Chapter Eighteen
Order’s up!”
The bell rang and Holly looked up from the front counter to make sure Janice had returned from her break. The Tuesday lunch crowd had been heavy with the influx of tourists as the city ramped up for the Firefly Festival, but had been thinning out over the last thirty minutes. Thus Holly had shifted from waiting tables to working on the new rubber “ducks” they’d had made for this year’s games.
The Marshalls hosted the rubber duck races down the river, and were excited that their new products had finally arrived. Her sister-in-law, Jillian, had found a company to design and produce fifteen thousand firefly-shaped “rubber duck” toys.
Only three thousand more needed to be tagged with a number before they could be raced.
Thankfully, Holly had no problem with monotonous tasks. It gave her a chance to chat with the customers. Jean Rogers was currently parked on the other side of the counter from Holly. She’d come in about fifteen minutes before, ordered a strawberry milkshake, and had been filling Holly in on the changes to the grocery store’s Firefly Festival booth ever since. Jean had worked at Sam’s Foodmart for years, and as she’d known the owner since she’d been a child, she’d always felt she had an “in” with the decision making.
“So I told him, we need to fancy up. Some new paint. Maybe even a flower arrangement on the counter. It’ll pull the customers in.”
Sam’s Foodmart brought their booth out once a year, and this coming weekend was it. The grocery also housed a small deli; therefore, in sticking with the “if we can fry it in grease, we do” mentality of local festivals, Sam would sell Monte Cristo sandwiches and slices of hand-tossed pizzas from the booth. Thankfully, the pizza would not be fried. They’d once sold cupcakes as well, before Joanie had opened Cakes-a-GoGo. Now they ceded the baked goods to her.
“Anyway, Sam didn’t take too well to my ideas.” Mrs. Rogers made a perturbed face.
Holly nodded appropriately and picked up another firefly to mark with the next number.
“But I’m telling you it’s a good one. You know Miley has loads of talent, what with her drawing since she was just a little girl and all.” Mrs. Rogers had always been proud of her daughter’s abilities. “So I snuck her the key to the shed, and I told her that Sam approved of changes, but that he wanted to be surprised come Saturday, you know? He’ll thank me.” Mrs. Rogers nodded. “Because my vision will put Sam on the map.”
Sam was already on the map due to owning the only grocery store in town that would make party trays with pigs in a blanket. He was a regular entrepreneur.
“Have you seen it yet?” Holly asked. She remembered Miley from school, and though the girl did have talent, she’d also once believed in excessive vibrant colors. Holly had no idea if that theory remained.
“Oh, no.” Mrs. Rogers shook her head. Her hair didn’t move with the motion. “I thought it would be better if it was a surprise to me too. More exciting that way, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely.”
What Holly thought was that Jean Rogers was eventually going to give poor old Sam a heart attack with all her ideas. And if Miley had changed that boring white booth that Sam had refused to paint since he’d bought it secondhand twenty years ago, that heart attack might be coming sooner rather than later.
“So anyway.” Mrs. Rogers put her hands in her lap and took on an air of innocence. “I heard things didn’t work out with either Keith or Tony.”
Irritation had Holly setting down her firefly. She and Zack hadn’t gotten back into town until the middle of the afternoon yesterday, yet in the last twenty-four hours, Holly had heard no less than ten people comment on how things hadn’t worked out with Tony and her.
“Things never started with me and Tony, Mrs. Rogers. And I only went out with Keith the once. It’s just bad timing for us.”
“I know, dear.” Mrs. Rogers patted Holly’s hand and made a tsking noise. “And it’s good to see you’re over it.”
Holly picked up a firefly and rolled her lips together. Sometimes it was best to just ignore.
“That’s why I wanted to stop by today. I have a nephew, you see—”
“No.” Holly shook her head.
“But he’s a good boy.”
“I’m done. I’m off the market.”
She wasn’t off the market. She just didn’t want anyone else shoving a man down her throat. Especially when all she could think about was Zack. She’d wait for him to go back to Atlanta, and then she’d start all over. In a Zack-free, no-kissing-experiment zone.
