Chapter Eighteen #2
I let out a sigh and shuffled through the aisles. She was standing next to a stack of boxes, pointing to one on the bottom. Because of course it was on the bottom.
I moved everything to the side, hoisting the box into my arms.
“Fuck, this is heavy,” I grunted. “Is this your brick collection?”
“Oh, hush,” she said as I set the box on the asphalt. “That’s what all those muscles are for.”
She ripped a piece of dry rotted tape off the box, clapping excitedly when she saw what was inside.
“All my records.” That explained why it was so heavy.
She flipped through the titles and let out a little shriek.
“Ah! I’ve been looking all over for this thing.
” She pulled an old flannel shirt out of the box, one I remembered her wearing all the time when we were kids.
With it being in the garage, she was lucky a mouse hadn’t gotten ahold of it.
I said, “Did you come out here to take a trip down memory lane or…?”
“Oh,” she said, shoving the flannel back into the box. “I came to tell you that dinner’s ready. Why don’t you move this stuff for Tegan and me? Then we can eat.”
—
After I put my box in my car, Tegan’s in hers, and Mom’s record collection in the living room, I joined them at the table for dinner.
My mother had already plated me a generous serving of lasagna and a big hunk of garlic bread.
I took my phone out of my pocket and set it on the table before sitting in the same spot I’d sat in for the last thirty or so years.
Sure, the house and the furniture were different now, but it was still my spot.
“What do you want to drink?” Tegan asked.
“Oh, I can—”
Before I could get up, Tegan was already at the fridge. “Water? Iced tea?”
“Is it sweetened?” I asked.
“Unsweetened,” Mom said, “and there’s Splenda on the table for you.”
Tegan set my tea on the table and took the seat across from me—her spot.
“Thanks, Tegs.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do for you since it was like a million degrees in there.”
My phone vibrated and I snatched it off the table, biting back a smile when I saw who it was from.
Cyrus: You’ll never guess who just left my house.
Reece: The Little Mermaid?
Cyrus: No, you dinglehopper. Atlas. He stopped by for dinner.
Reece: That explains why he isn’t here then.
Cyrus: He mentioned that he thought Tegan wanted to spend time with you alone.
Reece: Really?
Cyrus: Mhm. How are things going?
Reece: They’re going okay. Tegan seemed excited to see me.
Cyrus: I’m happy to hear that. Do you have any plans after you leave your mother’s?
My lips twitched with a smile.
Reece: Yes. Going to check out a glory hole in one of the truck stops along the interstate.
Cyrus: Oh fuck off. Why would you need a glory hole when you have my mouth?
Fuck. He couldn’t talk to me like that when I was around my family.
Reece: I’m joking. Why? Are you free later?
Cyrus: I was thinking that we could meet at the pool. Have a little quickie.
“Who are you texting?” Tegan asked, making me jump.
I shoved my phone into my pocket, feeling like a kid who just got caught texting in class. Honestly, this was way worse, considering who I was texting.
“Oh, uh, Javier,” I rushed to say. “Just about something at work.”
“I like Javier,” Mom said. “It’s a shame the two of you work together. You’d make a cute couple.”
I grimaced at the idea. Two months ago, I would have agreed, but since things had taken off between Cyrus and me, it felt weird to imagine myself hooking up with anyone else. “Even if we didn’t work together, Javier isn’t my type.”
Apparently, my type was blue and muscular, with a pointy head and long thick tentacles. A dry sense of humor and a laugh that made me feel dizzy.
The complete opposite of Javier.
Tegan snorted. “You know Reece doesn’t do relationships, Mom.”
She sighed. “I’m going to keep holding on to hope. There’s someone out there for you, honey.”
“Yeah, Mom,” I said. “I’m sure there is.”
“Speaking of Javier, how have things been at work?” Mom asked. I could have kissed her for steering the conversation away from my love life.
I swallowed a bit of lasagna and shrugged. “It’s been okay. Lots of campers this year compared to last. I think I’m going to ask the mayor to put another ranger in the budget for next summer. Javier and I are working ourselves to the bone.”
Mom nodded. “The revitalization initiative is getting Briar Glenn a lot of attention.”
“Mm-hmm,” I agreed. “Lots of tourists.”
“We should go camping sometime,” Tegan suggested.
“Yes,” Mom said, pointing at Tegan with her fork. “Just like when you two were kids.”
I stared at my mother, my brows drawing back. “You want to go camping?”
“Of course not.” She wrinkled her nose. Once a year my dad would drag all of us on a weeklong summer camping trip. Sure, we were right down the road from our house, but my mother was miserable the entire time. “I meant you, your sister, Atlas, maybe some of his friends.”
“Oh, that would be fun.” Tegan sounded genuinely excited.
Hmm. Us and Atlas’s friends. That included Cyrus.
There was no way I could stay in a tent with Cyrus with my sister and Atlas sleeping in the tent next to us.
And what if Fallon went, too? It would be fucking weird if he shared a tent with us.
It wasn’t like I could insist that everyone have their own tent.
I couldn’t spend any longer panicking about tent logistics because my mom and sister were staring at me expectantly. “Uh, sure. We can do that. Maybe in the fall, once the park slows down.”
As things stood right now, I was way too busy with triathlon prep, work, and stealing moments with Cyrus. I didn’t have time to add anything else to my calendar.
Tegan beamed. “I’ll talk to Atlas, and we can set something up.”
“Sounds good.” We were quiet for a few minutes when it dawned on me that I should ask Tegan about the wedding. Show a little interest in what was going on in her life and her relationship.
“So, what did you need out of Mom’s wedding stuff, Tegs?
” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’re going to wear her old dress.
” My parents’ yellowed wedding photo still hung in the hallway, and there was no way that long-sleeved high-neck lace monstrosity our mom wore was even remotely close to Tegan’s dream dress.
She laughed and shook her head. “I’m not going to wear it, but I’m going to use it for something.”
Knowing how our mother felt about her marriage to our father, it seemed weird that my sister would want to celebrate that in any way, shape, or form. I guess to her, it was important to incorporate something from their wedding into her own.
“That’s cool.” Our mother gave me her mom look, practically daring me to say something that might upset Tegan and ruin whatever delusions she had about our parents’ marriage.
Smooth, Reece. Real smooth.
“It’s going to be really cute,” Tegan said.
“How’s the rest of the planning going?” I asked, not knowing a single thing about wedding planning.
“It’s going well. I think we’re going to have everyone over again soon to go over the details,” Tegan said. “Just you guys and some close friends. We didn’t get to spend time with everyone at the engagement party.”
“How could you when the entire town was there?” I teased.
Tegan looked at our mother. “Well, the person organizing the party went a little overboard.”
“Sue me,” Mom said around a mouthful of lasagna. “It isn’t every day your daughter gets engaged.”
“Mom, we are already mated.”
Mom waved her off. “Don’t act like you haven’t dreamt of getting married, Tegan Marie.”
I laughed and shook my head. This was what I missed, the banter between us. Without Dad around, it was so much easier for Mom and me to be ourselves. We didn’t have to spend an entire meal walking on eggshells. That told you everything about Don Rollins you needed to know.
Mom put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. “It makes me so happy seeing the two of you getting along.”
“It makes me happy, too,” Tegan said.
The bright smile on her face made my chest feel tight, and all I could do was nod my agreement.
If things continued like this, I was going to have to tell her eventually.
I just hoped she’d hear me out when that time came.