Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
“Mitch,” I call out behind me, waving him up to the wheelhouse as I steer the boat towards shore. He joins me, and I raise my voice over the hum of the engine. “I’m heading back to the marina first. Drop me off there, then take the haul to the buyer’s station.”
His brows draw together as he observes me for a moment. “Where you going?”
“I have something I need to do,” I say, eyes fixed ahead as the shoreline comes into view. “You good to do that?”
“Yeah, man. Whatever you need,” he says with a firm nod.
“Thanks,” I reply, bringing my focus back to the wheel, guiding the boat towards the marina.
Once we reach the dock, I hop off and let Mitch take over so the crew can head to the buyer’s station. I feel bad that I rushed the crew a bit this morning to make sure we finished at a good time, but luckily, they didn’t ask why.
Because it’s true. I have something I need to do.
I slip into my truck, successfully dodging Sheila so she doesn’t stop me to question why I’m here early without my boat or crew. And as I pull away from the marina, my thoughts drift to Liam, like they have been all morning. After he fell asleep last night, I stayed awake, unable to take my eyes off him. And I had an idea.
I pull into Donnie Rankin’s property, and park by the old barn he’s clearing out. I was working here the other day, and my eye caught something when he was showing me around. And he said I could take it.
I pull the steel rods out of the barn and load them into the bed of my truck. They’re in good shape, and Donnie has no use for them. But I do.
It’s still early afternoon when I pull into my driveway, and I really hope I find Liam taking it easy after the day he had yesterday. It was hard leaving him this morning, and for the first time in years, I considered calling the day off to stay home with him. But he woke up before I could do that, and told me to go. He said he would be fine…
I hope he is.
I step inside the house and kick off my boots by the door, anxiously listening for any sign of him. When I enter the kitchen, I see him sitting on the couch with Miss Bobber in the living room.
“Hey,” I say softly, walking over to sit beside him.
His brows draw together as he eyes me. “You’re home early…”
I nod, reaching down to pat Miss Bobber’s belly as she rolls onto her back, her little paws in the air as she tries to grab my fingers.
“Yeah,” I say quietly as I take him in. His eyes are dull, and a darkness clings to him. “I have something I need to work on,” I continue. “And I need your help.”
His gaze meets mine, and I smile, tilting my head towards the door. “Come on.”
We leave Miss Bobber to play with the tassels on a blanket as Liam follows me outside to my truck. I open the tailgate to show him the steel rods, and he looks at me with questions swirling in his eyes.
I pull one out, resting it on the edge of the truck bed. “The sunroom needs a coffee table.”
He looks between the rod and me, and I gesture with my chin to the workshop where we’ve stored his welder. “Time to get to work.”
A light flickers in his eyes, pushing his darkness away, just a little bit.
I step closer to him, sliding my hand onto his waist. “I told you I planned to use that room for morning coffee… when I could.”
He nods, and I lean in to brush my lips over his. “I think we both need that,” I murmur against his mouth. “And I want it with you.”
He exhales, his breath warm on my skin, then presses his lips to mine. He holds me tight as I lift my hand to the side of his face and let him take everything he wants and needs. Our kiss is full of gratitude and promise, and I feel some of the tension in him ease. When he pulls back, his eyes are softer, and clearer.
“Let’s do it,” he says quietly, with a gentle nod.
We unload the steel rods and carry them into the workshop, setting them on the concrete floor. I grab some paper, and we sit side by side at the workbench, sketching out a design. And within minutes, we have a plan. But the lines on the page are more than just a table… it’s a piece of the life we’re building together.
Liam hauls out his welder as I prep the wood for the tabletop, pulling out the two-by-fours and setting up the saw. But before long, my hands slow, and I find myself just watching him.
He has two of the rods clamped, and his welder ready to go. And when he flips his shield down over his face and the torch ignites with a sharp hiss…
Fuck me.
I lean against the workbench and watch as he kneels on the floor, sparks flying as his torch glides across the steel. The muscles in his forearms flex as he holds steady, welding the two pieces together, flawlessly and effortlessly.
When the torch clicks off and he lifts his shield to inspect his work, I’m still staring at him.
He glances up at me and all I can do is shake my head.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
His brow furrows slightly and I just scoff.
“Like you don’t know you’re hot,” I say.
A smirk flickers across his face, and he lifts one eyebrow as I step around the workbench. I lean down and press a firm kiss to his lips, lingering just long enough to feel the heat from the torch on his skin.
When I release him, he chuckles lightly, giving me a playful shove backwards. “Get to work.”
I chuckle as well, returning to the workbench and forcing myself to focus on making the top of this table. I finally tear my eyes off him long enough to cut the boards and run them through the planer and sander. Once they’re smooth, I arrange them in a herringbone pattern and glue them onto a plywood base. We fall into a comfortable silence as we work side by side, the hum of our machines filling the space. And it feels good.
By the time I have the boards clamped to let the glue dry, Liam’s finished welding the base.
“I just need to let this set before I can cut it down,” I say, wiping my hands on a rag.
Liam removes his shield, hanging it on the welder before coming over to run his hand over the tabletop. “It looks great.”
I watch him for a moment, sensing the shift in him already. A quiet ease is pushing out the tension in his body, and the heaviness from earlier is starting to fade.
And I want to keep that going.
“Beer?” I ask, nodding towards the house.
He nods, his gaze meeting mine. “Yeah.”
We shut everything down in the workshop and head inside the house. But when I open the fridge, I groan.
“Dammit,” I sigh looking at the nearly empty shelves in the fridge. “I forgot we’re out.”
Liam shrugs as I turn to him, leaning against the counter. “We could go out.”
