Chapter 23 #2
Across the table, RJ had stopped plating up his desserts. Mimi took another bite of her scone before answering.
“Not well, I’m afraid. She was born a little after Ruthie, and I had my hands full.
Elsie had helped me some when Ruth was born, and I’d tried to return the favor, but they were always a private family.
Especially after Elsie passed.” She laid her hand over Zander’s on the table.
“Your mom was a beauty, though. I’d see her sometimes hanging outside the high school when I went for Ruth’s band concerts, a flock of boys ready to do her bidding.
” She patted his hand. “I understand she’s had a hard time of it. ”
“Um, yes, ma’am—Mimi.” Zander’s voice was a little scratchy. “She and I haven’t talked in a while. I needed to draw some boundaries.”
“Sounds wise to me.” Mimi stepped over the bench gingerly, reaching for her plate. “I reckon sometimes we need distance from things to let ourselves love them.”
The table fell silent as she walked away, until finally RJ groaned. “I hate it when she does that. Just drops a wisdom bomb and walks away from the rubble.” His attention flipped between Zander and Penny before he filled another plate. “I better make some deliveries. Make sure you two vote!”
Penny scooted over until her body pressed against Zander’s. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He drew in a breath, then laughed quietly. “Yeah. Just sifting through the rubble. I forget sometimes that people here knew my mom and papou, probably more than I ever did.”
Penny nodded but didn’t press, instead watching Zander’s face lighten as he watched Winter, who stood like a pencil as his new friends tried to draw a bubble down over his head.
“Who knew preteens would still like bubbles, huh?” he said.
“Maybe we should rope Quinn into a bubble station at the kids’ tent. ”
“Good idea. Did I tell you Ash said they can do the pop-up tattoo shop?” Penny asked, nibbling at her cookie. “I think we can squeeze them in between Get Your Rock On and the Singing Grannies.”
“Tattoos, huh? Maybe I need to get one.”
She laughed, eyeing his ink-covered arms. “Where would it go?”
Penny let her gaze linger on his tattooed arms. She knew all their stories now: the snake twisted around his arm was done one late night in Detroit when he’d found sixty bucks in cash floating down the sidewalk in the breeze; a chef’s knife on his bicep as a celebration when he graduated from the line at his first restaurant job; a Now Open sign to mark the first food truck he’d helped to start.
Her favorite was the snowflake on the underside of his wrist, which he’d gotten on Winter’s first birthday.
Penny traced the webbed lines of it with her finger, lost in the pattern until he cleared his throat.
“You’re breaking the rules, Becker. If you keep touching me, I’m going to have to pretend to get a call about a festival emergency that you and I have to solve immediately, and then we’ll never get to vote on RJ’s desserts.”
She scratched her short nails along his exposed forearm. “You’re all talk. You’d never abandon RJ like that.”
“You’re right.” His fingers landed on her thigh under the table, gripping tightly.
“We wouldn’t have to leave. Maybe I’ll just take you for a little walk over there.
” Zander nodded to the thick forest bordering the grass as his mouth dipped closer to her ear.
“Have you flatten your hands on a tree as I pull these cute little shorts over your ass.” He teased a finger beneath the fabric.
“Get on my knees behind you and lick that sweet little—”
Penny slid away and clenched her thighs together. “You wouldn’t.”
With a chuckle, Zander smiled and arched his brow. He definitely would.
She shook her head, trying to regulate her breathing. “You’re ridiculous. We literally shared orgasms three hours ago.”
“Like that matters,” he scoffed. “I can’t get enough of you.”
Even as Penny laughed him off, an uneasiness twisted in her chest. She couldn’t get enough either, but August was coming up awfully fast.
Zander cleared his throat as Winter plopped down at the table. His hair was frizzy in the humidity, gray T-shirt splattered with soapy water from the bubbles. He ripped apart a scone and tossed half in his mouth.
“Whoa, man!” Zander exclaimed. “These are delicacies, take a breath.”
Winter shrugged, ignoring his father to address Penny. “I was telling Adam and Jazz about the bee stuff, and they’re wondering if they can come see everything.”
“Of course.” Penny sensed Zander smiling her way, but she didn’t peek at him. There was something in Zander’s expression each time she interacted with Winter, like maybe his brain was working ahead, imagining a future that wasn’t possible.
Kind of like hers did sometimes.
“How about you get their parents’ numbers, and we can figure something out, okay?”
“Cool.” He finished the scone in one go. “Dad, Jazz wants to play Frisbee. I told them you weren’t bad.”
“Wow, kid, thanks.”
“So.” Winter rolled his eyes. “Come on.”
“Oh. Oh.” Zander practically glowed. “You want me to play Frisbee with you? Of course.” He was already rising, nodding his head, and brushing his hand across Penny’s back before bounding after Winter.
She was watching them play, finding that Zander leaping for a Frisbee was sexy in a way she hadn’t expected, when RJ came back to load another plate. He stood behind Penny, observing the scene, then sighed.
“Pen, they’re kind of the best.”
RJ’s hand closed over her shoulder, and Penny let her head fall against his arm with a sigh. “They kind of are.”
“I’m going to miss them.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Me too.”