Page 11 of Crumbling Truth
“You were not,” I scolded gently, forcing myself to stay in the present. “You love that man to distraction.”
She winked. “Okay, but admit it—Theo is a mighty fine specimen.”
For a moment, I simply glared at my friend, but finally I caved. “Yeah, fine, he’s beautiful. He’s not for me.”
The smile dropped from her face and she leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Esther, I swear I wasn’t trying to pressure you. No harmin having a nice view out your window though, right? I’ll drop it, I’m sorry.”
“Sof, really, it’s okay. He is definitely nice to look at,” I said, smirking from behind my coffee mug so she would stop looking so serious. “He was fixing something on the back deck the other day and looked like he stepped right out of a hot handyman calendar.”
She laughed and raised her own mug in salute. “To eye candy!”
By silent mutual accord, we steered the conversation away from Theo and back toward safer subjects. I contributed as much as I could, but Sofia had always seemed to understand that I was more of a listener, content to let her regale me with stories about her students, her husband, and her boisterous but intensely loving family. It made me feel less alone, just hearing about that kind of life.
Eventually, though, she tilted her head and asked, “Are you going to be alone for Thanksgiving? And Christmas?”
“Sofia…”
Holding up her hands to ward off an argument, she said, “I’m just asking, but you know you’re welcome to join us. I hate the thought of you all by yourself for the holidays.”
I sipped my coffee as I considered my response. “It’s okay. Anita always invited me to have dinner with her and the family, but I’d rather be alone. This year, I’m planning to spend the weekend curled up on my couch reading romance novels and catching up on my Netflix queue. I’ll be fine, trust me. I do appreciate the invitation, though.”
“Well, if you change your mind, just let me know. You know my mother won’t have a problem with a last minute addition.” Sofia dropped her gaze and pursed her lips, making me immediately suspicious, then added, “But I guess Theo might be alone for the holidays too, since he doesn’t speak to his brother.”
That little tidbit was news to me, but I scrunched my nose at her anyway. “You’re terrible.”
She just shrugged, grinning. “Thought I’d mention it, that’s all. You’re both like family to me and I don’t want either of you to be sad this season. You deserve happiness, honey. You’ve been alone a long time.”
I tapped a finger against the tabletop. “I know. I’m not sure I’m ready for more just yet.”
“It doesn’t have to be serious,” she said slyly. “You could have a no-strings affair for a few weeks, kiss him goodbye, and probably never see him again. He avoids this town like the plague.”
Though my brain tripped over theaffairpart of that, I forced myself to focus on the final sentence. “Why does he avoid it? His whole family still lives here, right?”
She was quiet for a minute. “There were a lot of rumors flying around at the time. Theo’s brother, Alex, is only fifteen months younger than Theo, and I think…I think it was an argument over Theo’s girlfriend at the time. Alex and Michelle were in the same grade.”
“Oh, shit,” I whispered.
“They fought, Alex and Theo. Physically. There was an accident at the lighthouse, Michelle died, and her family moved away the same summer when Theo left.”
“Shedied?”That wasn’t at all what I’d expected.
“Yes. Ollie insisted it wasn’t Theo’s fault, but that’s all he would say about it. The gossip was awful for a while. Ollie made me swear not to get involved in any of it and not to say anything if anyone asked.”
I frowned, knowing just how vicious Spruce Hill rumors could be. I’d spent the last few years fighting my way past my share of them, everything from gold-digger to murderer. This town wasas creative as it was curious, and once you became a curiosity, it was hard to shrug off that mantle.
Hell, I was fairly certain a portion of my customers still only came to the truck to see if they could glean any new information from my existence.
Forcing my mind back to the topic of Theo’s tragic past, I grimaced. “Sorry I asked.”
“Don’t be sorry. It sucks, but it does bode well for a fling.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why is that? Trauma bonding?”
“No,” she protested, laughing. “From what I’ve gathered, Theo swore off love after that—he dates, but he always ends things before he gets too deep.”
“He must have really loved her,” I mused.
What a tragedy. No wonder he’d left town.