I hesitate for a moment as I stare back at him, surprised he would suggest that. “You want to?”
He exhales, running a hand through his hair as he glances around the kitchen. “Honestly… yeah. I think I need to get out of the house for a bit.”
I nod, letting my gaze linger on him. It’s been a hard couple days for him, and I don’t blame him for needing a change of scenery.
“Ok,” I say, closing the fridge door. “Let’s go.”
After we change and clean up, Liam fills Miss Bobber’s food dish before we head out. I drive us to the pub so we don’t have to walk home in the dark, and as we get out of the truck I take in the view of the sky, painted with the soft hues of dusk. The fading light reflects across the surface, giving the whole scene a peaceful glow as a soft breeze rustles my hair.
As we walk through the door to the pub, we’re greeted with the soft hum of Celtic music and the low murmur of conversation. It’s fairly quiet in here today as it’s a weekday evening, so we grab a table by the window looking over the water.
And it suddenly hits me. Besides going to my mom’s or working on some jobs in town… we’ve never really done this. Since we’ve been together, we’ve stayed hidden behind the walls of the house, as we quietly make it ours. And even though no one knows the truth about us, sitting here like this kind of feels like we’re on display.
But as I glance around, and see that no one is paying us any attention, I feel a spark of hope… and bravery.
Liam glances out the window, then turns to me. “You never told me how the haul was today.”
I settle back into my seat, watching the last streaks of colour stretch across the sky. “Everything went well this morning,” I say. “I had the crew take the haul to the buyer’s station, but Mitch texted that it was a good one.”
Liam nods as he looks into my eyes, and some kind of emotion passes through his. Something soft, caring, and… appreciative.
“Hey, Theo.”
I look up as Allison approaches our table with a smile.
“Hey.” I smile back at her as she sets menus before me and Liam.
She glances between us, her bubbly personality shining like always. “Can I get you guys a drink?” She then looks at me. “I’m assuming the usual?”
I chuckle with a nod. “Yeah.”
She turns to Liam with a smile, and there’s an intensity in his gaze as he watches her.
“And for you?” she asks.
He blinks and nods, his eyes softening a bit. “Same.”
“Sounds good. Be right back,” Allison says, leaving the table.
Once she’s gone, Liam leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “You know you didn’t have to leave work early,” he says quietly.
I nod with a soft smile and a small shrug. “I know. But I wanted to.”
His eyes drop to my lips, and my pulse immediately quickens as I take in the way he’s looking at me.
“Mo chridhe,” he murmurs slowly, lifting his eyes to meet mine again.
A slow smile spreads across my face, and I shake my head gently. “Someday, you’re going to have to tell me what that means.”
He lets out a breath of laughter, and simply shrugs one shoulder.
“Alright, here we are,” Allison says, her bright voice cutting through the quiet tension as she sets our beer down in front of us. “Anything to eat?”
I sit back in my chair, trying to shake off the feeling of Liam’s eyes on me, and the effect of his words. “We haven’t looked at the menu yet.”
She chuckles. “Right. Like you’re not going to get the same thing you do every time?”
I roll my eyes as I pick up the menu and hold it out for her. “Yeah, ok. Fine. The club.”
She smirks at me as she takes the menu, then turns to Liam. My gaze shifts to him as well, and his jaw is tight as he looks between us. But Allison doesn’t seem to notice.
“Do you know what you’d like?” she asks him.
His gaze flicks up to meet hers as he shifts in his seat, sliding his menu towards her with a small smile. Which looks completely forced. “I’ll take the same.”
“Good choice,” she said cheerily. “Be right up.”
Liam’s eyes follow her as she leaves, his gaze narrowing and his brow creasing. I lean forward, observing him with amusement.
“Problem?” I ask.
His eyes snap back to me, then he rolls them gently and looks out the window. “No,” he mumbles.
I try not to smile as he shifts his gaze back to me.
And I just stare back at him, waiting.
“Fuck off,” he mutters, lifting his beer to his lips and taking a sip.
But as a smile spreads across my lips, one forms on his as well.
I lean in close and lower my voice. “She’s harmless.” Then I tap my chest. “Gay, remember?”
His eyes flick between mine as they soften, and his lips tilt up in a soft smile.
“Hey guys!”
We both look up to see Sarah approaching our table with a big smile. “Finish your job in time, Theo?”
I nod, leaning back in my chair, keeping my eyes on Liam. “Made great progress.”
Liam smiles shyly, dropping his eyes to his beer before him.
“I assume Mitch let you know it was a good haul today?” Sarah says, then turns and waves at Allison behind the bar where she’s holding up a glass. “Hey, Allie! Yeah, I’ll take one, thanks.”
“Yeah, he did.” I nod. “That’s great.”
She then turns to Liam with a warm smile. “Good to see you again, by the way! When do you head back to work?”
“End of the week,” he says, quickly glancing at me. And disappointment settles at that reminder.
“Aw,” she furrows her brow. “That’s too bad. We never even got to hang.” She glances at her table where her husband and son are looking over the menu, then turns back to us, with a curious expression. “Hey. Liam, why haven’t you been out on the boat with us yet?”
My eyes slide to Liam, as I wonder the same thing. I guess I never thought to invite him since he’s here to relax after working for three weeks straight, and I get up at 4:00AM every morning.
Liam raises an eyebrow, looking at me with a playful challenge. “I don’t know… Captain?”
I chuckle. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes!” Sarah says, squeezing Liam’s shoulder. “Amazing. Ok, I gotta go, but see you both in the morning!”
As she heads to her table, I bring my full attention back to Liam. He’s looking back at me with sparkling eyes, and a genuine smile.
And I can’t help but grin back at him. “Well, this will be fun.”