I swear he looks at me with annoyance and rests his head against Fish’s chest.
“Let’s go, little dude. We need to let her work.”
“Your baby is adorable,” Sam’s mom says. “I remember when my children were that small. Is he a good baby?”
“The best,” I say, cleaning the wound.
“I’m going to spray this around the wound. It’s a local anesthetic. We’re going to wait a couple of minutes before I can stitch you up, okay?”
Sam nods a couple of times. “Is it going to hurt?”
I spray her forehead, and she shivers.
“No, but it’s cold.”
“How about the needle?” She points at the one I’m holding.
“That’s what the anesthetic is for, so it won’t hurt. I’m going to prescribe some antibiotics to avoid any infection. Tomorrow you’re going to come to my office so I can check it.”
I spend a few minutes stitching her up. By the time I’m done, Fish is waiting outside with a lollipop for Sam.
“You were brave. The time she did that to me, I was complaining a lot.”
“How much do I owe you?” the father asks.
Fish shakes his head. That’s his way of telling me they can’t afford it, and he’ll cover it. He doesn’t pay me, but he restocks any materials I use.
“Nothing. It’s outside the office. Tomorrow I won’t be at the clinic, it’s Saturday. Why don’t you come over after school on Monday, so I can see her?”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Fish tells them, “Don’t forget to drop by the coffee shop tomorrow at noon. I have your weekly box.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. Hopefully, the business will start producing, and you’ll be able to catch up on the rent and your expenses.”
Once they leave, I ask, “What business?”
“Handmade jewelry. We helped them set up an online business. It’s just starting, but it’s already growing.”
“What does he do?”
“Once he’s back on his feet, he’ll start working for the brewery.”
Fish tells me how he broke his back a year ago. They met him when Beacon was in rehab. He lost his job, then his house, and they’ve been struggling ever since. A couple of months ago, the guys offered for them to come to Luna Harbor. They’re letting them stay in one of the houses they own. I learn that there are a couple of physical therapists in town who used to treat Beacon but now work with patients who can’t pay.
“So, you guys run some kind of PT clinic for people who can’t afford it?”
“That’s the plan. We’re building it close to where the new hotel is going to be. I suggested to Lang that we build your office close by.”
My office is fine, I want to say, but instead, I ask, “What’s going to happen to the town when you leave?”
“I don’t know if I’m leaving or staying. Mane is going to stay. Beacon is building a house so he can visit often. His home will always be Seattle, close to Grace’s family. Once you meet the Deckers, you’ll understand why he can’t go too far.
“However, he also has a house in Baker’s Creek close to his brothers. It’s hard to know where I’ll be. They’re my family, but everyone is finding their place.
“Are you afraid that you won’t?”
He looks at me. “I’m scared that I found it, but I might not know how to stay there.”
He kisses me.
Chapter Thirty-One
Fisher
I should be given a prize.
I’m a saint.
Eight weeks.
We’ve been dating for eight extraordinary, yet agonizing, weeks. Nothing has happened between us other than kissing and making out like teenagers.
Well, today, everything will change. We’re taking this relationship to the next step.
Baker’s Creek is going to be the magical place where I’m going to swoon her—and have sex with her. We have reservations at the Merkel Lodge. Henry Aldridge allowed me to use the Presidential Suite for the weekend, and Keaghan is staying with Leyla and Pierce Aldridge for the night. They volunteered to babysit him.
Tomorrow, we’re going to stroll around town with our baby while we learn more about the organization of the festivals. We want to do something similar. Not a weekly festival as they do in Baker’s Creek but more like a semi-annual celebration to bring more tourists into the town.
“Are you sure he’s going to be okay with the Aldridges?” she asks as we head to the hotel.
“I promise.”
“Leyla is the doctor?”
“No, she’s the vet. Blaire and Hayes are the doctors. They live close by,” I remind her.
“Sorry, I just…this will be the first night away from him.”
I’d be lying if I said that I’m not nervous myself. This is the first time I’ve been away from him since Lang dropped him off at my door. Other than practicing music, participating in meetings, and helping Nathalie with her clinic, I’m not working at all. I’m officially on paternity leave. I had no idea The Organization offered such benefit until Mason Bradley called to congratulate me and remind me to file the paperwork.
Am I anxious that Keaghan is away? Yes, but I don’t go back for our boy because I need some alone time with my woman.
“We’ll be okay,” I repeat. “In a few years, he’s going to beg us to let him have a sleepover with his cousins.”
“So, Beacon’s family is like your extended family?”
I nod. It’s not until we arrive at the private room when I tell her about Beacon and the Aldridge brothers. They all share the same father—who died more than two years ago. Beac grew up with his grandparents in Seattle. We attended the same program for children with emotional needs.
“Why would your parents send you there?”
“It wasn’t my parents. It was the nanny,” I correct her. “They were long gone by then. She was my guardian. San, Mane, Beac, and I became friends right away. Grace and Beacon have known each other since they were in diapers. We went to the same school since preschool. We met Lang when we were eight.”
The waiter brings us a bottle of wine as I continue telling her about Beacon’s family and how he saw his brothers every summer but never interacted with them until later.
“Why were you in a program for children with emotional needs?”
“I’m telling you about the Aldridges.”
The corner of her lip lifts slightly. “You are because that’s how you keep my mind busy after you throw out some information about you. Though I care about your friends, I want to learn about you.”
“It’s not important.”
She places her hand on top of mine. “It is to me. We can’t make much progress if we’re going to keep a part of ourselves locked up.”
“If you google my dad, you can see all his children. He has seven from three of his ex-wives, plus me. What no one mentions is my little brother,” I mumble, taking a sip of wine.
Only the guys and Grace know the story. “Walter.” I clear my throat and look at the glass, fidgeting with the stem. “His name was Walter. I called him Wally. I was two when he was born.”