Chapter Twenty-One
Davin put the windows down as he drove home on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day, the sun sparkled on the lake, and white clouds dotted a blue sky. He’d been over to Clay’s to check in with Alec. He felt bad that Alec was alone in the guest cottage most of the time these days, but not bad enough to change anything.
He’d gone over to The Boathouse to collect a takeout order for breakfast, and on the spur of the moment had added a full Boathouse Special for Alec. He felt better now; his friend was happy hanging out in the cottage by himself. Alec had reminded him that he was used to being alone and that he mostly preferred it.
Now, Davin was headed back to the house to have breakfast with Alexis before Lucky and Dee came with Echo. He’d picked up breakfast for Booker, too. He was working at the barn this morning, but the kid would eat anything you put in front of him. He wouldn’t mind having to reheat his when he got home.
When he pulled up in front of the house, he made a mental note that when they found a place of their own, he wanted a driveway with enough room for a few vehicles. Here, at Terry’s place, there was only room for Alexis’s car. He smiled; he wanted to be able to park his truck off the road – and whatever car they got for Booker, too. He was going to get on that this week. He’d asked the guys if they knew of anyone who was selling an old but reliable vehicle that might be suitable for the kid. No one had any leads for him, but they all said they’d ask around.
He grabbed the takeout bag and hurried to the front door. He found Alexis in the kitchen, tapping away at her phone with a frown on her face.
“Is everything all right?” he asked as he took two plates down from the cupboard.
She blew out a sigh. “Everything’s fine. That was Gordon.”
Davin tensed. “What does he want?”
She shrugged. “To tell me what a horrible person I am.”
He went straight to her and squatted down in front of the chair where she was sitting. He rested his hands on her thighs and smiled up at her.
“You know that’s not true, right?”
She nodded. “I do, but I can’t help feeling like an asshole.”
Davin chuckled. “No one gets to call you an asshole while I’m around. Not even you.”
She shrugged again; he’d hoped that she would laugh with him.
“What’s bothering you?”
“He’s not doing very well.”
“And that’s your responsibility because …?”
“It isn’t. I know it isn’t but … I still feel bad.”
“Don’t let him drag you down.”
She sat up a little straighter. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put a damper on our morning.”
“I don’t mean that. I’m concerned about you. I want you to be happy – for yourself, not for me. Obviously, I don’t know Gordon, but from the little I saw, he’s not worth your time. Some people are determined to be miserable in life. If you stick around them, they’ll only drag you down with them.”
She smiled. “I know. You’re right.”
“Was he after something in particular? I mean, why’s he getting in touch now?”
Her smile became more genuine. “He saw people going into my house and wanted to know what was going on. I texted the realtor, and he said there was a showing this morning. The buyer’s agent got straight back to him and said that they’re working on an offer.”
Davin tried to hold back a smile but didn’t quite manage it. “How do you feel about that?”
She grinned at him. “Fantastic! We can start looking for a place in earnest. It didn’t feel real before. Now that – hopefully – my old place is going to sell, we can set things in motion.” Her smile faded. “If you still want to?”
He popped up and kissed her before squatting down again. “Did you really need to ask that?”
She shook her head. “I think that perhaps I was just looking for a little reassurance. Silly of me, I know.”
“Hey! No. It’s not silly. It’s … normal. And I don’t know if I should admit this, but …”
She laughed. “Go on, you have to say it now; you can’t leave me dangling.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “Don’t get mad at me if this sounds wrong. I kind of like that you’re looking to me for reassurance.”
She raised her eyebrows. “I’m puzzled. Not mad.”
“It means that you’re checking in with me. It means that how I feel matters to you.” He shrugged, not sure that he could explain it properly.
“Of course it matters. I want this to work, Davin, but I’m aware that we’re moving at lightning speed – so I need to know that you’re still good with it. And there’s another aspect to it – I’ve operated alone in most aspects of my life for … what feels like forever. I will admit that I don’t often check in with anyone else, even when I should. With you, I want to. I want to feel like we’re in it together.”
“We are – every step of the way.”
~ ~ ~
Alexis watched Echo cock her head to the side as she listened to Lucky.
“You be good, lady. You hear me?”
Echo let out a little yip.
“We’ll be back in a few hours. In the meantime, you listen to Davin and Alexis. You do what they say, okay?”
Dee smiled at Alexis. “She tells him that she’ll do as she’s told, but she’ll do what she thinks is best.”