Of course, it wasn’t like she’d ever forget that particular experiment.
“Oh?” Mrs. Rogers asked. She looked around as if the man who’d captured Holly’s heart must be nearby. There was a family of five in the diner, all wearing Sugar Springs Firefly Festival T-shirts, a couple of painters who’d been knocked out of work for the afternoon due to a busted pipe flooding the house they were supposed to be painting, and a handful of teenagers who were talking more than drinking the milkshakes Holly had made for them thirty minutes before. “Who is it?” Mrs. Rogers asked.
“There isn’t anyone, Mrs. Rogers,” Holly assured the woman. “I’m just not interested. I didn’t really mean to be dating in the first place.”
Worn blue eyes looked at her in puzzlement. “I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t think it through. I need to wait a while before getting serious.”
“Oh.” The word was spoken sadly that time. As if Mrs. Rogers had just given up hope and lumped Holly in the old-maid category. Terrific.
The outer door opened and Holly looked, if for no reason other than to look away from Mrs. Rogers. At the sight that greeted her, she set down her firefly.
“Oh my,” she whispered.
Jean swiveled around on her seat. She had the same response.
As did probably every other female in the place.
Walking through the door had to be one of the best-looking men Sugar Springs had ever produced. Over six feet tall with tight, compact muscles, slicked-back brown hair, and eyes that were a crystal-clear blue. They drooped just a little on the outside edges, only enhancing his looks, and his jaw sported sexy, groomed stubble that screamed for a woman to trace her fingers over it.
He looked like Ryan Gosling, only with longer hair.
“That’s . . .” Mrs. Rogers whispered, but her words seemed to get stuck.
“Bobby ‘Hounddog’ Thompson,” Holly finished.
She wouldn’t have recognized him if not for the mouth. His lips carried a hint of a pout. One that had been the object of many girls’ affections during his high school days.
Hounddog turned toward the counter and when his eyes landed on her, they lit up.
“Holly.” He drew the word out as if she were the sweetest-tasting honey he’d ever put to his lips. She blushed.
Holy moly, no one had told her that Hounddog had grown up to be that.
“Hey, Hounddog,” she greeted him. She went for country sweet, but it came out low-throated hungry.
His smile was naughty and fast. “Now Holly, surely you’ve heard. I’m just Bobby now. I’m a changed man, darlin’. Didn’t your mama tell you? I’ve put my wanderin’ days behind me.”
Her mama had told her that she’d lined Holly up for a date with this man.
And Holly had said no.
But . . . damn.
And then she remembered why she wouldn’t date Hounddog Thompson. Because he would most likely never put his wanderin’ days behind him.
He sure was pretty to look at, though.
“Holly here is looking for a man,” Mrs. Rogers supplied.
“No!” Holly butted in. She turned wide eyes to the woman. “I just told you that I’m not.”
“Is that right?” Hounddog chuckled. He granted Mrs. Rogers a smile, and danged if the woman didn’t flutter her eyelashes at him.
“She was just telling me about the poor heartbreaks she suffered only last week,” Mrs. Rogers added. She did that tsking thing again. “Two of them. Bless her heart.”
Oh, for crying out loud.
“Mrs. Rogers.” Holly enunciated carefully. This had to stop.
“I’ve got to run, dear.” Mrs. Rogers reached over and patted Holly’s hand, then blasted Hounddog with a sad smile. “Brokenhearted, I tell you. See if you can’t help out, won’t you?”
Hounddog promised he’d do his best, then turned to Holly as Mrs. Rogers scurried off. “Your mama told my mama that I could find you here.”
Her mama needed to keep her mouth shut.
“What are you doing out looking for me, Bobby? My mama should have also relayed that I’m a busy woman.” She held up a firefly in each hand. “Unless you’ve come to help me number these, I’ve got no time for the likes of you.”
