CHAPTER ELEVEN – LILY #2
“Well, in case that crops up again, get Cooper to text me and I can open early.” When I quirk a brow at my best friend, she gives a nervous giggle. “Although, Logan hooked Lily up with a great coffee machine, so you could always just tap on her door.”
I roll my eyes at her as she settles us at a table, chatting to Leo about the scratch on his face and telling him it makes him look distinguished. “Maybe,” he muses, rolling his baseball across the table and catching it in his sling. “Callie Stokes says that scars are cool, but this one is itchy.”
Ellis raises his brows, but I’m used to Callie Stokes’ fourth grade wisdom and reach over to pluck the ball out of my son’s grasp. “Acacia cream is also cool, but the best medicine is not picking at the scab.”
He huffs and starts playing with the sugar bowl while Kaysie heads back to grab our order.
Leo immediately launches into a story about the time we thought we had a sunflower thief, only to discover that Bloomer was biting off their heads and taking them to his hideaway under the porch.
“I looked it up,” Leo tells Ellis, “and he couldn’t help himself. They’re basically dognip.”
“Sunflowers are great,” Ellis enthuses. “They remind me of dogs, actually. The way they follow the sun, it’s the same way Shep used to watch me dangle a treat under the table.”
Leo instantly perks up, almost knocking the sugar bowl off the table. “You have a dog? What kind?”
Ellis smiles at his enthusiasm. “Shep was an Australian Shephard. He wasn’t really mine, but I spent a lot of time at a riding school growing up, and they’re a great breed to have around horses.
Shep would tag along when I took other kids out on a trail ride, and he was really good with the nervous riders. ”
“Yeah? He sounds awesome.” Leo suddenly glances at me and bites his lip. “We had a horse, but he got sick. Hercules was the best.”
Ellis’ eyes crinkle with shared pain, and he gives Leo a solemn nod. “Dogs and horses make the best friends. In fact, I wanted to talk to your mom about something…”
I look at him curiously, but before he can finish his thought, there’s a shocked sound behind me. “Oh. My. God. Ellis Castle? Here in Knotty Falls?”
I don’t need to turn around to know that the whiff of brimstone in the air is because one of the wicked witches has arrived.
“I’m such a fan,” Madeline goes on, resting her hand on the back of my chair so I can feel her nails pressing against my spine. “But aren’t you shooting The Frozen Throne in Alaska? I swear I read something about the shoot going until the end of June.”
“I’m just here visiting friends,” Ellis replies, a small wrinkle between his brows as he glances at my stony face.
“Friends,” Madeline muses, and when I meet her gaze, I see a flash of glee in her pretty eyes. “Looks to me like Leo is one of your very best friends. Huh, Leo? Are you and Mr. Castle really, really close?”
“Madeline.” I stand up so abruptly, the security guys all look my way. “Not now. Please.”
She gives a throaty laugh, clearly basking in the drama of the situation. “You’re kidding, right? This is TMZ gold. I could take a picture right now and have a dozen news outlets…”
“Excuse me, Ms. Evans,” Leo interrupts her, a fierce scowl on his flushed face as he looks up at her. “We’re having family time right now. Dad only just got into town, and I’m catching him up on Bloomer stories while we wait for our sundaes.”
Madeline’s mouth snaps shut, and Ellis closes his eyes for a moment before getting to his feet. “Leo’s right. This is our personal business, Ms. Evans. If you want to sell that, I can’t stop you, but my security detail is going to insist that you leave right now.”
“Forget the bodyguard,” Kaysie snaps, her nose ring flashing as she glares at Madeline. “Get your skinny ass out of my store before I give you a full-cream facial.”
She holds the sundae up menacingly, but one of the bodyguards is already steering Madeline towards the door. She huffs all the way, but Kaysie grins at Leo as she deposits his treat in front of him. “You’re good people, Leo Percy,” she says, ruffling his hair.
“So are you, Aunt Kaysie.” He beams at her as he digs into his sundae. “And you gave me two cherries. That’s awesome.”
Kaysie hums, but as she places my coffee gently in front of me, she grips my shoulder. “You okay, babe?”
I gulp around the lump in my throat, too stunned to answer. I can’t stop staring at Leo, who’s happily slurping up the chocolate syrup and whipped cream. He doesn’t look the slightest bit fazed by what just happened, while I feel like my chest is caving in. “Leo…”
“I was polite,” he mutters, fiddling with his spoon. “I didn’t call her the wicked witch of Knotty Falls, like you and Aunt Kaysie do.”