Lucky chuckled. “Yeah, and I can’t argue, because she’s smarter than I am anyway.”
They all laughed when Echo yipped again. Then, she sat back on her hind legs and waved a paw at Lucky.
He laughed. “That’s me, told. She’s saying buh-bye; time for us to go. You have my number if you need it.”
“Sure do,” said Davin. “She’ll be fine.”
Lucky nodded and turned for the door. “See you guys later.”
“Bye.”
As soon as Davin closed the front door behind them, Echo went to the living room and put her paws up on the windowsill to watch them go.
Lucky grinned when he saw her and waved before he pulled away. Once his truck was out of sight, Echo got down and came to Alexis, pushing her nose into her hand.
“It’s nice to see you, too,” Alexis told her. “What would you like to do?”
Echo trotted over to her bag that Lucky had left on the sofa. She stuck her nose inside and pulled a Frisbee out.
“There’s not a lot of room for that out back,” Alexis told her.
Echo yipped and went to wait by the back door.
They followed her, and when they let her out in the yard, she ran a short distance before leaping in the air. Then, she came and laid the Frisbee at Davin’s feet.
He picked it up with a smile. “She’s so freaking smart. I swear she understood exactly what you said.”
“I have to agree, and she told me that if she can’t go far, she can go high.”
Lucky had asked them not to take her down to the beach. She loved it there, and loved to run, but it was the weekend and there were a lot of tourists in town.
Davin threw the frisbee and Alexis watched in wonder as Echo jumped for it.
When she caught it, she started back toward Davin but stopped and growled as she changed direction, headed for the house.
Alexis was relieved to see that they’d closed the patio door behind them. Booker must be home, and they needed to introduce him to Echo.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
Echo was snarling at the glass now.
Davin went to her and put his hand on her head. She stopped and looked up at him. “It’s okay, lady. That’s Booker in there. He’s a friend. He’s a good boy.” He met Alexis’s gaze for a moment before he continued, “He’s our boy.”
Echo panted as she stared back at him. Alexis wasn’t convinced that she was going to accept his word for it.
“What do you think we should do?” she asked.
“How about I go inside and bring him out with me?”
Alexis laughed. “If he wants to come. He liked the idea of meeting her, but I could tell that he was nervous. He said that he’s never been around dogs.”
“I’ll go in and see what he thinks then. But I want to be with him when we introduce them. I think that if she sees that I’m good with him, she’ll be good with him.”
“True.”
Davin let himself in, and Echo sniffed suspiciously.
“It’s all right, really,” Alexis assured her. “He’s just a boy. You don’t need to protect us from him. The truth is, we’re trying to protect him, and to show him that life can be good. I’d appreciate it if you wanted to help us out with that. I don’t think that boy’s had many friends. I imagine that he’d love to have a friend like you.”
Echo’s big brown eyes were fixed on Alexis’s face.
“You really do understand every word, don’t you?”
Echo yipped, and the expression on her face looked a lot like a smile.
Davin slid the patio door open slowly; he had his arm around Booker’s shoulders – Booker looked nervous as hell. His eyes were huge as they fixed on Echo.
“I can go hang out in my room,” he said.
“Let’s see how it goes for a minute, huh? If you’re not comfortable with her after we introduce you, of course, you go upstairs and hang out.”
Booker nodded reluctantly.
“Hey, Echo,” Davin said in a soothing voice. “This is our boy, Booker.”
Alexis loved the way that sounded. He really was becoming their boy. She just hoped that it wasn’t too soon to say it out loud. The look on his face told her that she had nothing to worry about. Booker seemed to have forgotten all his fear of Echo while he smiled at Davin.
“Do you want to say hi?” Davin asked Echo.
She sat back on her hind legs and waved a paw at them.
Booker smiled and waved back. “She looks a lot less scary like that.”
Echo yipped then picked up her Frisbee and took it to Booker, dropping it at his feet.
“I think she wants you to play,” said Davin.
Booker eyed her nervously. “She might go for me if I take her toy.”
“I don’t think so,” said Alexis. “I think she’s inviting you to play.”
Echo picked the Frisbee up and pushed it into Booker’s hand.
He took hold of it with a smile. “You want to play, huh?”
She let out one of her happy yips and tugged on the Frisbee. Booker laughed and tugged back; and that was all it took. They played tug of war, chased each other around the yard, got down on the ground and rolled together.
