Page 8

Chapter 8

Jack

Lunch was absolutely amazing.

Partly because of the best crab Rangoon I’d ever eaten, and partly because I wasn’t sure there’d been a single moment since I met Henry that I didn’t enjoy every single second I got to spend with him.

Was there very likely some Daddy complex shit going on there? Yeah, probably.

Did I plan on examining that too deeply? Nope.

Sure, Henry was going to teach me to change the oil in a car and change a tire, but that wasn’t a strict dad skill. A brother or a friend could teach me how to do those things just as well. It just so happened that I’d had zero luck when it came to anyone filling the roles of dad or brother. I’d had a couple people in college I would have called friends, but none of them were into cars or anything like that.

I’d gone my entire life without a true father figure in my life. I wasn’t looking to fill that spot with Henry. I had every belief that the universe had forced me to run that night, and fate had brought me to Haven Grove to meet Henry. Whether he was in my life for a short time as a comfort, a protector, and a friend, or it turned into something more, I wasn’t going to question the solid connection we had just because of a difference in our ages. We had way too much in common to let whatever might be building between us slip away.

With our bellies stuffed with a delicious Chinese lunch, we headed out the door.

“You wanna drive over to the mall or walk?” Henry asked, pointing toward the smallest mall I’d ever seen across the parking lot.

“I need to walk if you’re okay with it.”

We browsed some of the little stores along the way. I got caught up in one, staring at the stand mixer and cake pans.

“These are good ones, huh?” Henry asked as he took in the baking display.

“Yeah, really good. When I have a place of my own, I’ll have one of these mixers. And there are a lot of types of cake pans, but these are top of the line. Aside from having a great oven, a good mixer and cake pans are a must.”

Henry rubbed a hand over his beard. “You’ll get there. Pretty soon, you’ll have all my customers just coming in for your cake.”

As much fun as it was to daydream in the kitchen store, there was no reason to get my hopes up. Plus, I knew Henry wanted to get our shopping done and head back home.

We arrived at the main entrance of the mall, a cool blast of air laced with the scent of new clothes, leather, and perfume smacking us in the face when the automatic doors slid open.

“Where do you usually shop?” Henry asked.

I glanced around the stores surrounding the area we’d walked into. “Um…”

Henry chuckled. “I’m guessing this is the least fancy mall you’ve ever been to, huh?”

My cheeks caught fire, and I brought the collar of my shirt up to rub against my chin. “I’m sure it’s really nice,” I started.

Henry ruffled my hair. “It’s a tiny mall, but it’s all we’ve got around here.”

“No, it’s fine. I just don’t recognize any of the stores. It’s not like I had designer clothes. I mostly had to wear Douglas’s hand-me-downs until college. Then I just grabbed whatever I could find at the discount store when I got groceries.” I gestured up and down my worn clothes. “Obviously, I’m not super picky.”

“I think we’ll get you some jeans, shirts, tennis shoes, and boots,” Henry muttered as he started toward one of the stores.

“That’s way too much,” I protested. Even though I liked the clothes in the store window, I didn’t like the idea of Henry buying me a bunch of stuff. I already felt like I owed him for the food and place to stay, I didn’t want to add clothes to the debt.

“Stop,” Henry grumbled.

“What?”

“I can hear you over thinking things. You don’t owe me anything. A few pairs of jeans aren’t going to break me, and you need to have clothes to wear without doing laundry every other day.” Henry waved off the store employee offering to help. “We’re good for now, thanks.” He picked up a pair of dark wash jeans. “What size do you wear?”

“Did you buy your other employees clothes when they started working for you?” I bit my lip and crossed my arms.

Henry scowled. “Listen here, you little shit.” Laughter glowed in his eyes, and I couldn’t help the giggle that burst from me. He slapped a pair of jeans against my chest. “I didn’t buy them clothes, but I provided uniforms back when we were doing the uniform thing. Moved away from that, but I still provide Roadhouse t-shirts. I’ll give you a couple too. But you’ll be doing something different than the rest of us, so you can opt to wear whatever you want. Stop arguing with me before I just buy five outfits I think you’d look good in and call it a day.”

