Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I was halfway down the block when Denny called my name. “Can I get a ride?”
I turned, hands in my pockets, and waited for him. “Are you sure you’re ready to leave? It’s early.”
“I’ve had three beers, and someone was talking about tequila shots. You know how I get.”
“Disaster,” I commented.
“Total disaster.” He quirked his lips. “Save me, Hank. Where’s your truck?”
“I walked.”
“All right. I’ll walk with you. Just don’t go too fast—I overdid it with the hot dogs.”
Denny cast a quick glance over his shoulder and waved at Niall, who was standing at the curb. Great.
We walked along Walnut Street under the canopies of lush green trees. Neither of us spoke. I had things to say and questions to ask, but it was difficult to focus now that I had him to myself again. The accidental brush of fingers on the narrow sidewalk was enough to make my dick perk up and take notice.
Denny pushed the button at the crosswalk on Main Street. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, it was great. They’re good people.”
“They like you.”
“Your high school buddies look at me like I’m as slippery as a pocketful of pudding,” I drawled. “But everyone else is cool.”
Denny wrinkled his nose. “A pocketful of—ha! I’ve never heard that saying before in my life.”
“Really? That’s a Bruce Cunningham staple. Or a Texas thing. My dad has a saying for everything. If someone is shy, he says they wouldn’t bite a biscuit. If someone’s experienced, he’d call them a three-jump cowboy. If someone’s cheap, they’re tight as a wet boot. If a guy is a little nutty…Dad says he’s got a big hole in his screen door.” I bit the inside of my cheek while Denny chuckled merrily. “I could keep going.”
And I did. Hotter than a honeymoon hotel, cold as a banker’s heart, tough as stewed skunk…
Denny laughed aloud as we continued along Main Street, the setting sun bouncing off the tidy awnings and the hodgepodge flower boxes decorating the storefronts. He pointed out the giant banner spanning the width of the street that was now dedicated to Jake. Next week, they’d hang a new one welcoming the campers and their families.
“The ice cream shop will stay open every night till nine o’clock at night. Later if there’s a line out the door.” He hooked his thumb toward the bakery behind us. “Henderson’s Bakery and Rise and Grind will stay open till eight. In case you’re curious, Grams has big opinions about that.”
I snorted. “I bet she does.”
“In her day, if you wanted sweets, you’d ‘take care of that craving during respectable business hours, damn it.’ ” Denny grinned, brushing his arm against mine. “Personally, I’m a fan of summertime late night ice cream runs. My friends and I used to go after practice, order triple-scoop cones and eat them at the park. Chocolate, vanilla chocolate chip, and mint chip. Niall got all rocky road, Abe got sherbert…’cause he’s weird like that, and Micah would get whatever color spoke to him that night. On a green day, he’d get mint chip, blue days would be that bubblegum flavor no one is supposed to like after puberty.”
“That stuff is pretty awful,” I agreed as we passed the fountain in front of Town Hall. “What about Mary-Kate?”
Denny tilted his chin curiously. “She wasn’t with us. It was just me and the guys. Even with hockey, it took me a long time to make friends here. I was good at my sport, but I didn’t know how to be good in a group. Coach Smitty used to tell me that I couldn’t play hockey alone, and he sort of pushed me into making an effort.”
“How?”
“He made me team captain and had me work with my teammates on drills. I thought for sure they’d hate me. Like…who does this dude from Denver think he is, bossing us around? I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to talk to anyone on that team.
He paused, his gaze locked forward. “I didn’t care about making friends or having a life here, but my team—Niall, Micah, Abe, Richie, Ewan, Steph, Tim, Harry—didn’t give me a choice. They adopted me, accepted me. No questions. It was a lifeline I didn’t know I needed. I think we’re all protective of each other because we bonded at a critical time. We were all new to Elmwood High, and the team was new, so…we didn’t judge each other harshly. They’re like my brothers.”
“I see. And you’re telling me this because…let me guess—you noticed your friend was kind of a dick back there?”
Denny winced. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Don’t.” I scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just doesn’t like me.”
“It isn’t you personally. Or even the mill. They don’t trust new business,” he stated bluntly. “Trust takes time. But volunteering to help out at camp is good juju.”