Alexis watched with a big smile on her face. Davin came to stand beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “That didn’t take long.”
“I asked her to help us protect him. I asked if she wanted to help us to show him that life can be good. I think she signed up for the task.”
Davin grinned. “I think she has.”
They watched dog and boy chase each other around for a while longer. Davin tightened his arm around her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her.
She touched her lips. “Thank you. What was that for?”
“I just remembered what you said that first night at The Boathouse – and you were right.”
She laughed. “I often am. Which part do you mean?”
He laughed with her. “That life should be beautiful. Echo’s helping Booker start to see that life can be good, but I hope that someday, not too far from now, he’ll come to believe that life should be beautiful.” He kissed her again. “My life is, now that you’re in it.”
“Aww.” Her hand came up to cover her heart. “Thank you. I’m not good with flowery words, but just … thank you. And … and … ditto.”
~ ~ ~
Davin looked out through the kitchen window and chuckled at the sight of Booker, Echo, and Alexis chasing each other around the yard. Lucky had called at lunchtime to ask how he felt about keeping Echo until this evening; Dee was enjoying herself so much in Stanton that Lucky didn’t have the heart to make her hurry home. Davin had assured him that Echo was fine, and that all three of them would be more than happy for her to hang out with them for however long it took.
He had a feeling that they’d all be exhausted after Echo left, they were having such a good time. He’d come inside to fix drinks for everyone – including a bowl of cold water with ice cubes for Echo – Dee had told him that she loved to crunch ice cubes, and Lucky had warned him not to give them to her if it got too hot.
He turned with a frown at the sound of the doorbell ringing. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and he doubted that Alexis or Booker would be either. As he made his way to the front door, it dawned on him that this was the first time he’d heard the doorbell since he’d been here. He kind of liked that. It might be a small town, and people might know your business, but they didn’t generally turn up on your doorstep unannounced.
“Hey, Shayna.” He frowned. “Are you all right?”
He relaxed when she smiled. “Yeah, I’m good. Don’t worry, I’m not here to ask you to walk me home or anything. I think that night was a one off. Even though everyone’s been keeping an eye out for me ever since, I haven’t seen that guy around again.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it, but don’t let your guard down. What can we do for you? Do you want to come in?”
She held up a book. “I said that Booker could borrow this and since I was passing, I thought I’d drop it off.”
“Come on through, we’re all out in the back. That is – are you okay with dogs?”
“I love them. Don’t tell me you guys have a dog now, too? You really are putting together a little family, aren’t you?”
He laughed. “We didn’t get a dog of our own, no. Echo’s here. She’s …”
“Oh, wow! Echo? She’s awesome. I love her.” Shayna glanced back at her Tahoe that was parked behind Davin’s truck. “I can’t stay for long, but I’d love to say a quick hello to everyone.”
He led her through the house and hesitated before he opened the patio door that led out to the yard.
“You sure you’re good with her?”
Shayna laughed. “I’m positive. I hung out with her when I went to talk to Lucky. She ended up sitting on my lap; she’s a big baby.”
Davin laughed as he slid the door open. “Okay, I wanted to check, that’s all.”
Shayna smiled at him. “That’s okay, that’s just how you are – you look out for everyone.”
“Hey, Shayna!” Booker yelled when he spotted her. He and Echo came bounding over while Alexis gave Davin a puzzled look.
Shayna waved the book in the air. “Sorry, I don’t mean to intrude on your afternoon, I just wanted to drop this off.”
She handed the book to Booker then squatted down in front of Echo, who greeted her with a lick to her ear.
“Thanks,” said Booker. “You know Echo? Isn’t she awesome?”
“She is,” Shayna said as she tried to keep her balance. Echo was leaning all her weight against her, and she landed on her butt with a laugh.
“Do you want a drink?” Davin asked. “We’re all about to have one.”
Shayna’s smile faded. “No, honestly, it’s fine. Thank you, though. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding,” Alexis reassured her. “We’d love for you to hang out for a while.”
“Look, she’s saying that you should stay,” Booker said when Echo put her paw on Shayna’s shoulder.
“I …” Davin was surprised to see Shayna look so uncomfortable.
Alexis picked up on it too. “We’d love for you to hang out, but we totally understand if you’re on your way to work,” she said with a smile. “It seems as though you’re always off to work somewhere or another.”
