“What’s wrong?”
He glanced back toward the storefront, where Orion was still inside gabbing with Mr. Allard. “This is going to be a lot of work for him.”
“Yeah. But he’s driven, and he’s got a lot of support.”
Jasper squinted at the sun. “He tries to do too much.”
“You think?”
“I know he does. I want him to succeed. I can’t in good conscience have him doing all those errands for me anymore.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Selfishly, I like having him around but…it’s too much. Especially once this shop gets up and running.”
“Offer’s still open for you to move into the guest house.”
“So help me God, Squirt, if I have to say it one more time.”
“Okay, okay. You don’t want to move.”
“I love my house. I need to wake up and see the ocean first thing in the morning. I need to be able to walk out my front door and go fishing. Can’t you understand that?”
“I do. I’m sorry. But there’s a compromise to be made here. Let your son fucking help!”
Jasper chuckled. “I suppose that would solve the matter.”
“Yes. Just have Orion fill me in on what you need help with. It’s not a big deal. I’m right up the road and I don’t have a lot going on right now. I can deal with it.”
“Okay,” he said.
My brows rose. “Okay? Really?”
“Yes. Fine. Now I have a bone to pick with you.”
“Oh Jesus,” I said. “What now?”
“Orion was going on and on this morning about you doing wood carvings or something.”
I shrugged. “Yeah?”
“He seems to think you have talent. Something about little trees? Wants to sell them in his shop.”
“Uh huh. Been working on them a while now.”
Jasper threw his arms up. “Then why don’t I know about this?”
“I don’t know! I didn’t think it would interest you.”
“You’re my son. I want to know things. Okay?”
“You do?”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t look so shocked. I know I’ve been a bit out of it the past year, but I still want to know what’s going on with my kids.”
“Okay, Dad. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
Grunting, he nodded. “Good.”
“And you’ll keep me in the loop,” I said. “About things you need help with.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine. It’s a deal. Let’s not make a big thing of it.”
“Hello, Varley boys!” Orion stepped out of the shop, all smiles until he saw us. “Oh no. Why do you two look so serious? Did someone tell you I’m a hooker again?”
Jasper slapped him lightly upside the head. “Get in the car. And don’t touch the radio.”
“Can Kurt climb in the backseat with me so I can give him head on the way home?”
I nearly choked, but Jasper just said, “Nope.”
We all got in the car, me sliding in next to Jasper, Orion in the back.
“No fun,” Orion said. “Don’t you want me to make your son happy, Jaz?”
“Not in front of me, Orion.”
Orion snickered, and I shot him a look over my shoulder. “Stop!” I whispered.
“It’s all right, Kurt,” Jasper said. “I’m used to him trying to shock me. He thinks I was born yesterday.”
“Oh come on, Jaz. You’d be bored without me.”
“You’re probably right.”
Orion leaned forward. “You too, Kurt. You’d be bored without me. Right?”
“Dreadfully bored.” I pinched his chin. “You’re my fireball.”
“Oh for crying out loud!” Jasper said. “My breakfast is gonna come up.”
“Sorry, Dad.”
“Sorry, Jasper.”
“Okay, okay. Just save that shit for when I’m not in earshot.”
“Fine,” Orion said. “But just so you know, I’m gonna give your son a righteous blowjob as soon as we get to his house.”
I doubled over, laughing.
“Oh, keep laughing, Squirt,” Jasper said. “You’ll need to if you’re gonna put up with him.”
My father was probably right about that. But there were worse things than laughing your way through life. Especially with the right person.
Chapter Thirty
September
After a somewhat hellish weekend away and the long drive home, I nearly cried tears of relief when I pulled into my driveway back in Hillock Beach. When I’d first moved into the house after the divorce, it had been an ‘okay, good enough’ feeling. I never expected it to feel like home. But I realized now that I loved my house. It was a home, and I was becoming happy here. I loved my life—something I never expected to ever happen again. But after the sadness of dropping my kids off at college and dealing with Violet’s weird attitude all weekend, I was seeing things more clearly now.
I was a bit disappointed not to see Orion’s car out front. We’d made a plan to have dinner when I got back, his idea, since he suspected, correctly, that I’d be fried and emotional. I was home an hour earlier than expected, though, so hopefully he’d be by soon. I was sad and dreary and feeling cold inside. I needed my fireball to bring the warmth and color back.
Setting my bags down inside the front door, I decided to just leave them there and unpack later. I was exhausted and needed a quick shower to refresh me. Orion had a key to my house now, so he could let himself in when he arrived. We’d been spending about three nights per week together, and I lived for those sleepovers. Getting the new gift shop prepared was eating up a lot of time, but I went down to help him fairly often. It meant I got to spend more time with him, but it still wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to spend every night with him.
But knowing how straightforward Orion was when he wanted something, I hadn’t asked him to move in with me yet. Because I’d been telling myself he’d have no qualms about just saying so if that’s what he wanted…so he must not want it. But my thought process had changed on that now. Orion liked to be direct and tell me what he wanted, but when it came to our relationship, he held back. Because despite all his confidence, I’d figured out that I was his Achilles heel. The one thing that made him shy and vulnerable was his perception of how I felt about him. Regarding any serious progression, Orion always waited for me to make the next move.
I was ready to make it now. I was ready to make all the next moves. This weekend was the longest I’d been away from him since we started dating, and the insistent, almost panicked ache I felt being far apart from him gave me some serious clarity.
Orion and I had been using the guest house as a kind of community headquarters for our work endeavors, and I liked to believe we were inching toward cohabitation anyway, dipping our toes in the water with the shared space. I hoped he felt the same, and that I wasn’t about to make a fool out of myself. But if I was to be a fool, it wouldn’t be the first time, and I certainly had experience at being a fool for Orion. But I trusted my instincts more these days, and was pretty sure we both felt the same way in that this could be the real deal.