Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Of course it is.” Sean’s father appeared in front of the folding table near us, seemingly by teleportation because he sure as heck hadn’t been there ten seconds prior when Sean touched me. I hoped. “People look forward to this all year long.”
“That they do.” Sean’s good mood didn’t dip in the presence of his father, but he did subtly step away from me. “We did a similar event in Seattle, but Mount Hope sure does love its pancakes.”
“And its first responders,” I chimed in without thinking, and something in either my words or my voice must have given Sean’s father pause because he frowned.
“I’m Joe Murphy. Fire chief. Sean’s dad.” He stuck out a hand. “You are?”
I shook his hand even though he knew full well who I was, having been in Honey’s any number of times, and anyone with eyeballs could guess at his relation to Sean. Same shorter height, sturdy chest and arms, same piercing blue eyes. Joe’s hair was more faded with a lot more white, but he was definitely a Murphy.
“Sorry, Dad.” Sean sounded appropriately apologetic. “This is Denver…”
“Denver Rucker,” I filled in for him. Despite our weeks of…whatever the heck we’d had going on, I’d never had reason to give him my last name. “Just helping out today.”
“Thanks for your hard work.” Expression distinctly uncomfortable, Joe sounded far too formal.
“Hey, we served everyone in record time.” Sean clapped me on the shoulder, only to quickly drop his hand.
“Sean, your mother’s been looking for you.” Joe’s tone was back to friendly, but his eyes remained guarded. “She has someone she wants you to meet.”
“Dad,” Sean groaned, drawing the word out to ten syllables like Wren or Rowan might.
“It’s just a hello.” Joe gestured vaguely as Sean shot me a helpless look.
“I’m…” He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. My body went walk-in freezer cold, muscles stiff and icy, heart pounding sluggishly. I must have made some noise because Sean glanced at me again.
“I’ll cover for you here,” I said far too quickly. My words were warm, but the expression on Sean’s face as he moved to follow his father was anything but. And I wasn’t at all surprised when Sean sought me out a short time later.
“What was that all about?” he asked as he came over to the bench where I was sitting. Suzy had pushed a plate of food on me, so I’d taken the opportunity to escape the tent for a bit of quiet. The park still teemed with people, but none were paying attention to Sean and me.
“What?”
“Practically joining my father in matchmaking.” Sean shook his head as he sat next to me. Not that I’d invited him, but I scooted over nonetheless.
“It wasn’t the time or place for anything else.” I kept my voice low but firm.
“Do you not want me to come out?” Typical Sean, going bluntly after the white elephant sitting between us. He’d been ready. I hadn’t.
And I couldn’t lie to him. “It’s complicated.”
“I see.”
“I don’t want to be responsible.” I stared down at my empty plate, watching a puddle of syrup spread out. Eric’s request from earlier echoed in my ears. I was failing already.
“You’re not responsible.” Sean’s face was somewhere between furious and hurt, neither of which I wanted. “I am. And other people’s reactions are on them, not either of us.”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure I bought a word of that. If Sean’s father reacted badly, that would certainly feel like my fault.
“Anyway, you probably need to get some shut-eye before your shift.” He moved his hand dismissively, voice as disappointed as I’d heard it.
Disappointed in me. The easy thing would be to walk away now, let him have his hurt and anger, and be glad I didn’t mess things up worse for him.
“Nope.” My head shook, joining my voice in, not waiting for permission from my brain. “I traded days with one of the other cooks. It’s my first Saturday off in forever. I was thinking we’d have some time after clean up.”
“You asked for a day off? To spend more time with me?” Sean made the simple act of a shift change sound like a rare gift. He smiled slowly. “Bet I have some ideas for how to fill the time.”
“I bet you do.” Sex wasn’t going to solve anything. It would probably make everything that much harder. Falling into bed rather than having the tough talk was a bad old habit of mine, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be with Sean. And maybe I couldn’t take care of him out here in the real world, but I could damn sure take care of him in the sack, be what we both needed, if only for a moment.
Chapter Nineteen
Sean
“You made it.” As soon as Denver opened the exterior door of the house, I hefted myself off the floor near the door to his studio, where I’d been lounging all of thirty seconds.