Shayna shook her head. “No. It’s not that. I would love to hang out with you guys – more than you know. And this is one of the few breaks I have in the week, so normally, I’d be able to but … damn, this is embarrassing. I have to go to the laundromat. My washing machine broke down and … well, now that’s just one more thing I have to fit in.”
Alexis cocked an eyebrow at Davin, and he nodded.
“You could kill two birds with one stone and save yourself a bunch of quarters at the same time,” she suggested.
Shayna gave her a puzzled look.
“We have a perfectly good washer and dryer in the laundry room right here. You’re more than welcome to use those. We can hang out while your laundry gets done.”
“Oh, I couldn’t. That’s kind of you but …”
Echo barked and then climbed onto Shayna’s lap.
Booker laughed. “See, Echo says you have to stay.”
Shayna looked up at them. “If you’re sure … I …”
“We’re sure,” Alexis said with a smile. “When Echo lets you up, you can go and fetch your laundry from the car, and we’ll get it started.”
“In the meantime, what do you want to drink?” Davin asked. “I’m having a beer, Alexis is having a soda, and Booker’s having apple juice.”
“I’d love an apple juice, thanks.”
While Davin fixed the drinks, Booker followed Shayna out to her Tahoe, and Alexis came into the kitchen to join him.
“I’m glad she’s here,” she said.
“Yeah, me too. Do you think she’s okay?”
Alexis shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s so capable and always so busy that, until today, I would have said yes without question. She’s a young woman with a purpose, who’s busy getting on with her life. But …” She blew out a sigh. “I would have described myself that way at her age, and much of the time, I really wasn’t okay. Not in the traditional sense. Yes, my career was fulfilling but the rest of my life was … lacking. We should see if we can get her to open up a bit – and make sure that she knows that we’re here for her if she wants us.”
Davin nodded. “I’m the same. Until today, I would have said that she’s got it all figured out, but now I’m starting to wonder how things really are for her.”
Booker led Shayna back into the kitchen. She looked a little embarrassed, carrying a trash bag filled with laundry.
“Want me to show her where everything is?” Booker asked.
“Thanks, that’d be great,” Alexis said.
He turned to Shayna with a smile. “Calling me your little brother won’t just be a joke for much longer. This is how I started out here, too – with them letting me do my laundry.”
Shayna looked back at them over her shoulder as he led her to the laundry room. “Sorry, guys! I don’t expect any … anything.”
Davin chuckled. “Not a problem.”
“It really isn’t; none of us expected anything when Booker first showed up either – but we’re all happy to roll with however things work out,” said Alexis.
Once they were all settled at the table on the deck, Echo made a big deal of crunching her ice cubes before going and plonking herself down between Booker and Shayna, who reached down to scratch her ears.
“How long do you think it’ll take your landlord to get your washing machine fixed?” Alexis asked. “You’re welcome to come over and use ours for as long as you like.”
Shayna made a face. “He’s not going to fix it.”
Davin frowned. “Doesn’t he have to? Isn’t that part of making sure that the place is livable?”
Shayna let out a bitter little laugh. “No. He doesn’t care. I think he’s trying to make things so uncomfortable that I’ll leave of my own accord. Things keep breaking down and he keeps raising the rent anyway. I rented the place from his parents a few years ago. They were lovely people, and they kept the rent down so that I could afford it. They both passed last year.” She sighed. “Within two months of each other. They’d been married for sixty-two years. Then she died. I only saw him once after that and he told me that he didn’t want to stick around without her. He just died in his sleep because he wanted to be with her.”
She sat up a little straighter. “Sorry. I just … Yeah, their son is nothing like them. He sees the place as an investment – and he thinks he could make more money on it if he sold it, or if he gets me out and does renovations so that he can turn it into a vacation rental.”
“It sounds like you need to start looking for somewhere else,” said Alexis.
“I’ve been looking for a while, but it’s hard to find a place that feels safe for the kind of rent I can afford …” She shrugged. “I’ll figure something out. Anyway …” She turned to Booker “… have you done anything about getting registered yet?”
His gaze darted to Alexis and then Davin before he stared intently at his drink. “Not yet, no.”
Alexis chuckled. “You don’t have to tell us what you’re registering for if you don’t want to.”
“Shoot, sorry!” said Shayna.
Booker chuckled. “It’s okay. It’s not like it’s a big secret. I didn’t say anything because … well, you know, you get it.”
