Chapter Thirteen #2
“How long does he have?” Gus asked the question he’d been wanting to know the answer to since before he’d arrived in Fire Lake.
“Gus,” Faith replied softly, a small frown on her face. “That’s none of our business.”
It was rude and he knew it, but Gus didn’t care.
“It’s all right,” Ford said softly, eyes on Gus. “I’m sure everyone in town knows Dad has cancer and that it’s spread.” He paused, gaze still on Gus. “A few months, if we’re lucky.”
“Papa is going to heaven,” Benjamin said, his voice low as he kicked at the ground. “He’ll see Mommy up there, right Daddy?”
Fuck. Gus looked at the young boy and felt like the world’s biggest shit.
“He will,” Ford replied.
“And they can play Xbox like they used to, right?”
Xbox and Porter Boone wasn’t something Gus thought would ever be in the same sentence.
“My wife and father shared a great love for The Sims.” He looked at his son. “Why don’t we get some ice cream before we meet up with Christopher and his parents?”
“Do you want an ice cream cone too?” Benjamin’s question was directed to Faith, his young face so hopeful Gus knew she wouldn’t say no.
“I would absolutely love one,” she replied lightly.
Benjamin started forward, and she fell into step beside the boy. “What’s your favorite flavor?”
Chocolate, Gus thought. He almost smiled when she answered.
“Chocolate with some peanut butter.”
“I never tried that.” Benjamin skipped at her side.
“I guess we’re getting ice cream.” Ford cracked a smile, and the two men followed Faith and Ben.
“I’m sorry about bringing up your father.” Gus still felt like an asshole for asking. For making Ben remember.
Ford was silent for a few moments and then shrugged.
“I never hide anything from my son. As young as he is, I feel it’s not right to do that.
I don’t believe a kid can grieve or learn to live without, unless they know the facts.
And the simple fact was that the moment Belinda’s car crossed over the center line and hit that guardrail, then spun into oncoming traffic her life was over. ”
It was obvious he loved his wife, and though he didn’t know this man, it surprised Gus. Maybe that said more about Gus than it did Ford.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Everyone’s sorry,” Ford replied. “And that’s a normal reaction.
She was thirty-three and it’s not fair and it’s not the future I saw for us.
Not the future I wanted for Ben. But Belinda saved a life too and that’s something most folks will never be able to do.
Her heart went to a young woman in Florida. ”
“Ben seems to be doing well with all of it.”
“He’s a great kid and deserved a big family with brothers and sisters, but right now, my focus is getting through it. I doubt we’ll ever be more than us.”
“You and your sister, you’re close?”
“We are, though I suppose with twins it’s not uncommon.”
His heart began to beat faster. “Do you have any other siblings?” Gus kept his eyes on Faith and Benjamin as time stretched long and thin. Was it weird to be asking these questions? Would Ford think so?
“I do,” Ford replied after a few moments.
“They live close by?” He kept his tone light, and maybe he should stop with the asking but his need to know was stronger.
“No,” Ford replied quickly, then followed up with a question of his own. “What about you?”
Surprised, Gus glanced at Ford.
“Where is your family from?”
He considered lying, but what was the point? It wasn’t as if Ford knew who he was, and Gus wasn’t a liar. Well, not exactly. He was just good at avoiding the truth.
“West coast. California.”
“And you settled in DC after you left the service?”
“I did.”
“Why are you in Fire Lake?”
“Working for you, apparently.”
“You don’t strike me as the kind of man to work for anyone other than yourself.”
Fuck. This conversation was headed to a place he didn’t want it to go, and it was all his fault. Gus knew better than to ask questions because questions led to more questions, and that’s when shit went sideways.
He was good at reading people. In his experience as a SEAL, it meant the difference between life and death. But he couldn’t figure out where Ford’s head was at, and that was a problem. Luckily, the boy saved his ass.
“Daddy, what kind of ice cream cone do you want?”
Ford held Gus’s gaze for a few more moments — enough time for Gus to know he was treading too close to some invisible line — then shepherded his son up to the food truck.
“That seemed intense.”
“Just getting to know my employer.” He nudged Faith with his elbow. “I see you got your cone.”
She licked the top of it and smiled. “Are you getting one?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you want a lick?” A smile played with the edges of her mouth, and suddenly, the world faded away. His brother, with those piercing eyes and probing questions, was long gone. All he could think about was that delicious mouth and its accompanying pink tongue.
She took one step until she stood directly in front of Gus and held up the cone. Her eyes were a deeper color of hazel, bordering on green, and he thought that maybe they were the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.
Gus bent his head and slowly licked the top of her cone, his eyes on Faith and the cute blush that now stained her cheeks.
“That’s good,” he said.
“My favorite.”
She licked at the corner of her mouth but missed. It was too tempting. Gus leaned closer still and carefully kissed away the chocolate. He would have continued with some more kissing, but . . .
“Ew. That’s gross.”
Gus shot a look at Benjamin, who stood with his own cone in hand and chocolate smeared across his nose. “Give it ten years or so, bud.”
“I’ll still think it’s gross.” Benjamin took another swipe at his cone.
A throat cleared, and Gus became aware of his brother. Ford stood a few feet away, his expression neutral, though his eyes were hooded, the blue darker than normal. Did Ford have feelings for Faith? Or was it something else. Something that hit closer to home.
“It’s time for us to go, Benny.” Ford gave a slight nod. They said their goodbyes, and Gus watched his brother and nephew walk away, the little guy talking animatedly while Ford kept a hand on his shoulder.
“Sad, isn’t it?” Faith said, standing beside him.
“What’s that?”
“A little boy with no mother.”
“A lot of kids are raised by one parent.”
“I know,” she replied softly. “But it’s different when a parent dies. It’s permanent. They’re never coming back, and it takes someone real special to take up the space of two people. Ford’s a good dad.”
Gus couldn’t disagree. In fact, he would go further and say that Ford Boone was a hero. He’d created something special out of tragedy.
The two were nearly out of sight. Gus watched until they disappeared around the bend. Their love was obvious — their bond strong, like steel. All those things made Gus wonder . . .
How had a man raised by someone as shitty as their father become the kind of man Gus could admire and respect?
“Are you sure you don’t want your own cone?”
He turned his attention to Faith and that mouth and those eyes. He needed a distraction. Something to chase away the shadows in his head and the doubts in his heart.
“Ice cream isn’t what I’m hungry for.”
“No?” Her tongue darted out as she smiled and took another lick. “What are you craving?”
He leaned close, his mouth by her ear, and smiled when he felt her shiver.
“Something spicy and sweet.”
“You’ll have to be more specific, sir.”
“You,” he replied. “Is that specific enough?”