5. Rowan
CHAPTER 5
ROWAN
“ I ’m sorry, Dad.” Fisher dragged his feet up the steps and into the house after putting his bike away. My heart had calmed down the moment I laid eyes on him, unharmed, in the garage we’d spotted the day we moved in—the one with the classic car.
Now my heart raced for an entirely different reason.
Gil Valentine was the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on. He wasn’t gym buff, but the man had muscles. Even more than his fantastic ass, it was his eyes that drew me in. Ice green and cold, their light color a contrast against his dark hair. Dark except for the shock of white at the end of a scar that cut the left side of his face from forehead to cheekbone.
And the scar .
That was hot.
It didn’t take away from his appeal; instead it added to it.
I followed Fisher into the kitchen and watched as he poured himself a glass of juice. It struck me out of the blue sometimes just how much older Fisher was now. He could pour his own juice. Make his own meals. Ride his bike around the neighborhood by himself. Sometimes it was hard to loosen my hold on him, but he couldn’t stay small forever.
“There’s a small chance that I might have panicked prematurely, just make sure you check in more often next time. Send a text once in a while as proof of life, okay.”
Fisher rolled his eyes as he chugged his juice. “What’s for dinner?” he asked when his glass was empty. “Can we get Chinese? I rode by this one place today. Ooh, or we could get burgers.”
“I could whip something up really quick.”
Fisher put on his best kiss-ass expression. The wide eyes, the angelic smile. “But you’ve worked so hard today. You deserve a break.”
“So you can cook.”
“After a hard day’s work, do you really want to eat the food a twelve year-old would make? Toaster waffles aren’t substantial enough to compensate for all the energy you burned.”
I raised my eyebrow and Fisher’s face fell.
“Did I lay it on too thick?”
“A bit, yes. We’ll do burgers. Did you want to come with me to pick them up or stay here and jump in the shower while I’m gone?”
Fisher was an adolescent boy that had been in the sun all day. His adventures had left him a little ripe. “You should wash that sunscreen off.”
Fisher narrowed his eyes. I always thought it made him resemble me the most when he did that. It was almost like looking at a picture of my younger self.
“Are you saying I stink?”
“I would never say something so hurtful.” I grinned at him. “Do you want fries or onion rings?”
He paused to think, his brow furrowing. “You get fries. I’ll get onion rings and we can share and compare.”
From the time he was able to eat grown-up food, Fisher had been obsessed with onion rings. He was very particular about them. The batter had to be just right. Not too thick and it had to stick to the onion. Batter that flaked off with the first bite never failed to disappoint him.
I grabbed my keys off the counter and stuffed them in my pocket. “You shower. I’ll get food and I’ll be back soon. If you unpack the DVD player, we can watch a movie.”
Fisher rolled his eyes at me again. It had become his favorite response to most things I said lately. “We can just stream something from my phone right to the TV.”
“You forget that I was born in the late 1900s, Fisher. Some of this new technology escapes me.”
“Don’t blame me because you’re stuck in the dark ages.” He laughed as he headed for the bathroom. “Don’t forget extra pickles for my burger.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Once I was outside, I had to force myself not to make the short trip to Gil’s house. He’d clearly had enough human interaction for one day, at least that was the impression I got when he shut the door to his garage.
I backed out of the driveway and rolled the window down to enjoy the late summer air. It was best at night, once the heat of the day had gone and the sun was lower in the sky. The scent of barbeque drifted on the air as I turned the music up and sang along in my more than slightly off key way until I reached the restaurant.
Beefy’s was on the list of top ten best burger joints in the city. Before I moved here, I’d done my research. I knew where to get the best food, what pharmacy was closest to my house, and where the nearest fire station, police station, and hospital were. I also knew what pizza place the locals loved best. These were all important things to know.
The restaurant had a cozy vibe, with a couple big couches in the front where people could sit and wait for their to-go orders. The main restaurant was deceptively large inside, with a patio around back for more seating. One day I’d have to bring Fisher here to eat.
A girl, wearing a nametag reading Beth, with blue hair all done up in a messy bun on the top of her head greeted me at the counter with a smile. “Welcome to Beefy’s What can I get for you?”
“What’s good here?”
Beth shot me a smile. “Everything’s good. But I recommend the Jack burger. It’s got all the fixings, plus Monterey Jack cheese on a sesame seed bun. That or the bacon mushroom burger. All our burgers come with fries, onion rings, or salad.”
“Could I get two Jack burgers, one with extra pickles and onion rings. One with fries.” On a whim, I thought about Gil Valentine, the hunk who fixed my son’s bike and asked for nothing in return. It wasn’t every day that strangers went out of their way to be nice to other people. “Could I also get… a bacon cheeseburger with fries?”
“Sure thing. Was there anything else?” Beth punched my order into the machine.
