Chapter Nineteen
W hen Dex parked at the Moreno farmhouse, he searched for Selah’s truck, but there wasn’t any sign of it. Checking the time, he realized he was a touch early. He wasn’t sure if he should text her or wait for her or what. He was nervous about this dinner and not sure why.
It didn’t make sense since he’d met the family before and they’d been warm and welcoming. But, then, he’d merely been an acquaintance. Things were different now because he and Selah were... he didn’t know if he could say they were officially together, but he had feelings for her and it was clear she felt something for him. They were in an awkward period of their relationship, sort of a no-man’s-land, each one too nervous to crawl from their respective foxholes and say things out loud. If their previous text exchange was any indication, he hadn’t become courageous enough yet and neither had she.
Dex ran his hand over his newly showered hair and across his jawline. Why hadn’t he shaved? He should have, instead of showing up at Selah’s mom’s house for dinner looking like a slob. Ever since Selah said she liked it, he’d preferred the unshaven lifestyle, as well, but his doubts were creeping in. Knowing his mom’s opinion on the subject increased his anxiety.
Grabbing the bottle of wine Jon had recommended, he got out of his truck and smoothed a hand across his shirt. Was the wine too much? Or would it have been rude to show up empty-handed, especially since Selah’s mom was feeding him? Before he could overthink and change his mind about everything, he knocked on the door.
It swung open and Elena greeted him with a large smile, pulling him in by the arm. “Dexter! It’s good to see you. Girls, Dexter is here!” She fawned over the wine, yanking him into the biggest hug and—He noticed a small clump of dirt on his boots, which he was currently getting all over her floor. His chest seized with a moment of panic.
“Ms. Moreno, let me just take my shoes off, so I don’t—”
“Call me Elena. Don’t worry about it. It’s just dirt. We live on a farm, so we’re used to it. You should have seen all the dirt my Robert used to track inside. Drove me bananas. Now I miss it, so you’re really doing me a favor. I’m so glad you’ve come. Are you hungry?”
Dex had a moment of bitterness sweep over him. He got more from this woman he barely knew than his own parents. He wanted to soak up this family like a sponge.
He wasn’t able to think about it too long before Selah’s sisters came into the room to greet him. Naomi pulled him into a sweet hug. “Hey, Dex. Selah should be here soon. We were out of paper towels, so she just ran to the store for my mom to pick some up.”
“And we’re still waiting for Boone. You remember Boone, right? He helps us at the balloon launch. But come, come, make yourself at home. You can relax until the food is ready. Do you want to sit down?” Elena asked.
She pulled on his arm, leading him into the living room. “Here, you can take Robert’s recliner. It’s very comfortable. He said it was the best napping chair.” Dex allowed himself to be pushed into the chair because it felt rude to resist, but he definitely didn’t feel he deserved to occupy another man’s throne, even if he was no longer around. “Here’s the remote. Feel free to watch whatever you want. I’m sure you can figure it out. It’s Robert’s remote, as I hardly ever watch TV, except sometimes Hailey will put on baking shows for me. There now. Are you okay? Do you want anything to drink? Water or some of the wine you brought?”
“I think I’m okay,” Dex said, somewhat overwhelmed with this level of attention, as he sat stiffly in Robert’s recliner. Although it was hard to feel nervous when someone was bending over backwards to make sure he was comfortable.
“Okay, I’m just going to check on the food. Naomi, can you set the table? Hailey will keep you company until Selah arrives.”
Hailey stood near a darkened staircase. She approached tentatively and took a seat on the couch closest to the recliner, giving him a small smile. “Did you want to watch TV?”
“I’m okay. Thanks.” An awkward quiet descended around them.
Dex took the opportunity to inspect the room. It was a very lived-in, older home, closer in style to his own place. It was different from the bright, minimalist style of his parents’ house. His mom would hate it. There was no way to play it up as farmhouse rustic chic or whatever they called it. It wasn’t dirty, but it was filled with all kinds of knickknacks, mementos, and untamed house plants. The walls were covered in family photos—lots and lots of photos of hot-air balloons, in particular The Blue Wonder . Dex assumed the older man featured in many of the pictures was Robert. Sometimes other members of the family were with him, but many featured Selah and Robert.
He was an older white guy with windswept salt-and-pepper hair and a beard. A chip on one of his front teeth revealed itself when he smiled, giving him a roguish, but fun-loving pirate vibe. Besides the shared love of balloons, Dex didn’t detect any physical resemblance between him and Selah. But her dad always held his daughter close to his side in the pictures, and she glowed with happiness. Dex was glad he knew her now, but there was a part of him wishing he’d known her then too. He wanted the opportunity to know her at every stage of her life.
“Can I talk to you before Selah gets here?” Hailey asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Oh, uh, sure.” She wasn’t a kid, but she looked very young. He had enough trouble connecting to people in his own generation, let alone a younger one.
Her gaze dropped, one hand fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. “I’m really sorry if I hurt you or made you angry with the, um, video I posted on Loop.”
“Oh. Okay.” Her apology was unexpected, and Dex wasn’t sure how to respond. He hadn’t seen the video in question. Truthfully, he forgot about social media most of the time, unless one of his fellow rangers roped him into recording something ridiculous for the park. He was curious, though, because both Hailey and Selah had brought it up, each one prepared for him to blow up in anger as a result of its existence. Except he’d had much better things to occupy his life with than to worry about it. It certainly couldn’t be any worse than the interview he and Selah did for KTVZ.
