I nodded. “The very one.”
“Cool!”
“And the Museum of Natural History isn’t too far away. They have preserved dinosaur fossils.”
“Ooh…”
“There’s a lot of stuff here to see.”
“Then, yes, I want to move!”
I chuckled. “We’ll see.”
Derek could fish all day, but when the sun started to go down, I was tired. I was tired of smelling like worm bait, tired of being in the sun with sunscreen making my skin oily. We headed back to the cabin and docked the boat before we went inside to shower. Our dirty clothes were thrown in the washer, and once we were dried off, I grabbed a comb and straightened his hair.
We headed downstairs, and Derek immediately went to the back patio. “Dad, there’s frogs on the patio!”
I looked through the window, seeing the small frogs jumping everywhere, their ribbits loud. “Don’t touch them.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to have dinner soon. And would you want to be touched?”
He looked up at me. “By a frog?” he asked incredulously.
“But anyone you didn’t know. Be respectful.”
Unlike other kids, Derek was able to process what I said, and he nodded. He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around his knees, watching the frogs hop around the back patio.
I opened the fridge and saw it stocked with food for the weekend. There was a wild-caught salmon from the fishmonger for me and other things that Derek would like, like string cheese, sliced apples, tangerines.
The doorbell rang.
Derek was too absorbed in the frogs to notice.
I wasn’t expecting company, and the only person who knew the code was Cleo.
My heart started to beat a little faster when I imagined her on my doorstep, there to spend the evening with us, smelling like roses and feeling soft like French linens. I shut the fridge and moved to the entryway. When I opened the door, there she was, holding a box that clearly held a cake.
She had the sweetest smile, the kindest eyes, and she looked so happy to see me, like she’d looked forward to this moment as much as I did.
But then I noticed my brother beside her.
“Happy Birthday, asshole.” He opened his arms wide and moved into me, wrapping his arms around me for a bear hug.
It took me a second to react, to reciprocate the affection because I was so disappointed he was there. When I’d heard the doorbell, I pictured the night with just the three of us, the people I was most comfortable with. But that was shattered when I saw Tucker…who was dating her. “Thanks, man.” I patted his back.
“Where’s my nephew?” He moved farther into the house as he searched for him. “Damn, this place is nice—”
“No cussing, Tucker.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” He moved to the back patio. “There he is.”
Derek’s voice was loud. “Uncle Tucker!”
Tucker picked him up in his arms. “There’s my little man.”
I turned back to Cleo, who was still smiling at me. “Happy birthday, Deacon.”
I stared at her face, my eyes fixated like they never wanted to move. I loved my brother, loved spending time with him, but I didn’t want to watch him touch Cleo, kiss her, be a couple. The right thing to do was take the cake from her so she wouldn’t have to carry it, but I was frozen to the spot, noticing the way she looked in those jeans.
I’d never seen her in jeans before.
She wore a pink blouse, a lovely color on her.
She held my gaze, like she was reading my expression. “I thought we could all have dinner together…as friends.”
After she’d done so much for me, treating her coldly was unacceptable. I was happy she was there; I really was. And I had to remind myself they wouldn’t be inappropriate in front of a child, so I probably had nothing to worry about. “Thank you.” I snapped out of it and took the cake from her.
“I’ve got some pizzas in the car. I’ll be right back.”
I carried the cake to the counter then glanced at Tucker with Derek. They were both on the patio, looking at the frogs as they hopped along. Tucker hadn’t seen my son since I had, and I was happy they got to see each other while Derek was in town. I took a few breaths and forced the acid in my stomach to subside, to wash those painful feelings away.
Cleo came to my side a minute later and set the boxes on the counter. “I know you aren’t a fan of this fine Italian cuisine, so I had the chef prepare you something to your liking.” She placed a small ice chest on the counter, which contained my favorite dinner.
“Thank you.” She really thought of everything, everything I could possibly need.
“What do you think of the place?”
I hadn’t paid that much attention since Derek and I had been running at a hundred miles an hour since he’d woken me up that morning. “I love it.”