Chapter 2 #4
Jack took the seat next to Webb, across from Hawk. “So, Knox, how do you like being back in the Hollow?”
Not a question I was ever going to answer honestly. “It’s great,” I said. “Fine.”
“He’s spent the last couple months working on the books all by himself, even on the weekends, poor guy—” Webb said sadly.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not an abandoned puppy, Webb.”
“Still,” Jack said kindly. “That’s dedication.”
“He’s so dedicated. Too dedicated,” Webb said in that same sad, terrible voice that made me wish the idiot would go back to forcing us to talk about our feelings. “Especially when he’d much rather be… hiking.”
Hawk and I stared at Webb like he was insane—I hadn’t hiked since I was a Cub Scout, which had been long before Hawk even existed—but Jack’s face broke into a cheerful smile.
“Oh, cool. I love hiking, too. Hawk and I have gone out together a time or ten, haven’t we, Hawk?” I felt Jack’s booted foot tap Hawk’s under the table companionably. “We’ve done Tremblay Peak. The J. Arthur Trail. Montagusset…”
Hawk’s lips quirked up a little. “Don’t forget that eight-mile-long ice skating trail you made us do last winter,” he said softly, in a teasing tone I’d only ever heard him use with family. “That was an adventure.”
“Made you do,” Jack scoffed, but his eyes laughed. “Knox, your brother is a pain in the ass. Frankly, both of them are. But since I don’t have any brothers of my own, I’m stealing Hawk.”
“Sounds fair,” I agreed magnanimously. “I have plenty.”
Jack’s eyes came to mine, and his smile warmed like I’d said something exceptionally witty. “You’ll have to come out with us sometime. I’ve been meaning to get back out to Stratton and down to the Long Trail—”
“Jack?” Katey scurried over, looking harried. “Sorry to bust in, but Felice wants to know whether you use gluten-free potatoes, and I keep trying to tell her—”
“On it.” Jack pushed up from his seat. “Lunch is on the house, Sunday brothers. Sit and enjoy it, Hawk. No rushing back, you hear? And welcome back to the Hollow, Knox. I’m sure I’ll see you around soon.” He winked.
“Hey, you’re coming to the fundraiser tonight, right?” Webb asked before Jack could escape.
“Eh.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “I dunno. Wouldn’t subject anyone to dancing with me. I’m not much of a dancer.”
“And you think I am?” Webb demanded, rolling his eyes. “But Em’s involved, so we’re all going.”
“All of you? You dancing, Bird?” Jack lifted an eyebrow at Hawk, who turned bright pink and shrugged.
“Maybe.” He shrugged self-consciously. “Don’t know if anyone’ll ask me to.”
Jack nodded slowly. “Well. Remember you don’t have to if you’d rather not.”
Hawk’s cheeks went redder. “Yes. I know.”
“That’s, like, the third time someone mentioned dancing like it’s a horrible thing,” I said, confused. “Is the Hollow becoming that town from that movie, where dancing is forbidden?”
Webb snorted. “No, this is not Footloose. It’s a regular dance,” he said, like adults in the real world went to “dances” regularly, “but it’s also an auction.
They’ve been doing it for a few years. People bid money to dance with you to a specific song of their choice, and everyone else dances, too.
You’re allowed to say no, of course. It’s all in good fun. ”
“Like last year, when Katey paid a hundred dollars to dance with Webb to ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’” Hawk traced a pattern on the tabletop and pointedly didn’t look at Webb. “That was great fun.”
“Stop. Katey just cares a lot about underprivileged children.” Webb darted a glance over his shoulder and said more softly, “Wait, doesn’t she?”
Hawk and I snickered, and even Jack grinned.
“Jack?” Katey called impatiently.
“Later.” Jack rapped the table with his knuckles before he left.
A second later, Webb leaned toward me. “You’re ridiculous. Jack was flirting with you. Would it have killed you to flirt back?”
I shook my head. “One convo about feelings and suddenly you’re a relationship expert? I will not be a casualty in your quest for a Matchmaking Merit Badge. Besides, if that was flirting, he’s terrible at it. He was being friendly.”
“Hawk,” Webb demanded. “Tell him I’m right. Tell him he and Jack would be great together.”
Hawk stood up. “I’m gonna go put our order in since Katey’s busy.”
I frowned as I watched him walk off, wondering if I’d imagined his changed mood.
“Knox—”
I turned back and regarded my brother with something like amusement.
“I promised I’d come here and see Jack, and now I have.
We’ve seen each other. Let it go, Elsa. Whatever’s gonna happen will happen without your intervention, okay?
I appreciate your concern—all your concerns—but I’m a big boy, and I can take care of my own shit. I’ve been doing it for years.”
“More like you haven’t been,” Webb shot back, his eyes intent on mine.
“You got a serious wake-up call a couple months ago, Knox. A hard reset. A do-over. You get to choose what happens with the rest of your life, whether you wanna suffer through it or actually enjoy it. So what are you gonna pick?”
That was a damned good question.