A protest was on my lips, but the set of Henry’s brows told me he’d totally do it, so I tossed the jeans back at him. “At least get me the right size you big oaf.”

Henry caught me in a headlock and gave me a noogie, but before I knew what was happening, he had his hands on my hips. Big, warm, strong hands gripped my hips, slid up to my waist, and back down. “I know what size I wear, and I know what size Hudson wears, so I’m going to guess you’re about one size below him.” He let go of me as quickly as he’d taken hold and rummaged through the jeans. “Here.” He handed me three pairs in various shade of blue. “Try these.” Henry messed with his beard before he turned his back on me to look at a rack of flannels .

After a couple moments of awkward silence, he cleared his throat. “Pick up a couple of those t-shirts and three of these flannels.”

“What if I like your flannels better than these?”

Henry chuckled. “You can wear my flannels at home, but you’d be a safety concern in a jumbo shirt at work. Might get caught in the mixer or something.”

I grinned. “True.”

Home. Did Henry realize just how much his words affected me?

My heart did a little pitter-patter happy dance as I took the clothes to the changing room to make sure everything fit.

Henry paid for the jeans, t-shirts, and flannels, and we headed to a shoe store.

“You’re gonna need a big coat come wintertime, but we’ve got some time for that. The boots we’ll get today should be pretty good for any kind of weather; we might need to get you some warm coveralls. But those can wait.”

“I usually just wear tennis shoes,” I said, glancing down at my ratty shoes. They’d definitely seen better days. Damn, when had I bought them? Junior year of college?

“You’ll need boots for outdoor stuff. If you’re going to stay in Haven Grove and live with a Riggs, you’ll end up spending time in the orchard. I don’t make the rules, it’s just the way it is.” Henry’s beard mostly hid the tiny smirk teasing his lips.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Let’s get some boots.”

“Atta boy.” Henry cuffed me on the shoulder, his words sending warmth oozing through my veins .

By the time we reached the truck with a ridiculous amount of clothes and shoes, my feet hurt, and I wanted a nap.

“Climb in,” Henry said from behind me on the passenger side. “These can’t go in the back. Too light. Don’t want them flying around.”

I hauled myself up into his truck.

“Scoot over.” Henry put two big bags on the passenger seat and two more on the floorboard before slamming the door.

When he hefted himself into the driver-side seat, I immediately realized just how close we were. Not that I was complaining, but had it been an accident or had Henry purposely pushed me toward the middle of the seat?

For about thirty seconds after Henry put the truck in gear and headed back toward Haven Grove, I kept my body tense so as not to lean into him. But the rumble of the engine and the passing scenery lulled me to sleep.

When I woke, the truck had stopped, and the sun was easing toward the horizon.

“If you’re going to be a Riggs employee and boarder, you’re going to need to meet the rest of my family,” Henry said when we’d gathered the bags and headed up the stairs to the apartment.

“Would you rather I not?” I asked, stretching to work out the stiffness in my neck from my unexpected nap.

“What? No.” Henry placed the bags in his big recliner.

“You just kinda sound like you’re dreading it.”

Henry huffed. “Hudson will give me shit.”

“About me? Why? ”

Henry opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then he snapped it closed and ran a hand over his beard. “He just likes to give people shit, and he’ll want to know why I haven’t introduced you already.”

I shrugged. “I mean, I’ve been around. Maybe he just hasn’t been paying attention.”

“Exactly.” Henry pointed a finger in my direction, the edges of his eyes crinkling with a smile. “He’s been too far up Lance’s ass to notice much of anything.”

I followed Henry out the door and down the stairs. “So, they are dating?”

Henry chuckled. “They are. They have a lot of history, and I’m not completely sure how it all happened, but they’re together. Dad’s pissed, but I’ve honestly never seen my brother so happy.”

“Guess they’re proof that age is just a number, and some things are meant to be.”

Henry caught me in a headlock and ruffled my hair. “Guess so.”