“That’s everything. Thank you.”
“Your total is $54.40. Will that be cash or card?”
Opening my wallet, I peeled out three twenty dollar bills and handed them over. “Keep the change.”
“Thank you!” Beth’s already friendly smile grew brighter. “It’ll be about fifteen minutes. If you leave your number, we can text you when it’s ready for pick up.”
“That would be great, actually.” I hadn’t had much of a chance to explore my new town. I’d been too busy unpacking, or taming the yard, or taking care of the other ten million tasks that I had to do before I started back to work soon. There just hadn’t been time to wander and look around. Fifteen minutes wasn’t a lot, but it was something.
Leaving my number with Beth, I ventured out onto the sidewalk. Picking a direction, I decided to take a right. I passed an honest-to-God shoe store a few doors down. I didn’t know those still existed. I thought by now that the department stores had swallowed the shoe stores whole. It was a pleasant surprise. Further down was a health food store and one dedicated to tabletop games.
The jewel of the block turned out to be a little craft brewery called Top Hops. The inside was decorated in mostly blond wood tones, and with the lights on, it gave the building a warm glow, sort of like how I felt after three drinks. On another whim, I bought a six-pack of bottles. The beer promised to be tropical, majestic, and robust.
I could tell myself that I was just missing Eric and my other friends back home. I could tell myself that I was just trying to be friendly. Neighborly. The truth was that I was no better than a kid with a crush. Gil Valentine was the most attractive man I’d ever seen. And he’d been nice to Fisher. Of course I didn’t expect an adult to be awful to a kid, but it had happened before.
It wasn’t until after I collected the food and got back in my car that it occurred to me that I might be about to make a fool of myself. Gil had shut the garage door in my face. If he’d been able to slam it, he might have done so. Clearly, he didn’t want to be bothered. But I was committed to thanking him properly. At home, I parked in the driveway and dug the container with Gil’s order in it out of the bag. After I collected it, and the beer, I kicked my door shut with my foot and headed for Gil’s front door.
A deep breath didn’t help calm me down at all. Nor did the three others I took while I waited for Gil to answer his door. I was about to ring the bell again when the door swung open and Gil appeared, freshly showered. His hair dripped onto the collar of his shirt.
Pushing the fact that he’d been naked not two minutes ago to the back of my mind, I held out the burger and the six-pack. And said… nothing. My mouth and my brain weren’t currently cooperating.
Gil arched an eyebrow.
“What’s this?” His gaze flicked to the items, then back to mine.
“Food. Dinner.” I cleared my throat. “I got you dinner. And drinks. For your help. With Fisher.”
I wanted to die. There wasn’t a hole deep enough for me to bury my shame. Since when was I incapable of putting together a full, coherent sentence?
“I told you that no thanks were necessary.” Gil didn’t reach for the beer or the burger, but I didn’t relent.
“And I wanted to do something nice for someone who went out of his way to help my son. Please, it’s not much. It’s just a burger and some beer.”
Gil’s jaw ticked. “You don’t give up easy, do you?”
“It’s the single dad in me. If I give up, there’s no one to pick up the slack.” As true as it was, it still shocked me that I’d said it at all. Clearly, I couldn’t win for losing today. I was either all but incoherent, or I was oversharing.
Gil’s shoulders dropped and the tension bled out of him. Not entirely, but at least enough where I no longer felt like I was unwelcome.
“Is that from Beefy’s?” Gil looked at the nondescript cardboard takeout container.
“It is.” I thrust the burger toward him. My stomach gave a happy kick when he took it from my grasp. Feeling hopeful, I tried to hand him the six-pack.
Gil’s lip curled. “You went to Top Hops too, I see. You should sample that one for yourself.”
“But I got it for you.”
“Tell you what, you keep that one. Think of it as a welcome to the neighborhood gift.” I didn’t know Gil at all, but I had the feeling he was up to something.
“It’s that bad, is it?”
If I thought Gil was hot before, nothing compared to how gorgeous he was when he smiled. He reached for the beer and took one of the bottles out. Using his teeth, he cracked it open, then handed it to me. The dare was silent, but it was there.
I raised the bottle to my lips trying not to think of the fact that it had just been in Gil’s mouth. I took a sip… and then turned and spit it out into the bushes that edged the stairs.
“That was terrible.” My body shuddered. “Oh, God. That was… what’s in that?”
Gil shrugged, his smile still clinging to his expression. “I don’t know. Horse piss probably.”
“Sorry I tried to poison you.”
“No harm done.”
“I’m going to go home and dump these down the drain. Enjoy your dinner, Gil. And thanks again for helping Fisher today. See you around.”
Maybe.
If I didn’t die of embarrassment.
First the stuttering babble. Then the TMI. Then the disgusting beer.
I was on a roll.