Deacon placed two scoops in a bowl and handed it over. “If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else on the house,” he said, but Holden waved him off.
“I’m sure I will.” He took a bite and… “Holy shit.”
“That’s what I thought.” Deacon clapped his hands together, clearly proud of his choice.
“This is incredible.”
“Thanks, man.” They walked over to the register, and Deacon rang them out. “Come back again.”
“We will!” Sean replied, and Holden ruffled his hair playfully.
“You driving? Buying?”
“I wish!” Sean said. “Not the buying part, but the driving.”
They walked together toward Holden’s car. “You ever driven?”
Sure, he was only thirteen, but from what Holden remembered, that was how it worked in small towns. He’d known how to drive, if only around the property, by the time he was ten.
“No.”
“We’ll have to see what we can do about that.”
Sean’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”
“At least just a start on the driveway. I need to talk to your mama first, though.”
“Thanks, Uncle Holden!”
They both froze and stared at each other. Obviously, Sean hadn’t meant to say that, and Holden was surprised to hear it. Yes, he was Sean’s uncle, but Sean had never called him that before.
“That’s, um…that’s okay, right?” Sean asked hesitantly.
“That’s better than okay, buddy. It’s perfect.” Holden patted him on the shoulder, unexpected emotion swelling in his chest.
He and Sean spent a lot of time together over the next couple of days, some of it while Marilee was at work, but some after. The three of them drove down to a creek that had a walking trail and did some exploring. They ate dinner in the park. As much as he wanted to get close to Sean, he wanted to spend more time with his sister too. She worked a lot, though, trying to put money away and pay bills off so she could get back on her feet.
Holden hadn’t spoken to Monroe since the other night, and that grated on his nerves much more than it should have. Why did he give a shit what some homophobic asshole thought? But the reason it mattered was because he’d liked Monroe, thought he was a good man, and Holden hated being wrong about people.
It was a Saturday night. Holden got them pizza, and the three of them played board games and just hung out. Sean told his mom how he’d driven down the driveway that day, and Marilee pretended to be scandalized when Holden knew she wasn’t.
“You stole a car at fourteen, remember?” he teased.
Sean nearly choked on his drink. “What? Mom stole a car?”
“Holdy!” Marilee griped at him before turning to her son. “I didn’t steal a car. It belonged to our parents. They were too drunk to drive me into town. Holden wasn’t home, so I took the liberty of driving myself.”
“Only she went into a ditch.”
“Not my finest moment,” Marilee mused.
“Wow…that totally means you can’t be mad at me if I take your car,” was Sean’s conclusion.
“No, that’s absolutely not what that means. If you take my car, you’re grounded until you’re eighteen.”
“So unfair.” Sean crossed his arms.
They joked around for a while, watched TV and such. Once Sean went to bed, Marilee and Holden went to the porch.
“You keep chain-smoking those things, and your lungs are gonna fall out.” Holden cocked a brow at her and swatted at a mosquito. Moths fluttered around the porch light.
“Don’t give me a hard time. I’m doing the best I can.”
“I was joking with you,” he replied. “What happened, Mari? I’d like to know the whole story.”
“You basically know what happened. Everything was great at first. Then he started keeping me away from people. He told me everyone hated him, and that everyone wanted to keep us apart. That we only needed each other. And I was… I was so lonely, ya know? Because of Mom and Dad. I just wanted to be happy, and I thought…ugh, I thought if I could just be a good wife, then everything would be okay. God, I was so dumb.”
“No, you weren’t. He used you. He manipulated you.”
“I still should have known better.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t let him get into your head. He was a predator, and he preyed on your insecurities.” With each word Holden spoke, he got angrier and angrier. Not at Marilee, of course, but at Adam…and at himself.
His sister swiped at the stray tears on her face and took a drag of her cigarette. He reached over and grabbed her free hand.
“I’m not ready…to talk about anything else. I’m sorry, Holdy.”
It was killing him not to know, but he wouldn’t push her. “I’m here, when you’re ready. I’ll always be here for you.”
“I know.” She looked at him and gave him a weak smile.
Noise came from the other side of the house, and Holden caught a glimpse of Monroe and Zeus heading into the barn. He decided to give her an easy out. “Oh…so your neighbor is a homophobe.”