Chapter 10
Teague
T oday was the day. I could feel it in my bones. After a week of deliveries and hoping for more than a glance of Charlie, today was the day I was finally going to have a conversation with him. I’d be able to say more than “hi” and we could talk. I wasn’t even looking for anything in depth, it didn’t have to be meaningful. But I just wanted more than a shaky smile and a “hello” in return.
It mattered to me that Charlie wasn’t scared of me. More than that, it mattered that he liked me. Which was weird when I thought too much about it. Because really, if he didn’t want to get to know me, then I shouldn’t push the issue. And normally I didn’t. But there was just something about him. Something that made me want to wrap him up in my arms and hug him tightly, keep him safe, and I couldn’t even put my finger on why.
I barely knew him, but I wanted to. I wanted to know why he’d freaked when he saw me, why he’d cowered. That reaction was too strong for there not to be a story there. I wanted to know why he’d moved to Fairville. It could have been just to take the job at Black Dog Inn, and he was clearly friends with Nic and Dana. But again, I thought there was more to the story there. Most people wouldn’t give up their lives to move to a tiny town in northern New York. Unless they were born here, there was always a reason.
And yes, I was attracted to him because damn, he was pretty. All long and lean, with that chiseled jaw and striking cheekbones. The glasses that framed his dark eyes, making them look even bigger. It could have been that it had been a while since I was attracted to a guy—my last few hook ups and relationships had been with women—but I didn’t think it was just that. There was just something about him that called to me, and I wanted to figure out what it was and explore it.
If he didn’t want that, well, I’d be disappointed for sure. But we could be friends at least. A person could never have too many friends. And Charlie seemed like he could definitely use another one.
“Uncle Teague?”
I blinked out of my thoughts, realizing I was standing with the coffee pot in one hand and my favorite travel mug in the other. Regan had given it to me on my last birthday and it had a unicorn with a rainbow coming out of its ass. I loved it. I shook my head and started filling the cup.
“Yeah?”
“You okay?” Oak squinted at me. “Because we need to go soon. I don’t want to be late on my first day.”
I shot him a smile and carefully set the pot down now that my mug was full. “You won’t be, but even if you were, the ladies would understand. You can blame me, and it wouldn’t even be a lie.”
Oakley sighed like I was just too frustrating for words. “Yeah, but that’s a shit first impression. This is my job , Uncle Teague.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said with a laugh, waving him on. “I hear you. I won’t make you late; I promise. I’m right behind you.”
He gave me another searching look, then without a word, turned and headed for the door. I was, in fact, right behind him. I unlocked the truck so Oak could get in as I pulled the front door shut and locked it.
This early in the morning, the streets were practically deserted. To be fair, there was never enough traffic to cause problems in Fairville, but the roads were even emptier than normal. We made it to Sugar Rush without trouble, and Regan already had the boxes packed and ready to go. It took less than five minutes to get in and out, securing the boxes on the floorboard of the back of the extended cab.
“You nervous?” I asked Oak, as we made it back onto Route 9 and I noticed he was picking at his nails.
“Kind of? Not really. I mean, I’ve never cleaned professionally before, but I’m really good at it. Mom made sure.”
The edge to his tone made me bristle, and my mind came up with the mental image of Oakley and his siblings slaving away to keep their home clean. While I thought that kids should have responsibilities and take ownership of their own messes, the way Oak said that made me think that my sister was a demanding taskmaster. To expect your children to do chores was one thing, to expect perfection was another entirely.
“I can hear you thinking over there,” Oak said, his tone wry.
I snorted a laugh. “I was just…did Erin…I mean—”
“Cleanliness is next to godliness, you know.” Oak’s tone was full of derision, and when I glanced at him, I saw the way his expression shut down.
We only had a few minutes before we got to Black Dog Inn, but this was too important to just let slide. “I adore you, kiddo. Have since the moment you came into this world. And I’m here for you. You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?”
There was a beat of silence. “Yeah, I know.”
“I mean it.” I had to make sure he understood. “If you just want to vent, I’m your ear. If you want to problem solve, I can help. I’ve got you.”
“I know. I’m just…still unpacking.”
“Fair enough.” Our turn was coming up, so I slowed down, turned into the lot, and parked in a spot near the lobby. “Remember what I said, eh?”
Oak shot me a look as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Which time? Because you talk a lot, Uncle Teague.”
The playfulness in his voice made me laugh and I shoved his shoulder. “Shut up. I mean, you can be yourself here. You don’t have to hide.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Oakley pushed open his door and hopped down, then pushed it shut and loped off toward the lobby. I followed at a slower pace, watching him go. I had the distinct impression that even though Oak believed me, it would take him a while before he could truly be himself in front of anyone other than me. Hell, I was pretty sure I hadn’t seen the real Oakley yet either.
He’d spent a long time hiding, shoving his true self down, that it would take him time to figure out who he was, let alone show it.
But now that Oakley was delivered, it was time to handle the rest of my first job this morning. I retrieved the boxes and headed straight for the dining room. The outside door was shut, though, which meant I would have to go through the lobby. Shame, really.
I couldn’t contain my grin.
I carefully juggled the boxes as I pulled open the door, and I caught sight of Charlie already sitting at the front desk. He wasn’t looking at me though, and so I stood for just a second to admire his bent head framed in the window. Damn, but he was beautiful. Even in the fluorescent light coming from the overhead fixture.
“Morning, Charlie,” I called, making sure my tone was light and easy, and none of that desire leaked through. I mostly succeeded too.
“Oh.” He jerked his head up, staring at me with wide eyes for a moment before dropping his gaze back to whatever he was doing. “Good morning.”