The smile that had once made many a teen girl swoon reappeared. It almost made Holly do the same. Hounddog most definitely was a good-looking man. Seems this town wasn’t lacking in the good-looking man department quite as badly as she’d once thought.
First Jesse comes home, and now Hounddog.
“What if I offer to help?” Bobby suggested.
Holly shook her head. “I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.”
“Nah.” He reached over and snagged up a firefly. “Show me what to do. I’m waitin’ for Dad to get done over at Doc Maples’. He had a tooth break this morning. Thought I’d drop by and say hi to the cutest blonde Sugar Springs High ever saw.”
She snorted. They both knew she’d never been the cutest blonde. One of her brothers, maybe. But she and Hounddog had been friends once upon a time. She was glad he’d stopped by.
“Suit yourself.” She handed over a Sharpie, and together, the two of them began working on the rubber toys. “It’s good to see you, Hounddog.”
The man gave her one of his panty-melting smiles and she just laughed.
The door opened again, and this time Zack and Janet walked in. He’d told Holly he would be introducing his mother to his brothers today. She hadn’t realized he intended to do that here.
She shot him a welcoming smile. They’d had a good time in Atlanta. The car ride had been spectacular. Then she’d fixed him and Janet pancakes yesterday morning.
And thankfully—she supposed—no other kiss had been forthcoming.
There might have been the desire for one. On her part. Probably his too. But they hadn’t acted on it. Very grown up of them.
Zack’s gaze shifted to Bobby, sitting there with her fireflies in his big hands, and damned if she didn’t blush again. She felt as if she’d just been caught out behind the bleachers . . . with someone other than her boyfriend. Instead of returning her smile, Zack merely lifted his brow, then led his mother to a booth.
Holly blew out a breath. Bobby followed her gaze to Zack. “Friend?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“More?”
She looked at Bobby. Was Zack more? Yes. Would she admit it? “No,” she said.
Bobby shot her a disbelieving look but didn’t call her out on the lie. He picked up another firefly. “So tell me what you’ve been up to since I left. Word is you spent some time away recently.”
Before she could form an answer, her cell rang from inside her pocket. She pulled it out, expecting it to be her mother telling her that Hounddog was back in town. Instead, it was a number she didn’t recognize. The area code was Chicago.
“I’ll . . .” She had no idea who it could be. Her cousin, maybe? But it wasn’t Megan’s number. Holly glanced back at Bobby. “Be right back.”
Bobby nodded, and Holly stepped into the kitchen to take the call.
“Ms. Marshall?” said an unknown female voice.
“Yes?”
It wasn’t especially quiet in the back room, but it was more private. She stepped around the side wall until she stood behind the grill so she could look out over the dining room as she talked. Nick and Cody came in with Cody’s daughters and headed to Zack’s table.
Nervous excitement pounded in her for Zack. He was bringing his family together today. She wanted to go out there and be a part of it.
“Megan Dillard gave me your number,” the woman said in her ear. “I hope that’s okay.”
Holly suddenly thought of the “someone” who’d seen her mirror at her cousin’s house. And the someone that someone supposedly knew.
Was that who was on the phone?
“I suppose that depends on what you’re calling for?” she replied cautiously.
A forced laugh sounded in her ear. It was like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. “It’s about your mirrors, Ms. Marshall. My name is Elizabeth Daughtry. I have a customer who attended a party at your cousin’s apartment last week. She was very impressed with a piece of your work she saw there. I requested a viewing, and Ms. Dillard had me in her apartment this morning. I’d like to talk to you about seeing more.”
All the blood rushed out of Holly’s head. She had to put her hand onto the wall to keep from falling.
Someone wanted to see her work?
It became hard to breathe.
Rabid joy was the first thing to sweep through her, only to be followed just as quickly by anger. She couldn’t help but wonder if the woman on the phone was one of the people who’d snubbed her last month.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to block the memory of her treatment inside one of the more ritzy boutiques. The owner had looked her up and down, peering over her nose at Holly as if her appearance alone were so repulsive that it might bring the woman’s breakfast back up.
