Page 59 of Dreaming at Seaside
“This was delicious, Caden. Thank you for cooking.” He’d made a shrimp and rice dish that, like him, was just the right amount of spicy and sweet.
“Dad’s a pretty good cook.” Evan didn’t look up from the text message he was typing on his phone.
Caden draped an arm across the back of Bella’s chair. “Can’t live on chicken nuggets and fries forever.” He patted his stomach.
“I could, but you won’t let me.” Evan glanced up at Caden from beneath his thick bangs.
“Old fight, different town.” Caden shifted his eyes to Bella. “Evan had a few friends in Boston who ate fast food for lunch and dinner most days. Being the odd man out was tough sometimes, but I didn’t want him eating that garbage all the time.”
“I think that’s nice,” she said. “You’re lucky, Evan. Think about what it would be like if your dad was an awful cook.”
Evan shoved his phone in his pocket and shrugged. Bella noticed he wasn’t nearly as engaged as he’d been at the barbeque, and as Evan withdrew his phone from his pocket again and Caden sighed, she knew she didn’t have to mention Jamie’s concerns.
“Ev, how about you give the texting a rest for a while?”
Evan continued texting.
The muscle in Caden’s jaw jumped. “Ev,” he said in a stern voice.
Evan sighed, finished texting, and shoved the phone back in his pocket.
“Thank you.” Caden smiled, but Bella could see that it was forced, and she tried to ease the thickening tension.
“I saw you riding your bike out of Payton’s Campground the other day. Do you have friends staying there?”
“Payton’s?” Evan squinted and shook his head, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
“Yeah. The campground behind our development? I took the back road home the other day, and you and your friends flew out of there on your bikes, or at least I thought it was you.” She smiled at Caden, but it was wasted. His eyes were locked on Evan. “It brought back memories of riding our bikes to the beach when we were younger. It’s one of the most fun things I remember about summers here. There were times me, Jenna, Amy, and Leanna would leave Seaside in the mornings and not come back until dinnertime.”
Evan shook his head and fiddled with the arm of his chair. “I wasn’t at a campground. It must have been someone else.”
“Payton’s had a break-in the other day.” Caden pulled his arm from Bella’s chair and turned his attention to Evan.
Bella felt the heat of his scrutiny and she wasn’t even the focus of it.
Evan shrugged again, and when he met his father’s gaze, his eyes were cold, his voice serious. “Like I said, I don’t even know the place. Can I be excused? My friends are all online, and I want to play a game with them.”
“Don’t you want to stay and visit a few minutes?” Caden asked.
Evan rolled his eyes, and Bella set her hand on Caden’s tense thigh.
“It’s okay. He’ll have more fun playing with his friends than entertaining me.”
Evan lifted hopeful eyes to Caden.
“Fine. You’re right. Go ahead, buddy, but take your dishes inside.”
Evan gathered his dishes, and before he walked inside, he turned back to Bella and Caden. “Thanks for dinner, Dad. Bella, I’m glad you’re here, and thanks for introducing me to Jamie. He’s cool.”
After Evan went inside, Bella leaned closer to Caden and said, “Breathe, Dad.”
Caden shook his head. “It’s like he changed overnight, isn’t it?”
“He’s making friends, settling in.”
“I hope that’s all it is. What made you think it was him coming out of Payton’s?” His voice was serious again.
She shrugged. “It looked like him, but kids all look alike these days. Shaggy hair, shorts, T-shirts. He said it wasn’t him, so obviously I was wrong.”I hope I was wrong, given his reaction.
