Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Esther
Before I could respond to Theo—or shoo him away—a group of customers appeared and he removed his hand to help me serve them. We had a line at the window from that moment until a tiny lull half an hour in, then a steady stream that kept us too busy for either conversation or covert groping.
Of course, quite a few of our customers lingered to express their delight at seeing Theo back in town. Fortunately for him, the people lining up behind the gossip mongers prevented anyone from asking too many questions.
Theo was unfailingly polite, but as he deflected another round of well-intentioned probing, I began to feel bad about putting him in this position.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said when we had another moment to breathe between orders. “I can handle things here if you want to leave.”
He drew up to his full height and scowled down at me. “Esther, I take my role as sidekick seriously. A few busybodies aren’t going to scare me away, trust me. Besides, I’m sure you’ve dealt with far worse.”
That much was true.
In the early days of the business, even before I bought the truck, every delivery required an extra ten minutes to parry with inquisitive customers who wanted to express their condolences and dig for juicy details.
The rumor that I’d killed my husband was actually one of the best things that could have happened at the time—a few bland smiles, a cryptic answer here and there, and people started to shy away from prying.
Just the memory of it made me huff out a quiet laugh, but Theo heard it and waited until we had a break to ask what was so funny.
“Just thinking about how ready everyone was to believe I killed my husband. Am I really that scary?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You seemed put out when I told you I didn’t think you were a murderer, remember?”
“I could be,” I grumbled, “under the right circumstances.”
“Esther, you are a delight,” he said as he dropped a quick kiss to my lips.
I started to reply, but a chorus of coos came from the window and I flushed hot when it turned out to be the entire crew from our dinner at The Mermaid.
Ollie and Julian had their heads tipped together and hands clasped to their chests like we were the cutest thing they’d ever seen, while Melody, Theresa, and Sofia grinned like the Cheshire Cat.
Only Chase looked embarrassed to have caught us in a private moment, mouthing, “Sorry,” at us before his wife elbowed him in the ribs.
“For the love of Christ,” Theo muttered, adopting an impressive scowl until I pinched his hip and nudged him out of the way.
“Hey, guys. Everyone having fun?” I asked.
After a round of answers encouraging us to check out the adult beverage tent before the end of the night and a friendly wager between Theo and Oliver regarding the ring toss, the group of them ordered half a dozen cupcakes and a few brownies, thanks to Theo’s sales pitch.
We promised to come find them before the tree lighting and they mosied away with a bevy of knowing smiles and pointed looks.
I grinned at Theo’s exaggerated sigh of relief once they were gone. “You know you love them. It’s good to have friends.”
He waited patiently while I directed my attention to a family of twin preschoolers with peanut allergies, then when I turned back, he quietly said, “You’re right, it is.”
The implication that they were my friends too was not lost on me, but an announcement saying the tree would be lit in ten minutes came over the loudspeakers, so we got the truck closed up and threw on our coats.
Theo took my hand in his so we wouldn’t get separated in the crowd as we set off toward the green.
With his height advantage, it was much easier to find our friends than it would have been for me on my own. When I told him as much, he squeezed my hand and bent his head to whisper, “They don’t call me Long John for nothing, you know.”
Once we were positioned on the far side of the park, huddled together for warmth, the middle school chorus started their holiday repertoire with enthusiasm that waned steadily from song to song.
Oliver teased Sofia about her chorus years, Melody and Theresa sang along under their breath, and Theo wrapped me in his arms like he could single-handedly ward off the chill.
He succeeded.
I leaned into him, ignoring Sofia’s raised eyebrows, though I couldn’t hold back a smile. These people had been my friends before Steve came into my life, and even after all the times I pushed them away, here they were, ready and willing to welcome me back.
Maybe Theo had served as a bridge, but hopefully things could continue like this even after he left.
The wave of sadness that crashed over me nearly took my breath away.