Two word greeting this morning! Definitely a win. I sauntered closer, and then picked up the smallest box I’d perched on top of the stack. I handed it over with a flourish. “For you.”
He eyed it warily, then took the box. “What is it?”
I waggled my eyebrows. “I think you know.”
I got a hint of a smile for that, even though he still wasn’t looking at me head on. “Does your sibling make anything other than Unicorn Farts?”
“Absolutely.” We were having a conversation! I would do anything to keep it going, so I cleared my throat and took on a salesman's air, exaggerating the tone to hopefully get a real smile out of him. “Regan has a huge selection, of course, catering to all preferences. There are the usual suspects. Donuts and Danishes, cakes and pies. But where they really excel is the cupcakes.”
Charlie’s smile grew, just a fraction, but it was all I could do not to give a happy wiggle. “Other than the Unicorn Fart, you mean?”
“Oh, yes.” I nodded earnestly, making my eyes big. “My favorite might be Unicorn Fart, but Dragon’s Breath is a close second. That’s red velvet cake with red and orange buttercream and these flame edible sugar things. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Gnome’s Garden and Vampire’s Bite.”
There was his real smile. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, and it looked like he was trying to keep it from emerging, but his lips quivered as they quirked up. “Remiss, huh?”
A throat clearing had us both looking to the doorway where Dana stood, hands on her hips. She rolled her eyes as she stalked forward, but there was a smile on her face. She took the boxes from me with a glare. “Give me those.”
I watched her go and I distinctly saw her shoulders shake as though she was holding in a laugh. When I turned back to Charlie, he’d once again dropped his gaze to his work. Hoping the moment hadn’t passed, I said, “Yes, remiss. You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a Vampire’s Bite.”
For a few seconds, I thought Charlie was done playing. But then he set down the paper and gave me his attention. “And what’s in that one?”
“It’s chocolate cake with strawberry filling,” I answered immediately. “When you bite into it, it oozes out. And it has red and black frosting, which, honestly can be kind of a mess. But some of the best things in life are a bit messy, doncha think?”
I saw the moment I’d gone too far. I hadn’t meant that last thing to be suggestive, but Charlie’s gaze shuttered. He thought I was flirting—which to be fair, I kind of had been—and it was too much. Dammit. I’d really meant to keep things easy and light between us, to build a friendship if nothing else. But my comment had made him uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” I said, softly but meaning it. “Ignore that. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
A few beats passed, and I told my feet we should probably leave now before I made things worse, but they weren’t listening. I was stuck and I scrambled trying to think of a way to make this better, to explain myself, to get him to look at me.
“Well, everything I’ve tried so far has been good,” Charlie said, voice quiet and still not looking at me. “One of these days, I need to get over to Sugar Rush and try one of the specialty cupcakes.”
Whew. I hadn’t ruined everything. “You definitely should. Tell Regan I sent you and they’ll give you the friends and family discount.”
He glanced at me for a split second, there and gone, then said, “Thanks, Teague.”
My brain stuttered at hearing my name on his lips. Fuck that sounded good. It had never been a particular turn on for me, but in this moment with this man? I wanted to hear him say my name a thousand times. What even was that? How could just one word have all my blood flowing south?
Focus, Teague.
I wasn’t here for flirting. I wasn’t here to get him to go out with me or to get in my bed. I’d love it if I could do any of that. But that wasn’t the point. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t scared of me and that he liked me, saw me as a friend. That was all. I had to keep that in my brain. I would cut off my left foot before I made Charlie any more uncomfortable than I already had.
“You’re welcome. Hey, listen. Can you do me a favor?”
The wary look was back, but I totally understood why. So, I just smiled in the most non-threatening way I knew how and waited for him to think. Eventually, he sighed. “Depends on what it is.”
“It’s Oak’s first day. If you get a chance, can you check in on him? Make sure he’s doing okay?” Then realizing how that might sound, I quickly added, “He can do the job, no problem. And do it well. But he’s just, you know, he’s had a rough few weeks. Rough few years, really. Which is understandable given the way his parents treated him and…fuck. I didn’t mean to say that.”
There was something in Charlie’s expression I couldn’t quite figure out. Understanding, maybe? Definitely a bit of curiosity. That was completely understandable, since my comment was cryptic. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, figuring out what I wanted to say before the words spilled out of my mouth.
“I just mean, he hasn’t had it easy, and I don’t want to spill his story. It’s not mine to tell. But he’s my nephew. I love him. I worry about him. And I was hoping if you had a chance to have a conversation, he might feel a little more comfortable. That’s all.” There. That sounded okay. It was an explanation without giving too many details and I didn’t sound crazy. At least, I thought I didn’t.
Charlie’s expression softened, but I could tell by his eyes that he was thinking hard. After a few moments, he said, “Don’t worry. Your secret's safe with me. If I get the opportunity, of course I’ll talk to him."
“Thanks. I mean that. That’s great, really.” Crap, I was rambling. I took a step back. “I better go before I word vomit everywhere. It was nice talking to you, Charlie.”
I turned and almost ran from the lobby. I was so focused on my exit, I almost missed Charlie’s soft, “You too, Teague.”
He just had to say my name again, didn’t he? I kept my attention straight ahead, refused to look back, but I lifted a hand in a wave to acknowledge that. Then I was outside in the fresh air, and I breathed deep, trying to get my head back online. That man made my brain short out, which was really awesome but also potentially bad. I already had an unfortunate habit of speaking without thinking. I didn’t want that to get any worse.
But we’d talked. Had a real conversation, even if it had mostly been about mundane things. A smile curled my mouth without my permission, and now that I was safely outside in the lot, I did let out that happy wiggle that had been threatening earlier. It was a first step, a good step, and Charlie maybe thought I was strange but he hadn’t been scared.
I was taking the win.