When Holly had ignored the visual barb and started on her sales pitch, the woman had literally laughed out loud.
“Surely you don’t think you could make anything our customers would want?”
She’d continued to snicker, made another rude comment—that time concerning Holly’s apparent low-class vocabulary—then had waved over the security guard with one sweep of a long, witch-like finger.
The woman had been a first-class bitch.
All because Holly didn’t dress and speak rich enough for her.
“Can I ask the name of your store, Ms. Daughtry?” Holly held her breath.
As the woman rattled in her ear, she watched Zack. He was watching her.
He was talking to his mother, but his eyes were on her. One eyebrow lifted in question as if to ask if she was okay. She nodded. She was fine. And the store Ms. Daughtry worked for was not one of the ones Holly had visited. It was even more upscale than what she’d targeted.
The fact that this woman wanted to see her work made her almost ill.
Holly looked out the front windows to the still-empty storefront across the street. She’d given the idea of opening her own place a bit of thought since she’d sold those first two mirrors, and now with the uppity voice chirping in her ear, Holly couldn’t help but wonder if she should give it more. Couldn’t help but wonder if she could make a go of it.
Chicago would be better, though. More clients, more money. She could be someone.
And it wasn’t like she’d have to live there to do it.
That had been her original plan, but after her brief experience, there was no way she’d move there now.
But sell mirrors there? She nodded to herself. She just might do that.
Even to a snooty bitch.
She made arrangements with Ms. Daughtry to send a digital portfolio within the next two days, and got off the phone.
“You okay?” Brian asked from the grill.
“Huh?” She barely gave him a glance. She needed to get home and pick out the pieces she wanted to showcase, as well as set up a spot to photograph them. Then she’d need a piece of black velvet for the backdrop. And a camera. She didn’t even have a decent camera.
“The phone call,” Brian said. “Everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
She nodded. Then she shook her head. “No. No ghost. I’m fine. I just . . .” She glanced around, wondering if there was anything else she absolutely had to do before she left. “I need to go. I think. Can you box up the fireflies? I’ll finish them tomorrow.”
“Sure.” Her brother nodded. He watched her carefully, as if he feared she might flip out and start screaming obscenities at the customers. “Anything wrong?” He pointed to the phone.
“No. I just . . .” Oh, my God. Someone wanted to see her work. Her hands began to shake. She looked out the order window and found Zack again. She wanted to tell him about the call. And then she wanted to go home and get busy. “You got a camera I could borrow, Brian?”
“Sure. You need it today?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m here for another thirty minutes. I’ll bring it to you. You going to be at the house?”
She had moved to grab her purse from the office, and as she came out, she saw the concern on her brother’s face. They all gave her grief about men, and they’d picked on her all her life for one thing or another, but they also loved her. And she’d excluded them from something that was a vital part of who she was.
They thought her mirrors were a hobby.
They had no idea they were her life.
It was time to change that.
“Can you bring it out to the cabin?” she asked. “Maybe even hang around a couple hours? I could use some help.”
“Sure.” There was no delay in the response. He was her brother. Her family. He’d be there for her. She wasn’t sure why she’d ever doubted that.
He’d probably even go to Chicago and punch all the snotty people in the face if she asked him to.
“Thanks,” she said. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.
She headed out through the dining room, hoping to get a minute alone with Zack. She wanted to tell him about the call. Yet as she stepped through the door, she saw that his mother and brothers were hitting it off. She didn’t want to interrupt.
And then Hounddog smiled at her.
She got a little tickle in her stomach. That boy was dangerous with that smile.
“Important call?” he asked.
She looked down at the phone still clutched in her hand. “Yeah, actually. Sorry, Bobby, I’ve got to run. Can we catch up later?”
“Sure thing.” He rose and gave her a hug. While he had her close, he planted a friendly kiss on her cheek. “Real good to see you, Holly.”
“You too.”
Zack looked up from the table while Holly stood in the circle of Bobby’s arms. The planes of his face hardened.
“Can I walk you out?” Bobby asked.