“I hope I didn’t get you into trouble with your job. And I really was just trying to help. I’m just not very good at it and, as usual, I screwed it all up.” Hailey hung her head, continuing to fidget, looking miserable about the whole thing.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Dex felt bad if she was beating herself up over something this silly. “I’m fine. And it did help. The park actually got a lot of donations, and I think most of it was thanks to you.”
She snuck a look at him, possibly checking his sincerity, before smiling brightly. “Really? Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. If you ever need another shout-out or something for your crow, I’m happy to do it. This time I’ll do something much better. And Selah really does like you. She sometimes fights to prove otherwise on how she really feels about things, but it’s not always true. That’s just how Selah’s been lately.”
“How have I been?” Selah asked, coming into the room with a large pack of paper towels under her arm. Dex stood, thinking he should take the load from her arms, but before he could act, Boone followed into the house behind her and took the paper towels himself.
“Hey,” Selah said in greeting him, having no qualms about pulling him into a quick hug which he gladly took. “How was your day?”
They’d been chatting off and on throughout the week so there wasn’t anything new to share, but he liked that she asked him, as if things were so comfortable between them they could talk about mundane things such as how their day was. When she ended the hug, he kept his hand on her back, lightly rubbing it along her spine. “Better now. I’ve been looking forward to this all week. How was your day?”
“Good, I think. Were you guys talking about me?”
Hailey appeared somewhat stricken, her gaze darting away and her body posture pulling into herself. There seemed to be some tension between the two sisters. He didn’t think Hailey’s words would upset Selah, but it felt as though the younger sister was confiding in him and he didn’t want to ruin it. He simply pulled Selah into his side. “She was just telling me that you liked me. I think someone found your diary and my name was covered in hearts or something.”
“Oh,” she replied, easing into him. “I guess I should do a better job at hiding it then. Are you hungry?” She led him to the dining room, but he caught Hailey giving him a grateful smile.
As expected, dinner was delicious. Even better, he’d found a family as welcoming and lively as he remembered Lincoln’s home being. Despite the weird vibe between Selah and Hailey, the rest of the family had an easy camaraderie, although they did like to tease each other. The daughters found great delight in riling up their mom and getting her to say things like “Mijas, no. I raised you better than that.” But it was clear everything was done in love and Dex enjoyed being a part of it.
Even Boone wasn’t as bad as Dex assumed. Perhaps jealousy had colored his initial opinion. The guy was easygoing and seemed to love charming Elena. Even better, there wasn’t anything romantic between Boone and Selah. In fact, Boone focused more on annoying Naomi and did so easily.
“Do you want some more, Dexter?” Elena asked him. “There’s plenty of food.”
“Oh, no, thank you, ma’am. I’m full. It was the best thing I’ve eaten all week.” He draped an arm across the back of Selah’s chair, feeling satisfied and needing to give his body some space after eating too much. Selah’s mom was an excellent cook and he hoped to score future invitations. The plate of rosemary roast, garlic buttery potatoes, and grilled leeks was something he only ever expected to eat in restaurants. Dex rarely went to those kinds of places after Ava departed from his life, and this situation was more enjoyable.
“Dexter. What did I tell you at the door?” her mother asked quite seriously.
“Uh...” He wasn’t sure, glancing at Selah for a hint to this pop quiz. She gave him a light shrug and smile because, of course, she hadn’t been there. He was on his own.
“I told you to call me Elena.”
“Oh, sorry, ma—Elena.”
“God, Ma, it’s so unfair,” Hailey said, jumping into the conversation. “All this time you keep telling us you want us to behave better, to have good manners, that you raised us better. And yet, Dex and Boone get in trouble for having too many manners. Make up your mind.”
“They’re not in trouble. I just want them to feel comfortable, and they’re our special guests. We should treat them as such.”
“Did you hear that?” Boone said, leaning a bent elbow on the table and resting his head against his hand, his attention again on Naomi. “You should treat me like your special guest.”
“Gross,” she replied with an eye roll. “You’re Mom’s special guest, not mine.”
“You be nice to Boone,” Elena said, admonishing her daughter. “He’s been a great help with the business.” She stood and started gathering the dirty dishes.
“Here, let me help you,” Dex said, pulling his dishes together.
“Dexter, no, stop it.”
“I got it,” Hailey said, taking his and Selah’s plate. “You are our special guest, Dex. I’ll do cleanup and dishes tonight.”
He thanked her and she smiled in return. He noticed Selah raising her brow, but she didn’t say anything.
“Ah, thank you, mija!” Elena was pleased by her daughter clearing away the table, but couldn’t stop herself from helping as well.
“You wanna take a stroll to work off dinner?” Selah asked him.
“Yes, you kids go for a walk. I’ll pack some food up for you to take home whenever you leave. Is that okay, Dexter?”
She wasn’t going to have to twist his arm over it, and he readily agreed as he stood up with Selah. Naomi also moved to get up, but suddenly stopped and slid back into her chair.
“Did you want to walk with us?” Dex asked because he didn’t want to be rude, even if he greedily wanted Selah all to himself.
“Oh no, that’s okay. I think Boone and I will just hang out here to... um, I don’t know, do something...” Naomi looked to Boone, as though he could help her finish the sentence.
“I’m sure we can think of something. Maybe you can show me your old bedroom. I bet that’d be interesting.” Boone pumped his eyebrows while giving her a sly smile.
With that, Dex was allowed to follow the woman he wanted most, and he did so right out of the house.