. I’m a very persuasive guy.”
I can only chuckle. “It was all you, huh?”
“And the help of two cute blondes.”
I point a finger in warning. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like him talking about Tess that way. “Yeah, I told them. They’re dealing with it.”