She shot one more peek at Zack. He looked to be stewing. Jealous. But he had no right.
“Absolutely.”
Without a glance back, she turned and walked out the door with Bobby “Hounddog” Thompson. All the while hoping Zack was watching. And that it stuck in his craw to see her with another man.
Zack sat at the table, his fingers tight around his water glass, while Holly left the building with the man who’d just kissed her. That made three times in less than one week he’d had to watch another guy put his lips on her.
She’d been laughing with this one as Zack had come in. Not a polite, friendly laugh. The kind filled with true I’m-happy-to-be-around-you, I-couldn’t-stop-myself-if-I-tried bursting joy.
The kind that weakened Zack every time he saw it.
That was what he liked best about Holly. She always found a way to be happy. She could have her feet completely ripped out from under her, and she’d find a way to roll over and start dancing.
He wanted that.
He wanted Holly.
Zack had also noticed that the guy she’d left with wasn’t hard on the eyes. Which he suspected she’d been well aware of herself. She certainly wasn’t blind. It made him wonder where they were heading off to.
And what that call had been about.
She’d looked shell-shocked as she’d stood talking on the phone. She’d sought him out with her gaze, and ridiculously, he’d expected her to come out from the back and tell him all about it.
Instead, she’d hugged another man and left without looking back.
Zack’s temperature rose. Jealousy was such a bitch.
He dragged his attention back to the extra-large booth where he sat. His mother, brothers, and nieces were having a good time. His mom had immediately fallen for the two men who looked so much like him. And truth be told, they acted a lot like him too. Zack found it interesting that genetics played as big a role in what shaped a person as the environment they grew up in.
But even more importantly, she was head over heels for Candy and Kendra.
If the girls lived in the same city as his mother, he suspected Janet’s long-time love of doting would reappear in full force.
“And what grade will you two be in?” his mom asked.
Candy sat up straight, as if to make herself look older than she was. She was tall and thin, and with her dark eyes and matching smile, looked strangely almost as much like him as his brothers did. “Eighth grade, Mrs. Winston. I’m on the basketball team. First string next year.”
“And I’m one of the top cheerleaders,” Kendra piped in. She swished her long brown hair back over her shoulders and preened from between her uncle and sister.
Candy slid her sister a look as if to point out that “one of the top cheerleaders” didn’t quite compare to first string of the basketball team.
“I also have a boyfriend,” Kendra tacked on.
“Oh my,” his mother murmured. “Is it serious?”
Both Candy and Cody guffawed as if the idea wasn’t possible. Kendra rolled her eyes.
“It’s just as serious as I want it to be, Mrs. Winston. I’m not looking to settle down yet.”
“Well, that’s certainly a good thing.” His mother reached across the table to pat both girls on the arm. “And please, feel free to call me Janet. Or even Grandma, if you want.”
Guilt cracked Zack’s chest open. His mother wanted grandchildren and he was doing nothing to give them to her.
He had no intention of giving them to her.
Only . . .
He looked at the door again where Holly had left the building, and let the idea float through his mind. Could he be someone else? The kind to provide grandchildren?
The girls entertained his mother for a few more minutes, telling her about their school and fun things she might want to do while she was in town, while Zack just took it all in. His brothers and nieces both seemed to be as taken with his mother as she was with them.
Of course, he’d expected nothing less.
He was the only one who’d ever not been civil in the group. But they were getting over that. He and Cody had come a long way since their first encounter. Dinner at Lee Ann’s Friday night had been great. It had gone much easier than he’d anticipated. In fact, being around Cody had grown almost as easy as hanging with Nick.
“Maybe we should invite Joanie and Lee Ann too,” his mom said now, in response to an invitation to take her over to the national park to give her the flavor of the Smokies. “I’d feel bad taking you away from them. Plus, I want to meet them too. I’m sure they’re wonderful people.”
Though Zack was included in the outing, it felt almost like he was on the outside looking in. He knew that was unfair. His mother loved family, and she’d wanted more than one son. Her attaching herself to his brothers and nieces now only made sense.