Theo leaned down to rub his cheek against mine as though he’d felt the change, even if I told myself he was probably just being his usual affectionate self.
In any case, the chorus finished off their final song and merged back into the mass of bodies standing around the tree.
“Here we go,” Theo murmured into my ear.
A hush fell over the crowd, then the dark pine tree erupted into thousands of twinkling lights and a cheer went up from everyone in the park.
Theo’s arms tightened around me as fireworks went off somewhere beyond the tree.
A toddler perched on his father’s shoulders beside us began to wail at the loud booms and pops.
I sighed and relaxed into Theo’s embrace, staring up at the display. Events like this were the kind of thing Sofia had dragged me to in college, the kind of thing that made me feel like I was part of something bigger, that made Spruce Hill feel like home.
Now, surrounded by friendship and kindness, I finally felt that way again.
Steve had put a lot of stock in public appearances, but only when it would benefit him in some way.
There would never have been friendly banter about carnival games or trips to the booze tent, only subtle digs at what I was wearing or who I smiled at or how I’d disappointed him at some ritzy function or another.
As if summoned by those unhappy memories, the crowd on the other side of the tree shifted and I caught sight of Tyler, standing alone and scowling in our direction. My body stiffened enough that Theo bent down and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I replied swiftly.
“It’s not nothing. I felt you go solid.” He rubbed his hands up and down my arms like he could brush the tension away.
“I saw Tyler over there,” I said, keeping my voice low.
Theo followed my gaze, but even in the light of the enormous tree and the colorful flashes overhead, Tyler had disappeared from view.
“Tell me if you see him again,” he murmured in my ear. “I’ll take care of it.”
I wasn’t sure exactly how he intended to do that, but I didn’t want a brawl on my conscience—Tyler would probably fight dirty and might hurt Theo—so I just nodded.
When the fireworks came to a close and the high school chorus took the stage in front of the enormous tree for their performance, Theo and I slipped away to check out some of the vendors.
While he said hello to a few acquaintances, I chatted with the gluten-free baker whose goods I often kept in stock during the busy season.
I left so she could help a customer, and a familiar voice called my name.
“Drew, hi!” I replied, smiling as I turned to greet the young man who was one of my regulars. He worked in the event center where I sometimes parked the truck during lunch hours.
“How have you been?” he asked.
As usual, he looked at me with something like hero worship, which always made me vaguely uneasy.
Not long after Steve’s death, Drew had asked me out to dinner.
Though he’d accepted my refusal easily enough, I always got the impression he was waiting for me to tell him I was finally ready to date again.
“Really good, thanks. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving?”
He nodded and started to respond, but his gaze caught on something over my shoulder and instead he said, “I gotta run, Esther. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
A second later, Theo returned to my side, wrapped his arm around my waist, and said, “Now, show me which teddy bear to win for you, milady.”
Not only did he win the bear, he also funded the ring toss efforts of at least four or five little kids who showed up to the counter beside him. By the time we headed back toward the truck, his wallet was significantly emptier but my heart was full enough to burst.
At the end of the night, we’d sold out of almost everything. As soon as the truck was officially closed up and off-duty, I presented Theo with a couple brownies I’d hidden away for us to share. His caramel eyes melted when he saw them.
“I realize you made your dessert intentions fairly clear, but I also know I’m usually starving by the end of these things, so I figured we deserved a treat.”
“Esther,” he said in a reverent tone, “you are an absolute goddess.”
I laughed, handed him a brownie on a napkin, and lifted my own in toast. “To the best sidekick I’ve ever had.”
“To both of us,” he corrected, then wolfed down the brownie in three big bites.
Once we finished eating and brushed the crumbs from our laps, I drove us home through the dark night, guided by the lamp posts along Main Street and houses adorned with their own colorful light displays.
I wasn’t sure if Theo had just been teasing, but when he followed me inside instead of returning to his parents’ house, he proved that he’d been completely serious about his intentions.
There was more than one benefit to having a sidekick.