Kaysie snorts at that, but then backs away to give us privacy, and I force myself to look at Ellis. He has settled back in his seat, and while I know he’s as shocked as I am, his scent is like a caramel hug.
Because Leo called him dad like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Don’t worry about Ms. Evans,” I tell Leo. “But I’m trying to understand how you feel about Ellis being here.”
“Well, he’s my dad, right?” Leo puts down his spoon and looks between us.
“Cody said I looked like him when we had an Agent Ripcord marathon at his sleepover, but I told him he was nuts. I mean, he could have been the California man, but then why wouldn’t he visit?
Movie stars have money for plane tickets, right?
” He’s clearly speaking to Ellis now, who swallows hard and gives a slow nod.
“But then I was looking at you on the porch this morning, and I figured it was too weird to be wrong. You’re here for me, right? Because I’m your son.”
Ellis’ eyes are as expressive as Leo’s, and after sliding from shock, to regret, to pride, a glimmer of hope settles on his face. “For you and Lily. I’ve come to get to know you both. And to tell you I’m sorry it took so long.”
“Okay.” Leo picks up his spoon again, but pauses before digging in.
“But Logan is my dad, too. His name is on my birth certificate. Right, Mom?” I nod and he sits up straighter.
“Even though he’s home for good, being a Marine isn’t just a job.
He’s teaching me to be a soldier, too. Do you know any Marines? ”
Ellis clears his throat before answering. “A few. They worked with me on my films.”
“Yeah, they know a lot about secret agent stuff. No wonder your movies are so good.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you like them.” He gives me a quick glance before saying, “I heard you’re an artist. You like to draw?”
“Not much anymore.” Leo looks sad as he gnaws on his bonus cherry. “I liked to draw Hercules, but he got old and died.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s life.” He shrugs his thin shoulders as he drops the cherry pip back on his plate. “I’m not a little kid. I know that nothing lasts forever.”
“Some things do.”
Leo narrows his eyes at Ellis. “If you say love I’m gonna puke.”
“I was actually going to say baseball.” Ellis scoops the ball off the table and studies the stitching. “When I’m home, I go to every Giants’ game I can. In fact, Carl Becker is a good friend of mine.”
“No way!” The clatter of Leo’s spoon on his plate is enough to make the bodyguards twitch, but his face is lit up like it’s Christmas morning. “He’s awesome! I mean, the Hawks have some great players, but Becker is Hall of Fame great.”
“I could take you to one of his games sometime…” Ellis suddenly looks my way, his gaze apologetic. “I mean, if you and your mom ever want to visit San Francisco. And Logan too, of course.”
He’s scrambling a bit, but Leo gives a somber shake of his head. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Mom hates California.”
I look at him in surprise. “I don’t hate California, Leo.”
“It makes you sad. When it comes on the TV, you change the channel. And when I asked you to take me to Disneyland, you said it was too far to drive, but I could tell you didn’t want to go…”
“Leo, it wasn’t that.” I reach over and cup his cheek. “Hey, I got the best souvenir ever, right?”
“She means me,” he tells Ellis with a tiny smile, looking up at us through his lashes. “But moms have to say that. Logan said they’re the ones who stick with you, no matter what.” He gives Ellis a curious look. “Your mom would be my grandma, right?”
“Yeah.” Ellis’s face is stricken for a moment, and then he clears his throat. “Her name is Catherine, and she loves horses and dogs, too.”
“Cool,” Leo says, but his focus is back on his sundae, and he misses the way Ellis’ face creases in pain.
I see it, but I smell it even more clearly, a sharp, acrid burn that reminds me of scorched sugar.
For a moment I'm tempted to reach across the table and soothe him, too, but he’s dragging his gaze away from our son’s bowed head and staggering to his feet.
“Um. I just remembered something I forgot to do.” He pats his pocket like he’s looking for his phone, but he doesn’t reach to take it out.
Instead, he grips the back of his neck in a gesture I recognise only too well from when Leo is on the verge of panic.
“Can I see you at the farm later?” He doesn’t wait for my nod, already turning towards the door and his circle of bodyguards.
“Cooper, stay with Lily and Leo, okay? I have… I have some business I need to take care of.”