Chapter Fifteen
Once Brent had decided it was time for a nap, Riley went to collect his RV from his mom’s driveway. If he was sticking around—and he intended to—then he wanted to stick close to Brent.
He was telling himself that Brent still needed him, but the fear that he was just in the way was already setting in. There was no room for him in Brent’s house. The spare room had been used for storage since forever.
Not that Riley was opposed to sleeping on the couch, but he wanted to keep himself out of the way. He didn’t want to leave just yet.
He had nowhere to go. Nowhere in particular, anyway.
Lately, every time he left, he felt homesick. He’d thought Hope Springs had stopped feeling like home a long time ago, but apparently, he was wrong.
“How was your honeymoon?”
Riley looked up to see his mom coming out to meet him. He blushed at the word honeymoon, afraid that his mom knew exactly what had happened.
She definitely knew he’d had a crush on Brent. Riley wasn’t entirely sure she realized it had never really gone away.
“Peaceful. I think it helped Brent a lot, which was the point.”
“Well, good. That poor boy didn’t need to go through all that,” Mrs. Jules said. “Are you leaving so soon?”
Riley shook his head. “No, I’m just moving the RV to Brent’s house. There’s plenty of room for it there, and I want to be close for him.”
“You’re not staying inside the house?” Mrs. Jules raised an eyebrow.
Riley shrugged. “I don’t wanna feel like I’m in the way, mom. I want Brent to know I’m there, but I don’t want to be under his feet.”
Mrs. Jules tutted. “Riley Jules, you’re a very smart boy, but sometimes you’re very stupid.”
Riley was positive his mom was right, but he wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing that was stupid this time. “I’m going to need a little more clarity on what you’re mad at me for.”
“I’m not mad at you. I just think you could trust Brent to tell you if he wants you to leave. I don’t think that boy has ever told you he wanted you to leave.”
Riley wet his lips. That was true, but Brent was a polite soul. He would have had trouble telling anyone he wanted them to leave, let alone someone he actually liked.
That didn’t mean he wanted Riley taking up space in his house, eating his food, and using all his hot water.
Not that Riley ever did that. He had quick showers down to a fine art. Still, there was no point in being in the way if he didn’t have to be.
Brent needed someone right now, but he didn’t need to be stressed out over it.
“He never would. He’s too polite,” Riley said. “I’m not abandoning him. I’ve never abandoned him.”
“Okay,” Mrs. Jules said. “Invite him to lunch on Sunday. Emily, too. It’d be nice to see them.”
“Emily’s leaving for college on Saturday. But I will ask Brent to come.”
Mrs. Jules smiled a small, fond smile. “He did a good job with her. I’m so proud of him.”
“I’ll tell him you said that.” Riley swung his keys around his finger, anxious to get back to Brent. He didn’t want him to wake up and be alone, and Emily had promised she was going to tell Monique how she felt.
Riley hoped that went well for her. He couldn’t change the fact that he’d never done it, never been brave enough to risk his friendship with Brent, but he could warn people he cared about not to be as stupid as he was.
The thought that he couldn’t let go of right now was that if he’d been braver, it wasn’t impossible that Brent would have reacted much better than he’d imagined. That maybe he would have even felt the same way, given enough time to get used to the idea.
Maybe Riley’s life would have been completely different. Maybe he’d be going home to his beautiful husband right now after dropping by to say hello to his mom, instead of the weird, confusing situation he was suddenly in.
Yesterday he’d been able to hold Brent’s hand, and kiss him, and curl up beside him in bed.
Today he was right back to being Brent’s flakey best friend.
Whiplash probably wouldn’t have hurt as much.
And he couldn’t even tell anyone about it, because it wasn’t just his secret to tell.
“I have to get back.” Riley said. “But I will be here on Sunday. Tell Biscuit I love her.”
“I will.” Mrs. Jules chuckled. “You should get a dog.”
“Scott’s gotten to you too, huh? I told Brent I knew a dog guy the moment he mentioned one, and it was so automatic.”
“Scott’s very persistent.” Mrs. Jules smiled. “You’ll be here for the wedding, won’t you?”
“Of course.” Riley grinned at the thought. “I would never miss Charlie’s wedding. But I really have to go before this ice cream melts.”
He’d picked up a tub of raspberry ripple on his way past the grocery store, as promised. He was hoping Emily would have good news when she came home, but he was prepared for anything.
“I’ll see you Sunday,” Mrs. Jules said, backing a few steps away from the RV. “Give Brent and Emily my love.”
“I will,” Riley promised, climbing into the RV. Brent’s house was only a handful of minutes away by car, but it was on the edge of town on one of the bigger blocks that had once been part of a farm.
Riley had fantasized, when he was younger, about growing things there. He’d never decided on a crop, and Hope Springs had a better climate for livestock than anything else, but something would grow there.
It was a nice idea, but not something that ever seemed likely to happen.
Riley parked the RV in the same spot he always did beside the house. The one that was always left clear for him.
That meant a lot. Riley never felt unwelcome.
He still didn’t feel that he could just stay forever. Not unless Brent asked.
Brent had never asked.
As soon as Riley stepped onto the porch, the board he was standing on lifted up in front of him.
He stepped aside and pushed the raised end down with his heel, which only resulted in the nails popping out of the other end.
Riley had never paused to look at Brent’s porch before, but as he scanned it now, he could tell that it had seen better days. It hadn’t been taken care of, and the wear was starting to show in rotted boards, nails sticking out, splinters big enough to be a hazard.
He didn’t blame Brent for that. Brent had been treading water for years with Emily to take care of, and something like sanding and sealing his front porch probably hadn’t seemed all that important.
Riley walked up and down the length of it, testing rotted, squeaking boards as he went and making a mental note of where they all were.
He needed to make a trip to the hardware store.