“Boy,” he corrected.
“I thought you had a girl?” I asked as I reached out to wave. The baby reached for me, gurgling happily before Devlin grabbed my hand with two fingers and pushed it away slowly but with determination.
Message received. I guessed my digging through manure didn’t make him keen to let me poke his child.
“I did. Then a boy,” he said.
“Oh wow. Good work.”
“It was mostly Kim.” He glared up at the sun and back toward the baby, tugging the baby’s hat more securely on his head.
“Here, we can sit on the porch in the shade,” I offered and led him to the wraparound porch of the updated craftsman-style house. It was the best gift I ever bought for my mom, and incidentally myself, after moving back. That and the gift of her retirement she was several years overdue for.
Devlin followed me and sat in the wicker chair across from me. “Nice apron, by the way,” he said as he sat.
My threadbare Foo Fighters tee and jeans were partly covered by the army-green canvas gardening apron. “Thanks. It was a gift from my mom.”
“The hat really completes the look.”
“Real men care about skin cancer.” I tapped the large brim of my sun hat. “So. I’m assuming you didn’t come here to catch up about my garden. What brings you down to Clearview Lane?”
Devlin was one of the few people who had reached out to me since my return to Green Valley. Small towns were cesspools of gossip, and my “sudden exit” from The Burnouts was already theorized about enough. We had all signed NDAs, and thankfully, Devlin, a man who had a past of his own, wasn’t about to dig into it. He wasn’t chatty, and we had that in common.
“I came here on behalf of a friend,” he said, jumping right into it.
A nervous tug just below my collarbone had me glancing away. “Are you thirsty?”
“No, thank you.”
“Have you seen my mom in a while? I’m sure Janice would love to see you. She always talks about how you were one of her most prized pupils. I don’t remind her that I was also her pupil for most of my life.”
“Tell her I said hi, but no. I have to be quick. The baby has to be down for a nap in thirty minutes.”
“Gotcha.” I didn’t have kids but knew enough to never mess with a naptime.
I cleared my throat, grasping for another distraction. Devlin didn’t give me the opportunity.
“My friend, the band director at Green Valley High School, needs a favor. We were counselors at camp together,” he said. I didn’t want to act surprised at his mention of friends, but the man had worn a bandanna to cover his face for most of his adult life. He didn’t exactly scream “talk to me” before that, yet even he had more friends than me. “They have a student who plays drums.”
The tugging sensation at my chest grew, as did a tingling sensation under my fingernails. “Oh yeah?” I glanced out at the garden. After he left, I would have to finish pulling weeds and then check on the roses. There had been an aphid infestation earlier in the year, but the ladybugs and neem-oil had helped. I’d need to keep a close eye on it.
Devlin cleared his throat loudly, and I brought my attention back to him. He looked pointedly at where I was aggressively tapping my thumb against my knee. I sat up straighter, trying to keep my nerves under control.
“This kid is incredibly talented. They have an audition for Berklee College of Music in February.”
“Fantastic,” I said.
“But they need a tutor. The talent is there, but they need someone to help prepare them for the audition.”
The dread building up inside my chest poured out, and my thumb tapped wildly again. “Yep,” I said. “Good thingtheErik Devlin lives right here in Green Valley. With a new and improved, fancy recording studio in his home, from what I hear.”
“And a new baby. A toddler. I work full time and so does Kim. Along with my responsibilities with the SOOK, I also work closely with my other friend’s charity, Triple F.”
Another friend? Damn. The Devil of the Symphony had me beat twice over now—unless you count my mom, which I totally did. Janice was rad and fun to hang out with.
“That’s quite the résumé.”
“I don’t have time,” he said with finality.
