Page 38

Chapter 37

SIX YEARS IN HIDING

“Smells good, babe,” I said, walking up behind Eden and kissing her neck. She no longer flinched when someone approached her from behind, and it had been years since her last nightmare. She was so damn strong, and I loved her more every day.

“Thanks,” she replied, leaning her body weight slightly back against me as she removed chicken breasts from the baking pan. “It’s a pistachio and parmesan crusted chicken. It will be healthier for Charles without flour or breadcrumbs.”

“And what’s this?” I asked, stepping to the side to stir some kind of green sauce she had in a bowl.

“Avocado and lime sauce that I’m going to drizzle over the meat when we get there.”

“Sounds good.” I glanced at the digital clock on the oven. “We should probably get going. Can I help with anything?”

“Just put a lid on that sauce,” she directed, wrapping foil over the platter with the chicken. “I’ll get the roasted cauliflower out of the oven.”

“What do you think they want to talk to us about?”

“Guess we’ll see when we get there.”

“This is delicious, Eden,” Mimsy praised, taking another bite of the juicy chicken. “It was nice of you to cook after working all day. How are things at the Turtle Hospital?”

Eden beamed. “Really good. I’m so happy they took me on full-time after graduation. We had a group of junior high students on a field trip today. They got to watch a rehabilitated turtle get released back into the ocean.”

“Y’all do such good work down there,” Charles said, forking up a bite of cauliflower. He glanced over at his wife, who gave him an encouraging nod. Turning his head to Eden and me across the table, he started, “Mimsy and I wanted to talk to you two about something.”

His eyes found mine, and I set down my fork, my stomach bubbling with nerves. Hopefully, he wasn’t firing me from Sweet Heaven. I loved being at the bakery. It was my happy place… when I wasn’t with my wife.

“Okay, Charles. What is it?” I asked, hearing the strain in my voice.

“You know I’ve had to slow down at the bakery since the doc cut off two of my toes.” I nodded, a pit forming in my stomach as he continued. “Well, we were thinking it might be time for me to retire.”

“You’re closing?” Eden asked, putting voice to my fear.

The older couple looked at each other and shared a smile. “Not exactly,” Charles replied. “We were hoping you’d want to take over, Dane. You’re already there and managing things practically every day.”

The bubbling in my belly eased, and I felt my shoulders relax. “Of course,” I said, bobbing my head up and down. “Whatever you need.”

“Also, I want to sign over ownership of the business to you,” he said, and I almost slid right out of my chair and onto the floor.

“But… it’s yours. You’ve worked for years to build it up.”

“I’m aware, but I’m old as hell, and to be honest, I’m tired. It’s time for the new generation to take over.” As I sat in stunned silence, he reached behind him and pulled a manila envelope from a drawer before sliding it across the table. “I had my lawyer draw up some papers. As long as Mimsy and I are alive, you’ll pay us a salary, based on profits. Then when we pass on, it’s all yours, free and clear. You and Eden will be the owners.”

I was stunned into silence, my mouth agape as Eden placed a comforting hand on my thigh beneath the table. “What about your children?” she asked, and Charles scoffed.

“Psshh, they want nothing to do with it. They only come to visit us every couple of years, and neither of them want to move down here to run a bakery. They have their own lives.”

“Joseph and Jennifer would sell it, and then god knows who would own it or what they would do with it,” Mimsy said with a shake of her gray head. “They could tear it down and turn the property into a condo or something.”

Eden’s hand squeezed my leg, encouraging me to speak up as my eyes flicked to the envelope on the table and back to the couple across from us. “Wow. I’m not sure what to say.”

“You both have been so good to us,” Mimsy said kindly. “Dane, you’ve kept the business running and growing while Charles has been dealing with his diabetes issues the past few years. And sweet Eden cooks dinner for us at least three times a week. You have no idea how much that means to us.”

“It’s no problem,” my wife said, a sappy look on her pretty face. “It’s hard to cook for just two people, so we always have plenty.”

“Oh, stop blowing smoke up my tailpipe,” Charles said, waving a large hand at her. “We all know you’ve been cooking up diabetic friendly dinners because of me. Mimsy and I feel like you’re our adopted children with the way you take care of us, and we adore you both.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I replied, my voice swollen with emotion. “This place wouldn’t have been home if we hadn’t met you two.”

Mimsy’s grin broadened over her lined face. “And to think, you two came down here for your honeymoon six years ago and never left.”

“We love it here,” I said, meeting Eden’s eyes and giving her a soft smile, which she returned. We stared at each other for a long moment before Charles started talking again.

“No pressure at all, but we wanted to at least offer you the chance. Otherwise, we’ll just shut down. Kevin and Barry are good workers, but they’re just that. Workers. Neither has the gift for management like you do, Dane.”

“That’s really nice of you,” I said, pulling the envelope toward me and resting my palm on top. “I’ll take a look at this. Is it okay if I take a few days to mull it over?”

The old man nodded approvingly. “I’d expect nothing less. You’ve got a good head for business, son.”

That last word hit me directly in the chest. Son. I wished like hell he’d been the kind of father I’d grown up with.

But at least I had him now.

SIX MONTHS LATER

My heart ached as I wrapped my arm around my wife in front of the double grave site. She sobbed against my chest while I did my best to rein in my own sorrow.

