"That's a resounding no," Enrico said, wincing on his behalf.
"She could be blunt. Ellie told me, 'Just be a good dad to this kid. That's all you owe me.'"
"She sounds cool," Enrico said.
"She was. Ellie was going to be a great mom. She was fun and easygoing, everything I'm not," Mitch said and looked down at the ground at his feet.
"You do pretty well. That squirt adores you. You're a great dad." Enrico gave his arm a quick punch and made him smile. "OK. I'm going now. See you tomorrow," he said and got on his way.
Watching him go as the evening grew darker by the second, Mitch felt this pang of something like sorrow. Was he that sorry to see him go?
There was no reason he should feel so attached to Enrico after only a few days. But going inside, Mitch found that the old house felt so much lonelier once he left even with Sammy and the kittens there to keep him company.
Did he ever feel like this when Ellie left? No. Not until she died and he knew he would never see her again.
But Enrico tugged at his heart for no reason, made him feel the loss of him just by walking away. Enrico was having the strangest effect on him.
Chapter 7
Today Rico had the early shift at the café, and the whole time he wished he was over at the house doing manual labor and helping Mitch. That was so dumb. It made him want to bang his head against a wall to teach himself not to think like that. He was going to be in so much trouble if he didn't get his attraction to a straight guy under control.
He had already whined to Sam about it, but now Lara and Noreen were there getting takeout and they wanted to know about Mitch too. Lara was a flashy, redhead while Noreen, her best friend, was the no-nonsense elementary school teacher. She was petite and mousy, with short hair, a cute face and big brown eyes, but she was feared by all school-aged kids. Sam was taking care of their order, but they stopped Rico as he was passing by.
"Spill it. How hunky is the new, hunky guy? Sam here is no help. He only has eyes for his fiancé," Lara said to him.
Rico thought about how to sum him up. "OK. Mitch should not be legally permitted to wear a tool belt."
At that, Lara wiped her brow and tossed her red hair. "Sounds like a scorcher. I can't believe your grandmother. Every time she spots a hunky guy passing through town, she snags him for herself. Sam, and now this Mitch."
Sam immediately looked mortified.
Noreen corrected her. "I think Wyatt was the one who snagged Sam for himself with his 'Waa, I can't cook' ploy. And I'm sure Mitch has fallen into Rico's clutches by now," she said and fixed him with an accusing glare.
"Hey, leave me out of your gossip. Mitch and I are just working together," Rico told them, but he was really the one who needed to remember that.
"Pft. Us small town busybodies are not going to leave you alone. This is a sleepy, little town. Gossip is all we got," Lara told him.
"Just don't start any rumors that involve me. I would be mega stupid to get hung up on a straight guy," Rico warned her or maybe himself.
Then Sam asked an interesting question. "Is he straight?" He seemed to be doubting it, and that made Rico start to hope. What was Sam doing to him?
"If you have any doubts, I can test him out for you," Lara offered with an evil grin that made Rico's blood run cold.
"I don't even want to know what you have in mind," Rico said, waving her off.
But Lara wasn't letting go of her idea. As she and Noreen picked up their order, she mused, "Actually when Gloria is back from her dad's, we should go introduce ourselves to the new guy and his kid."
"I hate you," Rico said as she left, laughing wickedly.
"At least you'll know for sure if he's straight, and Sammy will have a little playmate," Sam consoled him.
The lunch rush was only starting when Grandma called Rico over and drew his attention outside. Out there, he saw Mitch and Sammy as they were passing by.
"I'll wave them in and see if we can feed that strapping man some lunch. You don't mind do you?" Grandma said to Rico, teasing him.
As she went to drag them inside, Mitch had his usual serious expression on his face, but Sammy gave Grandma a sweet smile. Grandma ushered them over to Rico so he could seat them in his section.
"I guess you get to feed us again," Mitch said and gave Rico a cautious smile.
