Page 37 of Peach Tree Family

"We have a table now," Theo said and shut the laptop so he could go get the plates. That reminded him of what Butter was up to earlier. "So you didn't curse when the cat jumped on you?"

"I try to do my cursing just in my own head, but I do slip up sometimes. My dad used to curse a blue streak, but my grandpa was real strict with me about it. I think he was afraid I would end up like my mom and dad. And all the stuff he heard about me made him think I was a bad seed."

Seth was turned away, and Theo didn't know what to say to him. He just stood there holding the plates. Then Seth turned to him, but he didn't look upset. Was he just used to people thinking the worst about him? That thought hurt, so Theo told him. "It's a pity he misjudged you. But that not cursing thing is going to come in handy with Butter pouncing all over the place. Unlike me, you'll be setting a good example for Ace."

"Me a good example? I never thought I would hear those words," Seth said, and Theo wondered how much of what people said about him had gotten inside his head to influence how he thought about himself.

Seth was taking the food to the table when Ace pointed at him. "Oh, no. You have a big hole in your sweater."

And he did. Seth had on an olive green sweater with a hole under the arm.

"I'll fix that up with some needle and thread," Seth said.

Ace leaned over to whisper to Theo. "Quick. Let's tickle him before he fixes it."

"I should pretend I didn't hear that?" Seth asked.

"I plan to," Theo said.

Ace objected. "But he'll fix it."

As they were eating breakfast, Ace also fed Butter and told them about all the things she pounced on and did an impression of her purring. With the breakfast dishes done and drying by the sink and the cat closed up inside the house, the three of them went off to pick up wood.

"Look at Ace," Theo said as he and Seth followed him. "He already has an armful and we don't even know if we'll need firewood. If the fireplace guy finds a problem I can't afford to fix, this will all be for nothing."

Seth disagreed with that. "It's not a waste of time. We're clearing loose branches and such. This is your property after all. How far does it go anyway?"

"The well is about halfway to the property line that way," Theo said, pointing ahead of them.

"That's a good sized piece of land."

"It's not much good to us, just someplace for Ace to run around," Theo said with a shrug.

"And Butter once you let her out," Seth said pointedly.

"I'm worried Ace is going to lose that cat," Theo confessed.

"You don't want to keep her cooped up for good, do you?"

"No. That wouldn't be fair. She's already climbing the walls. Literally."

"You worry like a big brother should," Seth told him with a smile but quickly turned to look ahead like maybe he didn't want Theo to think he was hitting on him.

And to be honest Theo doubted he was strong enough to turn down Seth a second time. Not that Seth was testing his resolve with anything except just being buff and flexing and bending all the damn time as they picked up stray branches. There were plenty of them lying around, but Seth still pointed to some dead trees he thought they should cut down for firewood.

When he pointed to one in particular, Ace objected. "Not that one. It looks like a robot." Then be showed them how exactly it looked like a robot.

"We don't even have a working fireplace, so don't worry about it," Theo told him. "Let's go back. We don't want Seth to be late for work."

Heading back to the house, Seth got a little ahead of him but Theo wasn't ogling him as much as he was trying to figure him out. Was he straight? Theo had been sure of it at first, but now he didn't know.

Wishful thinking was scrambling his judgment though he didn't know why it should. Seth wasn't the guy for him, and he wasn't even looking for anyone to hook up with right now. But as long as Seth was there, right in front of him, Theo couldn't get him out of his head.

At the inn, Theo had familiarized himself with the booking software they used, and now he was studying the seasonal patterns. The owner, Andy Brighton, had put together tons of data for him to study.

When he saw the file, the manager, Mr. Copeland, who turned out to be Mr. Brighton's fiancé, told Theo, "You don't need to memorize all that. Just look it over to get the gist."

As long as he wasn't busy, Theo figured he might as well study the data. There was a lot, tons of charts and analysis, but Theo didn't mind. It was better than listening to Dustin, his coworker, talking about all the bands he had ever been in. "I was in this band Doll Finger, and then it was Slime Production, then Declination, then..."

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