Eliza listened carefully, nodding. She let out a sigh. “Well, the sooner you get done with the list, the sooner he’s out of town. Then you don’t have to worry about how you feel about him.”
If it wasn’t for the pit in my stomach, I likely would’ve laughed, because that was such an Eliza answer. Except all I could focus on was that Iwasworried about how I felt about him. My feelings for him were completely different than when he first got to town, and I couldn’t wrap my head around how much had changed in such a short amount of time.
Eliza watched me, and I could tell she was ready to say more, but she decided to drop it. She exhaled and offered me a smile instead. “Be careful, okay?”
“I will,” I promised her. “It’ll all work out.”
I wasn’t sure if I was convincing her or myself. Either way, I hoped I was right.
27
GABRIEL
Hal wasn’tthe best at texting, but he was great at emailing. Go figure. I emailed him earlier today to let him know I was going to pick up ingredients for dinner after wrapping up at the café.
When I got to the house, I didn’t see Hal yet. I wasn’t sure if he had poker night tonight, but I figured I would cook the turkey chili anyway, even if he was busy and we couldn’t eat together.
I’d finished tossing in the ground turkey, beans, onions, peppers, crushed tomatoes, and various spices when the door opened.
“Smells incredible, Gabe.” Hal pulled off his coat and toed off his boots. He was wearing his typical outfit: a warm flannel, white undershirt, and a pair of worn jeans. “Thanks for the meal. I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”
I gave the food another stir before setting the lid on top and turning the heat to medium-low to simmer. “Yeah, I’m happy to,” I told him, walking around the counter and pulling out one of the stools to sit as Hal sat at the table right in front of me. “I wasn’t sure if you had poker tonight or not.”
“I don’t, but even if I did, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Not every day my grandson cooks for me.”
I knew Hal didn’t mean it that way, but it made me think of all the meals we’d missed. How maybe I should’ve been making the drive over to cook dinner for him once in a while. But…I was here now. That was what I was trying to focus on. “I’m happy to do it. There’s also going to be plenty of leftovers, and I can make us something new next week. My cooking abilities are…limited,” I admitted with a laugh. “But chili, pasta, and burgers are my specialties.”
“Those happen to be my favorite foods,” Hal said.
When I eyed him skeptically, he simply grinned. I let out a low chuckle and moved from the stool over to one of the chairs at the table. “Food should be ready in about thirty minutes or so. Want to play a game of cards?” I offered.
He nodded. “I’d love to. What’d you have in mind?”
“What do you think about teaching me how to play poker?” When I’d attended poker night with Hal at Lake Ridge, it was just to watch, and I’d been meaning to ask him about the rules.
Hal’s eyes glistened as he looked over at me. “I’d like that very much. Let me go grab the cards. Why don’t you go and grab some chocolate from the cabinet. I should have a bag of Hershey’s Kisses in there.”
“Chocolate?” I asked as Hal went down the hallway toward the living room.
“You’re a beginner! I’m not going to swindle you out of money. Not yet, at least. I’ll teach you how to play first.”
I grinned to myself as I shook my head. Fair enough.
“I’m bound to winat leastonce, right?” I asked as Hal shuffled. We’d been playing poker for the last couple of hours, only taking a break to eat dinner once it was ready.
Hal dealt us another hand. “Maybe. I do have decades, upon decades, of experience. Does feel good to win, though. Lately, over at Lake Ridge, Cooper has been cleaning me out.”
A comfortable silence fell over us. I thought back to my conversation with Lily a few days ago, about how she encouraged me to talk to Hal about Vera. The thought made me anxious, but there never would be aright time. I peeked at my cards before setting my hand on them, tapping my fingers against the wooden table.
“I wish I would’ve been here for Vera’s funeral. I’m sorry that I wasn’t.” I stumbled over my words, breaking the silence between us. I regretted it for a split second, but when Hal set his cards down on the table and looked over at me with a gentle, understanding smile, I had no regrets.
“I know, Gabe. I never doubted it for a second that you would’ve been here. I thought the message would get to you, but clearly, I shouldn’t have made that assumption.”
“He told me a few weeks after the fact. I should’ve reached out then, but…it felt like it was too late. I was, I don’t know, embarrassed? That I didn’t know. That I didn’t reach out sooner. In hindsight, I should’ve called you as soon as I found out.”
Hal slowly nodded as he said, “A call from you would’ve been nice, but I don’t hold any of that against you, Gabriel. Life is too short to live with regrets. What matters to me—what’s importantto me—is that if you have regrets, you take that feeling and do something positive with it.”
I mulled over his words, truly letting them sink in.If you have regrets, you take that feeling and do something positive with it.“I’m trying to do that in Golden Falls.” Because I did have regrets. I regretted aspects of my career and my lack of a relationship with Hal. But being here allowed me to dosomethingabout both of those things.
