I hadn’t meant to share all that crap. I wasn’t ashamed so much as I didn’t like the looks I usually got—very close to the one she was giving me. Sorrow and pity were not the emotions I wanted between us.
“I have three brothers and a dad.”
“Wow.” I couldn’t imagine having that much family. “Wait, did you say three?”
The corner of her mouth lifted in that almost smile that made my chest tight. “Yeah. All wildly different.” Her affection and exasperation were obvious on her otherwise poker face. “Actually, that’s why I came to see you. My family is coming for Christmas, with one of my brothers staying indefinitely.”
“I’m assuming this is unplanned?”
“Understatement.”
Unused to the passenger seat, I crossed then recrossed my legs. Room was definitely at a premium, and Butch wasn’t happy with my constant moving. He kept twirling around in circles to get comfortable. “Okay, so you talked to Gideon?”
She nodded. “Started the paperwork there. I already got some permits, but he’s checking to see if I missed anything.”
Impressed, I laid my hand over Butch’s tiny frame, settling her with a few pats. “Did your homework. Makes my life easier. What are we looking at?”
She downshifted and came to a stop where Lake Street crossed Route 23. “Probably easier if I just show you. Mind if we go to my house?”
“Now?”
“If that’s okay.”
My to do list had just lengthened. I really needed to get back to my work site, but I owed her—on a number of levels at this point.
Butch popped up since we were stationary and climbed up to poke her nose against the window. I scratched the top of her head. “Want to make a pitstop at Ruby’s house?”
Her feather duster of a tail swished excitedly and her whole body vibrated.
“Guess that answers that.” I hooked my arm around Butch and settled her back on my lap. Were there dog seats like a kid seat? I’d have to check. “I just need to contact Kimmie and reschedule the end of that job.”
Ruby’s face scrunched. “Who goes by Kimmie?”
“Right?”
She smiled at me—the full deal. It transformed her serious lines and reminded me that she was actually a few years younger than me. Maybe more than a few. I’d crossed the thirty bridge last summer. The last fun summer I’d had with Caleb and the boys. Now everyone was shackled with kids and rings, sometimes in that order. It sure was for my boy, Caleb.
Now he was asking me to stand up in a monkey suit and give him away. Well, not exactly that but it sure felt like it.
Absently, I tucked Butch up on my shoulder so she could see a bit better. We rounded the bend and a modest farmhouse came out of the fog off the lake. The perpetual gray of Central NY had taken some getting used to when I’d first moved here. Either it was a cloudless sky with perfect lake days or eternal steel gray swollen with rain or snow depending on the righteous mood of Mother Nature.
Crescent Cove had been the first place I’d called home since I was six years old. Gideon had hired me on with his transient summer workers. He was a fair boss. I’d been a fuck-up with no direction. Bumming around the country doing odd jobs and learning trades with each pitstop had been good enough for a damn long time. When I got tired of one scene, I just moved on.
I’d discovered I wasn’t much for city living pretty quickly. Those small boxes called apartments always made me feel claustrophobic. Unless it was a tour bus. Then again, I usually wasn’t exactly sober by the time I found my bunk during those years.
I was good with my hands and learned fast. I’d built stages, learned how to be a guitar tech on the fly, and built the most unlikely friendships. Touring was backbreaking work made for the young or the hungry. I found building more interesting than the often thankless work of being on the crew.
It had been a lot of fun though.
Butch yipped, dragging me back from memory lane and into the truck. I reached up and scratched her chest. Even with the angry welts on her face, her little tongue was lolling out with happiness. I waved my hand to dispel the doggie breath. “Gotta get you a toothbrush, B.”
She agreed with a slathering tongue bath.
Ruby let out a soft laugh and parked. She slid out and her long-legged stride headed for the separate barn.
Damn, she had a great ass.
She turned when she realized I hadn’t moved. I was too busy enjoying the view. “Coming?” she called out.