“I can’t believe they’re both gone,” she sniffed, taking the linen handkerchief I offered her to dab at her face.

“At least they went together,” I said. “I couldn’t imagine either of them without the other.” Though the comfort of that was minimal, it did help a bit.

Charlisse approached in a black dress, holding Cooper’s hand. He was ten now and was dressed in a solemn little charcoal-gray suit with a navy tie. The women hugged, and I squatted down to the boy whose chin was trembling with his mighty effort to hold back his tears.

“Hey, bud. You look sharp today. How you holding up?”

“I miss them,” he said in a shaky voice, and dammit, it broke me in two. “But I’m trying to be brave for Mom. Like a man.” To my surprise, a tear that I’d been fighting against for five days finally escaped down my cheek, and Cooper reached up to swipe it away with his little finger. His voice was semi-incredulous. “You’re crying, Dane.”

“There’s no rule that says a man can’t cry,” I told him and watched as his face crumpled. I pulled him against my chest and closed my eyes as his body shook. Fuck, this was so hard. Charles and Mimsy were the best people I’d ever met. “It’s okay, buddy. Just let it out.”

“Why did they have to be in a car wreck?” he asked in a trembling voice against my shoulder.

I wanted to tell him it was because some fuckwit was drunk at nine in the morning and had plowed into their car while they were going out for breakfast. Instead, I said, “I don’t know, Cooper, but I’ll miss them too.”

“Mimsy was so fun, and Papa Charles always took me to the store and bought me my own can of Pringles.” I smiled at the innocence of this sweet child. “I don’t see my real grandparents a lot, but I think Mimsy and Papa were like my grandparents.”

Casting a glance at Eden and Charlisse, who were fussing over the many flower arrangements, I pulled back and wiped Cooper’s tears away before holding him by the shoulders. “I know how you feel. I didn’t have a very good father growing up, so Charles was like my dad.”

I was unsure why I was opening up to a ten-year-old, but my proclamation felt like the thing to say just then.

“I don’t have a dad, so that’s why I have to be the man of the house,” he informed me, lifting his chin stoically.

“And you’re a damn fine one,” I told him, “but it’s okay to have feelings. I do, and I’m a lot older than you. You’re really lucky to have a great mom who loves you more than anything.”

An adoring smile crossed his small face when he looked over at his mother. “She’s the best, but sometimes…” The kid faltered, and he looked down at his black shoes, the shine of them dulled by a fine dusting of dirt.

“But what, Coop?”

His big blue eyes found my brown ones, and I could see the worry in his expression. “I don’t have anyone to talk to about, you know…” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “About man stuff .”

“Ahh, I gotcha,” I said, nodding in understanding. “Well, your mom knows a lot, but if you ever feel like you need to talk to someone else about man stuff , you can talk to me.”

A smile brightened his adorable face. “That would be awesome, Dane.” Lowering his voice to a conspiratorial level, he leaned into my space. “When do you think I’ll get hair on my chest?”

I couldn’t help my chuckle. “Probably in a few years, buddy. Give it time.”

The women returned, and I stood, straightening my suit jacket. “Everything okay?” Charlisse asked, running a hand over her son’s neatly combed hair.

“Yup,” he replied. “Me and Dane were just talking about man stuff. Like chest hair.”

His mom smiled around her bemusement. “Oh. Well, okay. You ready to get out of that suit, Coop?”

The boy’s body sagged in apparent relief. “Yes, it’s hot out here.” It was September, but the Florida sun bore down with a heavy, humid heat.

I looped an arm around Eden as Charlisse took her son’s hand. “We’ll go home to get changed and then meet you at Charles and Mimsy’s house. The other neighborhood folks were headed over to get lunch started.” Then her mouth turned down in disapproval, lowering her voice, even though we were the only ones left at the cemetery. “I can’t believe their kids showed up for the funeral and then left directly after.”

Eden let out a tiny snort. “Yeah, they gave Dane their phone numbers and told him to call when he’d gotten the house and its contents sold. Then they skedaddled like they had more important things to do.”

I’d been named executor of the Mimses’ wills, and other than a provision about the bakery and a few small bequeathments for some of the neighbors, they’d left everything to their children. But the kids hadn’t seemed keen on clearing out the house and going through their parents’ things.

“It was pretty shitty,” I said before wincing. “Sorry, Cooper.”

The kid smiled up at me. “That’s okay. My mom says that sometimes when she’s doing laundry.”

That brought a moment of levity to the moment, and we all smiled as Charlisse lightly chastised, “Way to call me out, son.” She lifted an eyebrow in our direction. “Let me tell ya, stain removal for a ten-year-old boy is enough to make a nun cuss.”

After they departed, I pulled Eden against my chest and looked at the two mounds of dirt over her shoulder. We’d only known them for six years, but the vibrant couple had become so important in our lives.

Another wave of emotion hit me, and I rubbed my hands up and down my wife’s back. She was dressed in a flowy black dress and suede booties, and, as always, her fresh honey scent soothed something inside me.

“Dane?” she questioned, lifting her tear-soaked face to mine. “Promise me we’ll die like that. Together. Like Mimsy and Charles.”

My heart seemed to deflate and then swell like a balloon in the span of a few seconds, and I kissed the tip of her nose. “There’s no other option, sweetheart. I could never live a day without you.”