“Is it?” I ask, making Tanner shake with silent laughter.
“Yeah, baby, it’s real good.”
Well, BDE it is then.
TANNER
I don’t thinkI’m doing as well hiding my emotions as I had hoped because Deacon has been hovering over me like he’s afraid I’m going to bolt at any second.
It’s tempting but seriously not possible with everyone here.
There have been pockets of time that felt normal—playful and light—but a lull in conversation has my mind constantly drifting back to whether I’m holding Deacon back or not, and while I know I need to talk to him, now is not the time.
“What’s all this?” he asks, his hand falling gently to my waist as he comes up behind me and motions toward the wall of pies set out on the narrow tables Waylon built before last Thanksgiving.
“Everyone gets their own pie,” I tell him. “It started with just the Thayers, but now it includes spouses and us too.” I point at the blueberry pie situated next to the lemon custard. “See? You have one and so do I.”
“She makes all of them?” His tone is a mix of awe and disbelief, making me snicker even as I shake my head.
“No, there’s a culinary program through the high school, and this is one of the things they do.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t either. I asked when I saw the row of pies my first Thanksgiving here.”
My first Thanksgiving here.
It’s been a few years now but I’ve loved every single one. I can’t remember the last holiday my parents and I spent together. Honestly, the last time they came to visit is a bit foggy too.
Thinking of them makes me realize that I haven’t heard from them since my father called about my mother’s surgery. I left a couple of messages but never got a reply.
“You’re making a face,” Deacon murmurs, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror above the table.
“I was wondering if I’d even miss my parents if we never spoke again. Would their life be any different? Would mine?” I lift a shoulder and let it drop. “It makes me sad that yours were great and you lost them early, and here mine are alive but totally uninterested in being involved in my life.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. The part that really gets to me is that they don’t try to have a relationship with Briggs.” Leaning back into him, I exhale. “But then I look around, and what’s he really missing out on? He has this incredible family here.”
“You both do.”
“Get a room!” Case yells, grinning wider when Flora scolds him. Otto doubles over laughing before turning his back onus and hugging himself so it looks like he’s making out with someone. It’s juvenile but funny and more so when Hank cuffs him on the back of the head as he walks by.
“Ow!Fucker.”
“Otto Raymond Thayer,watch your language.”
“Sorry, Mama.” He kisses her cheek and she huffs like maybe she needs a cocktail after today, but honestly,don’t we all…
42
DEACON
“Whoop!”
“There’s no way,” I groan as Briggs does a little dance and shuffle as he collects the horseshoes from the pit.
“I thought you said you were good at this,” he says with a smugness that only a preteen can pull off, and honestly, I kind of love it.