But still. He couldn’t help but feel like his brothers were swooping in to steal his mom.
Or his mom was choosing them.
They did have kids, after all. And soon-to-be wives that his mother was already looking forward to meeting.
The jealousy running through him over his mother irritated him as much as watching Holly leave the restaurant with another man. He had to get this under control.
“How about the Firefly Festival?” Nick pointed out. “We’ll all meet up there. Joanie will be working the morning shift, but she has someone who’ll take over in the afternoon.”
“I’m on it,” Cody said. “The girls want to arrive early so we’ll stake out a place.”
Kendra and Candy nodded exuberantly, and then Kendra looked at him. “You’ll be there too, right?”
His heart seized up. “Absolutely.” A mutter was all he could manage.
Kendra gave him an easy smile, and his heart took off again, this time at a gallop.
Zack watched his mother’s face glow as she sat across from the four of them. She was in love with her new extended family, and she’d barely even scratched the surface. The next thing Zack knew, she’d be inviting them all to Atlanta and cooking them a big meal.
“One other thing,” Cody said as he looked over at Zack. “I’ve been meaning to bring this up. Now seems like the perfect time.”
Zack had no clue what Cody was about to say, but did notice that the girls began to twitch on the seat as if they couldn’t sit still. Smiles fought their way to their lips.
“My wedding is in a little over three weeks,” Cody said. “I’d love it if you’d stand up with me.”
Zack’s mother sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, Zackie. You always did want brothers.”
He shot his mother a look. No need telling all his secrets. And quit calling him Zackie!
Cody and Nick both gave him smug looks. “So we weren’t the only ones?” Nick teased.
Shit. Leave it to his mother to put him on the spot. But the truth was that, no, they hadn’t been the only ones to want brothers. And he suddenly didn’t see the harm in admitting it.
He shrugged. “Brothers would have been nice.”
“Yeah.” Cody nodded. His gaze went serious as it locked onto Zack’s. “Real nice.”
The moment felt heavy. The three of them had missed out on a lot together because of one selfish, inconsiderate person, but at least they had managed to find each other before it was too late.
“It’s actually not so bad now,” Zack grudgingly admitted. Nick smiled. Cody nodded.
And one more chink clicked closed.
“What do you say, then?” Cody asked again. “Be in my wedding?”
Candy and Kendra both nodded with excitement. This was big.
Cody had talked about the upcoming nuptials, and Zack had assumed he’d be welcome to come up for the event. But honestly, it had never occurred to him that he might be invited to participate.
The invitation meant a lot.
Then he glanced at his mother and a petty thought crept maliciously into his mind. Was it because of her? Did the invitation have more to do with wanting her there than him? The offer hadn’t come until after she’d shown up.
But he refused to let himself think like that.
“It would be an honor,” Cody urged.
“Having you stand there with us would make me proud too,” Nick chimed in.
“Zackie,” his mother cooed.
His brothers chuckled and his nieces pleaded. “Please,” they chimed out together.
It wasn’t like he was going to say no. This was what he wanted. He wanted to be in his brothers’ lives. He wanted to be in his nieces’ lives. He wanted relationships. And all four of them were offering that.
He nodded, an unusual warmth spreading through him, seeming to wrap around him and hold him tight. “I’d love to,” he confessed.
His mother closed an arm around his waist and pressed a kiss to his bicep. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered.
“And you’ll be there too, of course?” Cody asked Janet.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
A knot of tension grabbed hold in Zack’s shoulders at Cody’s words. But again, Zack shoved it aside. This wasn’t about his brothers and his mother. It was about him and his brothers. His mother just happened to be part of the package deal.
Talk continued around the table. About the wedding, Lee Ann’s color scheme, and how the whole event would be incorporated into the community activities. They also talked more about the weekend’s upcoming festival. As they did, Zack watched the comings and goings around him.
He recognized several people whom he saw almost every day. Even spotted a few he’d never spoken with but could pick out as locals. As opposed to the many tourists who’d begun to file into town over the last two days.
