“I’m a good friend,” Grady said. “And you are too, if for no other reason than the ice cream,” he joked.
“I’m charging you double the regular price next time.”
“I’d pay it too.”
The customers came out, and it was a reminder to Deacon that they were just standing there on the sidewalk in front of his business, chatting. He knew how Briar County was. They’d already be wondering about the new man in town, and that curiosity would spike when they saw him and Deacon speaking so friendly. “Wanna head over to my place? Have some dinner? I’m not a bad cook.”
Grady seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if surprised. “I’d like that.”
Deacon would like that too. It had been too long since he’d found new things to like and look forward to, and it was such a foreign feeling, he almost didn’t recognize it, but he did and it felt good.
Chapter 7
Grady
It was crazy, but Grady almost felt guilty going to Deacon’s house—for coming to Everett at all—and being Deacon’s friend and…would Nathan care? He didn’t think so. It felt perfect, in a way. Nathan would never want Grady to be alone, and in his heart, he knew that if Nathan were alive, he would love the thought of Grady being close to people who’d been close to him. They used to talk about it, especially after Grady had come out and his family had walked away from him. Nathan had always said that his family would be Grady’s unless they walked away from Nathan as well. And if they did, they would always have each other.
But yeah, that didn’t stop him from feeling bad that Nathan couldn’t have this. That Grady had a relationship with his brother-in-law, out and authentic in a way Nathan hadn’t been able to do.
He followed behind Deacon’s car, through Everett, and then just a bit farther, to the outskirts of town. Deacon’s place was secluded, back from the road, but still only five minutes from grocery stores, gas stations, and things like that.
It wasn’t a huge house by any stretch of the imagination, but Grady could tell from the outside—the white paint with black accents and the rocking chairs on the front porch—that it was a homey one.
The gravel crunched beneath his tires as he slowly pulled his car up beside Deacon’s. He took a deep breath before he got out; why, he couldn’t really say. When he stood, Deacon was beside his own car, looking at Grady over the top of it. “You okay? This still feeling weird to you?”
“Fuck yes.” Grady chuckled. He was the one who’d said they didn’t have to let it be weird, but now having had time to think in the car ride over, he’d gotten into his own head.
“It’s good talkin’ to you, though.” Deacon’s gaze darted away.
“Yeah,” Grady replied. “It’s good talking to you too. Wished Nathan had this with you, that he’d been able to be out in the open before he passed, so there was no doubt in his mind he would have been loved and accepted.”
“He woulda been—from me and his Birdie, at least. Shit, I can’t believe I called her that.” Deacon sighed, then pulled away from the vehicle, closing the door. “Anyway, let’s go in. Rain is coming.”
Grady looked up at the sky. He didn’t see it, couldn’t smell it. “How do you know?”
“Just feel it. When you spend your whole life in an area, it becomes a part of you. Everett—hell, all of Briar County—is that way for me. She’s my oldest friend.” Deacon smiled, and Grady felt something strange twitch in his chest. He liked that, thinking of this town, this county, that way.
“You ever wanted to go anywhere else?” Grady asked as they walked toward the front porch.
“Nope. Never had the itch.”
“That’s great. You’ve always known where you belong, where home is. I envy you. I’m still trying to find that for myself.”
“Can’t imagine. Sorry about that. It’s been…hard since I lost Patricia. There are memories around every damn corner, but I could never leave. This place is in my bones. Not gonna pretend it’s perfect, there are definitely problems and life hasn’t always been easy, but it’s too much a part of me to go. I used to feel bad about that—like I was, hell, I don’t know, a coward or something.”
“Nope. You just know who you are and what you want, and you won’t walk away from that. I consider it brave. You didn’t have to go away to make your dreams come true; you took what you wanted, where you wanted it.”
Deacon cocked his head, studied Grady, then nodded. They were at the front door, just standing there, like neither of them knew what to do. “Nathan didn’t have the bug until the army. Was a bit of a shock for all of us when he enlisted. He didn’t tell anyone, just did it, and then came and let us know. We were real proud of him, of course, but it broke Patricia’s heart too. She was so afraid of losing him, hell, of just being without him. They were so damned close.”