“You’re trying to get me into trouble, Evie.” He lowered his voice. “It’s not serious. I’m leaving soon.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure you are. Outsiders don’t come to Harmony often, but when they do, they don’t leave.” With that, she walked away, and Holden tried to pretend her words didn’t loosen something inside his chest, this tension he hadn’t known was there. It was one thing for people in town to know Roe was gay, but he wondered how it would be if people knew he was with someone. While Evie didn’t know for sure, she’d guessed and she was fine with it. Holden knew how much Roe loved this town, and he wanted that for him—to have a man there, and for it to be okay. The other bit of tension had to do with something he tried to bury even more. The part of him that liked Harmony, that settled when Evie said people didn’t leave.
Evie brought his tea out, and a few other people said hi to him as they came and went. He felt like Roe that day at movies with goats or the times they’d come into town together—like everyone knew him the way they did Roe.
He’d just finished eating and pushed his bowl away, when a man he didn’t recognize came over to his table. “Holden Barnett?”
“Yeah,” he replied.
“Heard about the work you did at Monroe Covington’s place, then saw what you’ve done so far at the farm. Been looking to have some carpentry work done, and wanted to see about getting some info from you.”
Every time that happened, Holden was surprised. He couldn’t believe how many times people stopped him to ask about his services, but then, everyone knew the Covingtons, and looked up to them, so it made sense that news would travel fast. “Thank you for the interest, but I’m not in Harmony full-time. I’ll be leaving soon, so I won’t be taking on any other jobs when I finish at Covington Acres.”
“You’re leaving?” the man said, as if he doubted it the way Evie had.
“Yep.”
“Well, thanks anyway.” He nodded. “Name’s Hank Sanders. Let me know if you change your mind.”
Hank walked away, and Holden found himself wondering if there was any way he could squeeze it in. What Hank wanted done, how long it would take…
He shut those thoughts down just as one of the other waitresses brought him his bill.
It wasn’t long until he had to pick Roe up at work, so instead of driving home and then having to leave again not long afterward, he decided to walk to the park just up ahead on Main Street and wander around for a while.
He sat at a picnic table under the trees just as his cell rang. He tugged it out of his pocket to see Vince’s name on the screen. “Hey, you.”
“Hey, country boy. How you doing?” They still checked in with each other often. They were close friends, after all. This wasn’t the first time they’d spoken since they broke up, but Holden hadn’t told him what was going on with Roe—maybe because he didn’t know exactly what to say.
“I’m not a country boy.”
“Sure you’re not. You sound happier and more relaxed since you’ve been there than you ever have.”
“What are you up to?” Holden asked, rather than responding. He didn’t want to tackle that subject with Vince.
“Not much. Working, hanging out. You know how it goes. Gregory asked me to move in with him.”
That caught Holden’s attention. “Jesus. Already?” Sure, they’d dated before, but wasn’t that a bit fast? Especially since Gregory had cheated on Vince before, then dated the guy he’d fucked, and after they broke up, went straight back to Vince.
“Yeah, but…”
“You love him,” Holden answered for him.
“I don’t know why I do.”
Holden rubbed a hand over his face, not quite sure how to reply. “Not really something we have any say over, sometimes.”
“Who we fall in love with?” Vince asked.
“Yeah.”
“You trying to tell me something? You in love with your country boy?”
Holden’s pulse stumbled, then sprinted. That was the only way he could think of to describe it. “No.”
“Holy fuck, man. You stalled. You have feelings for him. I mean, I knew you liked him, that was obvious when I was there, but—”
“Vince.”
“It was also obvious he’s crazy about you.”
“Vince.”
“Does everyone know? Sean, Wyatt, Lindsey? She’s in love with him, you know.”
“Vin—wait, what? How do you know that?”
“You don’t? Christ, Holden. Don’t you pay attention? Of course she is, it was clear as day, but you can’t help that. Don’t get all weird about it. I feel bad for her, but Monroe is gay…and in love with you.”
That snapped Holden out of his musings about Lindsey. “Are you psychic now?”
“No, I was kidding about him being in love with you. He wanted to fuck you, yes. That much I could see. And he was interested in you. But I didn’t get enough time to tell about the love part. I wouldn’t doubt it, though. You were my boyfriend, and I saw the spark between the two of you.”