“I don’t get it,” said Davin. “Like Alexis said, you don’t have to tell us anything if you don’t want to.” He chuckled. “But if it’s not a big secret, then spill! I’m curious as hell here.”
A rush of warmth filled his chest when Booker met his gaze and held it with a smile. “I’m going to sign up for some online classes. I want to do the same kind of thing that Shayna’s doing. I mean, it’s going to take me years and years, but I have to start somewhere, right?”
“If you …” Alexis began.
Booker laughed. “And that right there is why I haven’t said anything.”
Alexis sat up a little straighter and raised her eyebrows. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
Davin loved that the kid felt comfortable enough to grin at her and ask, “You reckon? You don’t think I know that you’re planning to offer your help – in whatever form I might need it?” His expression sobered. “And I hope you know how much that means to me. It’s the first time in my life that …” He sucked in a deep breath. “But I don’t want you to think that I’m going to come running to you with every little thing. I …”
Alexis nodded. “You have your own life to live, and you have to live it your way.”
“Yeah, and I’m not trying to keep you out of it; I just don’t want you to think that you have to help.”
Alexis smiled. “We don’t.”
Booker visibly relaxed and turned to Davin.
He nodded. “We’re here for you – but we’re here to support you in living your life, not to tell you how to live it or to try and take over.”
Booker held his gaze for a long moment and nodded.
Echo was the first to break the silence that had descended around the table. She went and rested her head on Booker’s knee and let out a low woof.
Shayna grinned. “I think she’s saying that it’s time to move this conversation along – and I’m grateful. I didn’t mean to put my foot in it.”
Davin shot her a grateful smile. “You didn’t put your foot in it, you helped out. And while we’re in uncomfortable territory, I’m just going to go ahead and say it …”
Alexis smiled and gave him a slight nod.
“… we’re here for you, too, Shayna. I know you’re that much older than Booker…”
“She doesn’t always act it,” Booker said with a laugh.
Shayna proved him right with the face that she made at him when she told him to “Shut up, squirt.”
Davin exchanged a look with Alexis, and she nodded again. “But you’re not on your own in the world, okay?”
Shayna’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “Thanks, guys.”
Alexis smiled at her. “If this sounds too strange, feel free to ignore it. I’m putting it out there because … well, because it would have sounded more than strange to me not so long ago, but now it’s the best thing about my life. I … Cal said not so long ago that since Davin and I got together, we’re cobbling together a little family. We’d love if you …”
Davin watched Shayna’s face. He could see that she was touched but he didn’t know if it might be too much.
When Alexis didn’t continue, it was Booker who spoke up. He punched Shayna’s arm and said, “You might as well. We’re the best people you know – and you already call me your little brother.”
Shayna’s bottom lip quivered as she nodded. Echo went and rested her paw on her knee. Shayna laughed and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded. “Honestly? I’d love that! I … I might have lied when I told you that I’m not a sad sack.” She visibly pulled herself together and blew out a sigh. “I do have some friends, but they have their own lives and their own families. And when you’re on your own, life can be kind of tough sometimes, you know?”
“We do know, kiddo,” said Davin. “We’ve all been there. It’s easier to face the tough times when you’ve got family at your back.”
“Truth,” said Booker.
Alexis picked up her glass. “We should drink to it.”
Davin, Booker, and Shayna all picked up their glasses. Davin wondered what she was about to say.
He had to laugh when she winked at him. “Life should be beautiful, but I think the four of us know better than most that it isn’t always.”
Echo barked, and Alexis laughed. “My apologies – all five of us know that life is sometimes far from beautiful, but when you have family at your back – even, and perhaps especially, a cobbled together little family like ours – it’s doable.”
They all clinked their glasses together, and Echo went and lapped loudly at the water in her bowl.
“It’s not just doable, it’s enjoyable,” said Booker.
“I love the idea that life can be beautiful,” said Shayna.
Davin’s heart felt as though it swelled in his chest as he looked around the table at their makeshift little family.
“You know what? Every single one of us is smart, hard-working, and special in our own way.” He held his glass up again, and the others raised theirs. He grinned. “This is more of a challenge than a toast. Life should be beautiful – let’s do what we can to make it that way.”
They all smiled and nodded their agreement as they clinked their glasses together. Alexis caught his gaze and held it for a long moment. He knew what she was telling him – and he agreed; their life was already beautiful.