Chapter Nine #2
“We don’t have any, but we can make sandwiches and watch a show on my tablet if you want,” she said, willing to let him sit in front of a cartoon if it slowed him down a little.
“No. Chicken nuggets,” he insisted, and then his bottom lip jutted out as warning a battle of wills was about to commence.
It was a battle she didn’t have it in her to wage. Oliver needed a break. She needed a break. And his whining for chicken nuggets triggered a craving for French fries Siobhan couldn’t shake. Hot, salty, fried potatoes always helped.
She’d been a good sport, joining in most of the family’s activities, so there was no reason to feel guilty about wanting one meal that wasn’t absolute chaos.
The food was always plentiful and delicious, of course, but the noise level and trying to wrangle a toddler with a paper plate kept her on her toes.
“Auntie Steph said there’s a restaurant not too far up the road,” she said. “We can go see if they have chicken nuggets, but if they don’t, I bet they can make you a grilled cheese.”
She’d never been to a restaurant that couldn’t serve a child a grilled cheese sandwich, so if they couldn’t get his favorite food, they could get his second favorite.
When he instantly cheered up, but quietly, without getting overexcited, she knew it was the right call.
It would do them both good to get away, and after getting herself ready, she grabbed her bag and keys.
She’d just finished strapping Oliver into his car seat when Brian walked up, slightly out of breath as though he’d been hurrying but not quite running.
“Hey,” he said, trying and failing to look casual. “What’s up?”
“We’re not leaving.” She chuckled when he looked at Oliver in his car seat and then back to her. “Okay, we are leaving, but we’re coming back. We’re going off in search of chicken nuggets and French fries.”
“Ah. I’m pretty sure we have chicken nuggets in the freezer, but I think my family’s used all the potatoes in the county making potato salads, so I don’t know about rustling up French fries.”
“I think we could use a break,” she said, belatedly realizing he might take offense at her wanting to get away from them.
He smiled, his eyes warm with amused affection. “We can be a lot, for sure.”
“Your family’s wonderful, but we’re not used to so much…everything.”
“Kenzie has great popcorn chicken,” he said. “She and her dad own Corinne’s Kitchen, which isn’t far up the road. Not quite nuggets, but they’re delicious and their fries are unmatched.”
“Ooh.” She grinned. “That’s a big claim. You should know I judge people on their food recommendations.”
“Trust me. I don’t praise fries lightly. I’m bummed I’ll be here eating more potato salad instead of being there to gloat when you try one.”
“You’re welcome to join us,” Siobhan said, and then her skin prickled when she realized what she’d done.
She hadn’t been thinking at all. Instead of remembering Brian was a man best kept at arm’s length for a number of reasons, she’d gotten lost in his blue eyes and that smile. It had been almost like flirting, and she’d gone too far.
“I could go for some popcorn chicken and fries,” he said, his gaze returning to Oliver, who was starting to squirm with impatience in his car seat. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
It occurred to Siobhan then that Brian could probably use a break, too. He was as central to the current drama as she was, but his family probably didn’t need to tiptoe around the topic with him. As intense as the last several days had been for her, they’d probably been even more so for him.
“Sure.” She looked around the campground and saw that people were starting to notice her and Brian, and the open car door. “Maybe we don’t invite everybody, though?”
He looked over his shoulder and chuckled. Then he gave a hand signal to Stella, who made a woofing sound and galloped back to the group of family that included Rob and Hannah. “Okay, let’s make a run for it.”
Brian was in the passenger seat with the door closed before Siobhan even had time to ask if he was going to ride with her or take his own truck.
After double-checking Oliver’s harness, she closed his door and climbed into the driver’s seat.
The windows were already down because her air-conditioning wasn’t as good as it used to be, and she returned the waves of the others as she drove slowly out of the campground and took a right onto the main road.
Once she was at speed, she became very aware of the man sitting next to her. Other than Robin occasionally, the seat was usually empty, and he seemed large in her small car. If she shifted her right arm at all, there was a good chance their upper arms would brush.
She was careful not to shift her arm.
“I apologize for pushing myself on you two,” Brian said. “I heard somebody say you were leaving and I—I don’t know. Even if you were, it wasn’t my business, so I’m sorry about that.”
