“Holdy, huh?” Monroe cocked a brow.
“Way to put me on blast, Mari.” The adults all laughed.
Monroe turned to his son. “I see you get excited when Sean works on our barn, but any time I try to put you to work at home or at the farm, all you do is complain.”
“That’s ’cause I don’t use saws here. Saws are cool,” Wyatt replied.
“Do you get to run any of the farm equipment?” Sean asked. His question seemed to surprise him as much as it did Holden.
“Dad taught me how to drive a tractor. And I have to use the riding mower sometimes, which was cool at first and now just sucks. Some other stuff too.”
“A tractor is way cooler than a saw,” Sean answered.
“Well, there’s always work to do,” Monroe said. “If it’s okay with your mama, I’ll drag you and your uncle out here with me sometime, and we can do a little tractor driving.”
“Can we, Mom? Uncle Holden?” Sean nearly bounced as he spoke. It was the most excited Holden had seen him about anything since he’d arrived in Harmony.
“As long as your uncle watches you with his life, I’m okay with it,” Marilee said. Holden could tell she was trying to bite back her smile. She just wanted Sean to be happy and have friends. He was pretty sure she would have said yes to anything right about then.
“I will, but he can take care of himself.” Holden gave Sean a simple nod.
“We have dirt bikes and four-wheelers at home. Have you ever ridden those?” Wyatt asked.
Sean’s cheeks turned slightly pink, and he shook his head.
“Dad, we should go. We can take Holden and Sean out and show them where we ride!”
Monroe eyed Holden, and Holden saw a spark in his dark eyes. When Holden looked at Marilee and she nodded, he said, “I’m down. What do you think, bud?”
“Really?” Sean asked. “You’d take me to do that with them?”
Holden hated the doubt he heard there, that Sean hadn’t expected Holden to go riding dirt bikes or maybe take him to learn to drive a tractor because his father wouldn’t have. “Of course I would, brat.” Holden ruffled his hair.
“Sounds like a date, then,” Monroe added just as a goat came up and nudged him. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Misfit. We got some food for ya.” He loved on the goat before Lindsey handed some carrots over.
Wyatt moved to sit closer to Sean, and they went from discussing dirt bikes to video games. That easily, they’d become friends. It was maybe one of the happiest moments of Holden’s life. He already loved his nephew more than anything.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Monroe
They were having a fun evening. Sean and Wyatt had found a way to bond, and Lindsey and Marilee were doing their own chatting too. The movie would start soon, and more of the goats were wandering around. Marilee handed Sean the bag of food they’d been given with their ticket. He had a circle of goats around him while he told Wyatt all about his stats on one of the games they played. Wyatt had done this a million times in his life, so he wasn’t as into playing with the goats, but Roe could see how much Sean enjoyed it. His mama did too. She rambled about finding a baby and wanting to hold one.
“Can we get some of Mr. Deacon’s ice cream before the movie starts?” Wyatt asked.
“I love his ice cream!” Sean replied.
“It’s okay with me,” Lindsey answered, and Marilee agreed too.
Holden stood. “I’ll go. You wanna run with me?”
“Yeah, sure,” Roe replied. Deacon wasn’t able to bring all his flavors, of course, but he brought a small selection sometimes. It wasn’t every weekend that he made the drive from Everett, but it was always a hit when he did.
They got an idea about what flavors everyone wanted, then made their way to the ice cream stand.
Holden said, “It’s good to see Sean chatting with Wyatt and enjoying himself. I appreciate—” Roe cocked a brow playfully, and Holden chuckled, changing his sentence. “You’ve raised a good boy.”
“Marilee has too, and it’s good for him—having his uncle in his life.” Roe already wished Holden was staying, even though him caring about it didn’t make a damn bit of sense, unless it was for Sean’s sake.
“Thanks. She’s… Well, I’d do anything for her. Took care of her most of her life, and while she can do it on her own—and probably better than me in most ways—it feels good to be close to her again. Also, I’d like to kill Adam.”
“Yeah, I bet.” Roe would feel the same. He nudged Holden’s arm. “You’re a good brother. I hope you know that. A good man.”
A look he couldn’t decipher washed over Holden’s face. It was…dark, a mix of discomfort and disbelief. Roe found himself wanting to soothe him, wanting to find a way to make Holden see what Roe did.