Page 28 of Ropers Can't Tie Knots
“Is this going to hold two grown men?” He laughs.
“I hope so.”
I replaced the cushions last summer, so they offer more padding to encourage a person to relax. To stay and enjoy the night sounds without getting a sore ass.
“You were good with the kids today,” Gabe offers. “I didn’t know brushing animals was so important.” He doesn’t laugh. He states it simply as a fact he didn’t know, while he stares out into the darkness. “Maybe it’s a good thing I never had a pet growing up. I’d only want to give it treats and sleep with it.”
Gabe pushes the swing with his foot, so we have a lazy sway, and I glance over at his profile. His gaze seems far away, like he’s lost in his own memories. I don’t want to intrude, but it seems when I’m around Gabe, he makes me do a lot of things I’ve never done before.
“My grandfather said no pets inside. If an animal couldn’t be useful on the farm, then it was useless. We had a few barn cats to catch mice, but nothing could ever come into the house.” He was so insistent on that, I was afraid to push the envelope in case he hurt something I’d become attached to. “I joined the 4-H club when Margie suggested it. I think I was ten. She let me keep a rabbit at her place, and I loved every minute of taking care of that rabbit.”
“What was its name?” Gabe turns to face me, and the single porch light illuminates his face. Behind those wire-rimmed glasses are eyes full of an understanding I’ve never met before.
“Bugs.” We both laugh. “Unoriginal, but it was the first thing I could think of.”
“It’s cute,” Gabe murmurs, turning back to the darkness. “I wanted a cat. A stray was around our apartment building all the time, and she was the sweetest thing. I called her Blackie.” Gabe smiles as I chuckle. “She had the best purr. I wanted to bring her inside so badly, but my mom said pets weren’t allowed in our building and she couldn’t afford cat food.”
He sighs and pushes the swing again with his foot. “That’s as close to owning a pet as I ever got. One day Blackie disappeared and never came back. I was heartbroken. My mom died about a year later.”
“Gabe…I’m sorry.”
An image of a sad young Gabe grips me, but I don’t know how to comfort someone. I’ve been on the receiving end enough, but I struggle to reciprocate.
“Life isn’t always full of rainbows.” He shrugs a shoulder. “Anyway, I thought you did a great job with the kids, and I learned a lot. You have the gift of teaching.”
He turns towards me again, and there’s a sincerity not just to his words but in his expression. I invited him to sit with me so I wouldn’t be alone, but I didn’t think it would lead to this charged moment.
“Thank you,” I manage. He smiles a small smile, like he knows how hard words are to come by at moments like this. His hands rest on his thighs as we rock lazily in the swing while the chains squeak.
My heart is thumping so hard in my chest, it feels like it might snap a rib.
I’ve enjoyed this evening more than anything in recent memory. A lightness I’ve missed has returned, and I know it’s partly because of Gabe. I can’t let him sit here by himself when he’s lost in sad thoughts.
Reaching over, I grab his hand and thread my fingers through his. Gabe inhales sharply and squeezes my fingers with his before he slides a little closer, leaning his head on my shoulder.
nine
Gabe
“Good morning, Diamond.”
The adorable barista at The Thirsty Cow bats his eyelashes my way before reaching for my thermal mug. I don’t need to give him my order. I’ve been coming here enough that he knows it without asking.
Diamond is one of those people who makes your day brighter just by being in it. Mostly because he’s a wicked flirt, but he’s so effervescent it’s hard not to be drawn to him.
“Good morning, Mr. Handsome,” Diamond says in his flirty tone, and I smile. He’s a cute little thing with his short platinum-blond hair and megawatt smile. My gaze sweeps down to his long lean legs in cutoff jean shorts and cowboy boots.
“How many hearts are you breaking today, sweetheart?”
Diamond smiles into the coffee cup as he adds a shot of hazelnut flavour. “I’m not into breaking hearts, sugar.” He shakes a delicious powder on the top of my coffee before sliding it over to me with the lid on the side. A heart shape sits on top, and I quirk an eyebrow.
“Are we talking sugar hearts or real hearts now?”
“There’s no time in my day to waste breaking hearts. I’d rather hold out for the right one.” Diamond winks as he leans on thecounter towards me. “But what about you? Mr. Fine in his suit and perfectly scruffy jaw. You break hearts when you leave a room, and somehow, you snagged Kissing Ridge’s most eligible bachelor from right under our noses. What’s your secret?”
With a small laugh, I duck my head. Diamond isn’t one to be subtle. I already know that, but I also know I can’t say too much.
“Sometimes you just get lucky…and I got lucky.”
