"If I throw on some blond hair color too, I'd be the spitting image, right?" Enrico teased her.
"I'm a natural blonde, I'll have you know," his grandmother told him sternly.
"Grandma, you're a natural gray," Enrico told her.
"Such a bad, bad, boy. I don't know where you get it," she said and pinched his side while he tried to dodge her.
"I get it from you, Grandma. Everyone else in the family is as boring as mud," Enrico told her.
"Oh, come on now," she protested then had a second thought and changed her tune. "But you do have a point. I was just telling Mitch here that you're nothing like your grandfather."
"I know. I can still see him blushing while you tell everyone one of your wildly inappropriate, Vegas stories," Enrico said.
"Inappropriate? I don't know what you're on about," she said while pretending to be dismayed.
"I can't tell you how many times Mom and Dad covered my ears while you were telling some wild story," Enrico said.
"You missed out," Mrs. Del Rio told him with a wicked grin. "Now I'm going to go see if someone will pour me a drink."
She went off and Enrico slipped his arm around Mitch's back so he could pull in close to him.
"You two really are the same," Mitch told him. "In a good way."
Enrico only scoffed, but they were both amazing people.
To keep busy, Mitch was helping Wyatt clean up after dinner. They were stacking plates from the dining table when Wyatt looked over at the kids, who seemed to be playing a game of cards with the dogs.
After giving them a sniff, the dogs showed minimal interest in the cards they were dealt. The kids were pretty lively though, arguing about who was really winning.
"Look at the kids. They're still wound up from the festival and the fireworks," Wyatt said. "We're letting the boys stay up late. How about Sammy?"
"It's already well past her bedtime, but I don't think she'll wind down any time soon," Mitch said.
"You're still staying at Mrs. Del Rio's, right? Bet you can't wait to get back to your own turf," Wyatt said as he headed into the kitchen.
"You mean back to the Dunbar house," Mitch said, but he corrected him more for his own sake. He would need to say goodbye to that place very soon.
"You like it there, don't you? What happened didn't sour you on the place, did it?" Wyatt asked as he stacked dishes in the sink and started running water over them.
"No. The house is fine. I mean, it's a really good house. I think whoever ends up living there is pretty lucky," Mitch admitted though the thought of anyone else moving in there gave him a sharp pang of sorrow.
"Is that right? Maybe we can arrange something. How would you like to rent the place?" Mrs. Del Rio said as she suddenly came up behind them. Enrico did say she was always sneaking up on people. Maybe he wasn't exaggerating for once.
"I thought you wanted to sell the place," Mitch said.
"It's not like the real estate market out here is jumping," she said. "I'd rather rent the place to you than see it sit empty. As for your work, the old houses around here need plenty of fixing up. I heard from Andy Brighton, the fellow who owns the inn, that he's always looking for a good handyman. And Ashbury isn't that far. I'm sure you can pick up plenty of work there."
"She sounds serious," Wyatt said and smiled at Mitch. "If my vote counts, I'd like it if you guys stuck around. I'm sure Sam and the boys would agree."
"And I know someone else who would too," Mrs. Del Rio hinted.
She meant Enrico, but Mitch had never talked to him about it. He was afraid to.
Her offer was tempting. That house was the kind of home he dreamed of giving Sammy. It came with kittens and everything. And Enrico, if he decided to stay in Peach Tree.
These days he could kiss Enrico and see Sammy look both embarrassed and delighted when she saw them. She would cover her eyes then she would peek between her fingers.
It made Mitch realize that she had never seen him being close to anyone. She was his whole life. He hardly knew how lonely he was, and maybe she was too.