Walking outside on the sidewalk was Mr. Martin, the man with the chew-toy ducks. Zack wondered if the letter his friend had sent to Mr. Martin’s neighbor had settled the dispute.
Conversation wrapped up and Nick looked at his watch. “Got to get back,” he said. “I may own the company, but the biggest part of my workforce is me.”
That was a lie. Dalton Construction may have only been around for a few months, but Nick was building quite the business. Already he employed a good handful of people, and things seemed to only be growing.
His brothers and nieces said their good-byes, including hugs for his mother, and then were gone.
Left in their place was Mr. Martin. He stood beside the table, holding a home-baked pie.
“I know it ain’t right to bring a pie in the diner,” he said. The man’s accent was heavy with Southern drawl. “What with them selling desserts in here an’ all. But I needed to get this to ya.”
He handed the pie over.
Zack knew he must look as stumped as he felt. “Why would you bring me a pie, Mr. Martin?”
“Because you helped me out. The missus baked it up this morning. I do appreciate your help.” Then Mr. Martin stuck out his hand for Zack to shake. Zack shifted the pie to his other hand and shook the older gentleman’s.
“There was no need,” Zack started, thinking again about the differences in how he lived and how it was here, as well as the differences in what he’d expected, and what he’d found. The place was quaint. It was charming. “But I can’t say I don’t like a good pie.”
Mr. Martin nodded. “And that letter worked, right nice. The fence went up today.”
“Good,” Zack said with enthusiasm. “I’m glad it didn’t have to come to anything more.”
After introducing the man to his mother and telling her about Mr. Martin’s less-than-friendly neighbor, Zack watched him turn and shuffle back out the door. One of the waitresses gave Zack the evil eye as if it were a sin to have someone else’s pie in the diner, so he slid it to the back of the table. The baked peaches smelled heavenly, but he’d wait until they got back to the house before tearing into it.
“Well, isn’t that just the perfect thing,” his mother said in wonder. “Being paid with a peach pie.”
Zack chuckled lightly. If only his boss could see him now. Accepting baked goods as payment. “I can’t say that I was expecting payment.” He glanced at the pie. “But I also won’t say no to homemade pie.”
His mother’s nose inched up. “As long as you don’t forget that it’s my pies you like the best.”
Zack grinned at his mother. Seemed he wasn’t the only one who could have a jealous streak. “You haven’t made me a pie in a while, Mom. Better get on that.”
He was teasing, but her eyes turned serious.
She grasped his hands in hers. “You’re different here, Zackie. You aren’t as hard.”
Her words made him think about the fact that he should be in the office working. He should be hard. He feared if he stuck around here much longer he might lose his edge. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave just yet.
They’d get through the festival, and then he’d give his mom one more week.
But then he had to get back to work.
Of course, that meant he’d have to leave Holly too.
“I like it,” his mother added to her previous words. “A softer Zack is a good thing.” She gave him a gentle smile. “Tell me about you and Holly.”
There was no him and Holly.
And given that he was just thinking about getting back to Atlanta and getting his hard-ass going, there couldn’t be a him and Holly. Even if he wanted it, she didn’t belong there. She was much too soft.
She was the personification of this town.
“There’s nothing between me and Holly, Mom. We’re friends.”
His mother studied him quietly. Then she patted the back of his hand where she still held it in hers. “I think there might be more to it than that,” she said. “You seem happy when you’re around her.”
He was happy. Being around her made him feel good.
He nodded. “I am.”
“Then quit pretending it’s nothing. She might be just what you need.”
“I don’t need anything.”
“Everyone needs something.” She patted his cheek. “Everyone needs someone. Don’t let the perfect person pass you up because you’re afraid to get your heart broken.”
He wasn’t afraid. Didn’t he already know what it felt like?
“She’s just a friend,” he reiterated.
She didn’t take her eyes off his for several seconds. Then she tilted her head and gave him “the look.” “Neither you nor I are stupid enough to believe that.”