“I appreciate that. I did send a text message to Steph, but she might not have told anybody yet. And as for pushing yourself on us, if you weren’t welcome, I wouldn’t have invited you.” Not that she’d invited him after careful consideration, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Thanks.”
They rode in silence broken only by Oliver occasionally describing things they passed. He was especially excited when they went by a small farm and he started yelling about the cows.
“I promise he’s seen cows before,” she said, and Brian laughed.
Then he pointed toward a small building coming up. “That’s it there, on the right. Corinne’s Kitchen.”
“And is it actually? Corinne’s kitchen, I mean.”
“It was. Corinne cooked and waited tables and her husband cooked. She passed away, so he still cooks, but their daughter Kenzie took over the front of the restaurant. They’re good people, and the food’s excellent.”
Once they were parked, he opened Oliver’s door, but made her laugh when he admitted he had no clue how to free the child and stepped back.
After getting Oliver out, she set him on his feet and took him by the hand.
She saw Brian start to reach out, as though to take him, but he shoved his hands in his pockets instead.
There were a few customers having lunch, but Siobhan found an empty table away from the other diners.
Oliver usually behaved well when they were out in public, but there was always the accidentally flung ketchup-covered French fry to consider.
And not too long ago, her son had learned some fun new vocabulary words from a group of businessmen at a table next to them.
It was clear from the way Kenzie greeted Brian that he was a frequent visitor, as were his brothers, and then she turned to Siobhan.
“What can I get you today?”
“I’d love a coffee, please, and he’ll take a small milk with a lid and straw. And we’re separate checks, please. The little guy is with me.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw Brian look up, clearly about to speak, but then he just smiled wanly and went back to looking over the menu.
“Sure thing,” Kenzie said. “Do you know what you want to eat?”
Siobhan ordered popcorn chicken and fries for both of them. She probably could have gotten away with sharing the adult portion, but his came with the drink and a small dish of soft-serve ice cream, so it was worth the splurge.
Then she laughed when Brian said he’d have the same. “That was a lot of menu reading for somebody who knew what he was having before he walked through the door.”
“True, but you never know when something else jumps out at you. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was not ordering a hot dog. Or potato salad.”
After Kenzie walked away, she gave him a thoughtful look. “Thank you for not trying to overrule the check situation. It didn’t look easy for you.”
“I told you I’d do my best to respect your boundaries.” He took a sip of his soda and then leaned back in his chair. “This was a good idea. Although it’s so quiet and cool that once I have a meal in me, the hum of the air-conditioning might put me to sleep.”
“If you and Oliver nod off here at the table, I’ll just sit here and read a book on my phone. I’d probably enjoy it, to be honest.”
“If you think the campground’s a lot right now, wait until the Maine crew shows up.
” When her eyes widened, he chuckled. “Sean stayed in New Hampshire after he met Emma, but my dad still has four other cousins in Maine, and they’re all married and they had kids around the same time, so there’s an entire pack of teenagers coming. ”
“If the entire family plays Water Ball of Doom, you’re going to need a bigger pool.”
His laugh was deep and warm, and Siobhan definitely didn’t like the way it made her want to lean closer to him.
“The doom is limited to this bunch, for the most part. And the family in Maine also runs a lodge and campground on ATV trails, so needless to say, it’s their busy time, too.
By getting married on a Monday, Steph made it so they can come, but most of them will only be coming for the day.
There shouldn’t be time for swimming, especially since we’d have to do it in shifts to fit everybody. ”
“You have so much family. I only have…” Her words trailed off as she remembered who she was talking to. “Well, my mom and my sister, as you know. And Oliver, of course.”
She felt the energy shift when she brought up her family, as if she’d summoned a rain cloud to hover over their meal.
And she thought about a rapid change of subject—just saying anything that had nothing to do with Kelly—but Kenzie walked up to their table with their drinks, and the tension just hung there between them.
* * *
Brian wished he could go back in time and steer the conversation into any direction that didn’t lead to his ex-wife. They had to talk about her eventually, though, and maybe it was best done quietly, away from his large and very curious family.