Not only did he rush over to gently pet it, but before Cort could pull back, Andy bent down and gave it a loud, firm kiss.
Both men froze, then looked at each other before cracking up. Brogan swooped Andy into his arms and quickly wiped his mouth. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell Mam about that.”
Still laughing, Cort said, “Andy will do his best to share, but let’s hope his explanation isn’t clear enough for either woman to figure out.”
Since they were still chuckling, Andy clapped his hands and laughed, too.
After Cort got the fish in a basket, he returned to his story. “Back when I first moved my mother here, I didn’t know how much I’d enjoy fishing. I just knew I wanted my mother somewhere safe.”
Brogan had no idea what that meant, and he didn’t ask. Cort was usually pretty quiet, so he figured the other man would tell him when he was ready.
“My dad was the type who liked to talk with his fists. It’s a long story, and I won’t go into it all, but you can imagine that I was still pretty young when I tried to defend her.”
“Your dad turned on you?”
“He was an abusive drunk. He could have bloodied us both and he wouldn’t have cared. Mom took off with me, we got by, and when I was old enough, I joined the Marines. Unfortunately, while I was away, he found her.”
Cort’s tone of voice, quiet and flat, conveyed the fury he still felt.
“It was bad?”
“Bad enough that the hospital contacted me and I got emergency leave.”
Hell of a situation for a man to be in. Caught between serving his country and saving his mother. For the first time, Brogan thought that maybe he’d gotten off easy. As least while he’d served, he hadn’t worried about anyone. Until Connie’s death, he hadn’t known he had anyone to worry about.
“I had to get Mom settled somewhere, so I bought this house and the lake house you’re renting. I figured whenever I was home, Mom and I could have our privacy. As soon as she recovered enough, she got a job with Herman, and liked it as much as Marlow does. With me away so often, Herman really stepped up to help her. Other locals did, too.”
It sounded as if Cort was as confused by it all as Brogan was.
“I bought this place because Bramble is so small and remote. I figured Mom would be safe here. Until I got to know the town, I didn’t know there were places like this.”
“Or people like these,” Brogan said in agreement, thinking of Pixie’s protective coworker, Renee; Benny and his awesome mom, Ellen; Dee, who’d been so generous to a stranger; and Gunther and Lily, such openly loving parents. Any one of them was a marvel, but together? All from the same place? It defied belief, and yet it was true.
“Exactly. These people looked out for Mom when I couldn’t, and when I was home, they treated me like family—the biggest, best family I’d ever had.”
“More so than the military?” Brogan felt disloyal for even asking.
“Different, for sure.” Cort gave a crooked grin. “Warmer. This is home now, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Mom was really happy here for her last years.”
“She’s gone now?”
Cort nodded. “I was up for reenlistment when we found out about her lung cancer. Much as I loved serving, I needed to be here with her.”
He’d had a mother he could love more than the Marines. The notion gave Brogan a lot to think about because that washow he’d felt about Shayna from the moment he found out she needed him.
It was how he now felt about Pixie.
“Herman and I are close. He’s been more of a father to me than my own ever was.”
Damn, he and Cort had a lot in common.
Yet they had some huge differences, too. The main one being that Cort had stood by his mother, and Brogan had bailed on Connie.
“I don’t think Marlow knew she was looking for acceptance. She just wanted to be herself instead of the person she’d become during an unhappy marriage.”
“People here love her.”
“Big-time,” Cort confirmed. “Serving one drink or burger at a time, she won over the entire town. Herman is especially close to her. She dressed down, let her hair loose, got back to her roots, and found her forever place—where she was liked for being herself, not a hyped-up model of business success or wealth.”
