Page 35 of Nicks and Cuts

“We were hoping to stay with you for a couple of nights,” his father said.

Maybe you should’ve put that in a fucking text message.

“It’s not my house, so I’m not sure that’s going to be possible.” He didn’t want them there, and he doubted Dante wanted more people in his house.

“Well, you can ask, since we’ve come all this way? You should have said you were only renting a room and didn’t have a place.” His mother shuddered. “You always had your own place back home.”

“That’s because I was always living with someone.” A friend or a boyfriend. He had never lived alone. Even now he wasn’t living alone. “I can check, but I’m not making promises.”

“We know.” His father nodded. “What else has been going on?”

“Nothing. Work, getting to know the town, looking at houses…doing the knife-making workshop…” Was that too subtle?

His mother put her hand over her mouth. “You must go back. We’ll be fine here for a bit.”

“Do you have much longer?”

“No, we were finishing up soon anyway.” He stood and checked the time, already knowing that he’d be finishing his pieces later. “I’ll be back in a few.”

He took his time walking back to the workshop; the enjoyment and budding sense of accomplishment had faded beneath the jangle of nerves his parents’ arrival had caused. He didn’t know how to walk back in with everyone turning to look at him with silent questions in their eyes.

But he didn’t want to face his parents either. It felt like they’d arrived to undermine the foundations of the new life he was creating, so he had no choice but to fall toward the city he’d once called home.

He stepped into the workshop as Dante was talking to the three women who were promising to return with their friend and thanking him for his time. They gave him a smile and then left. Dante glanced at him but didn’t ask any of the obvious questions, and Shannon didn’t volunteer anything because this was Dante’s job and he didn’t want to mess it up with his drama.

So he sat at his place and picked up the cloth he’d been using to rub the oil into the wood. He tried to ignore one of the guys as he spoke to Dante about knives and wanting to learn more. Dante handed him a flyer and also recommended several knife shows—who knew that was even a thing?

The other guy left with barely a nod, and then it was just him and Dante in the workshop.

Dante walked over and sat next to him. “Your parents are still here.”

It wasn’t a question because their car was still parked near the house.

“They came to see me, thinking they would be able to stay with me.” That was on him. “I didn’t tell them I was only renting a room, but when she asked my address, I didn’t think it was to visit.” He put down the cloth. Pretty sure that every inch of his cheeseboard was well oiled. “I told them they may not be able to stay.”

“Of course they can stay. They’re your parents, and it’s only for a night?”

He didn’t want them to stay that long. He nodded.

“You don’t seem happy.”

“I’m not, and it’s not that they are terrible parents or even terrible people, but they aren’t here to see me. They’ll be here because they want something and they decided it was better to do it in person.”

Dante frowned. “You don’t know that. They haven’t seen you for three months. They miss you.”

He wanted to believe Dante, he really did. It would be nice for them to care about more than how much he could loan them. Instead of arguing, he smiled. “Thank you for letting them stay. I will buy the pizzas.”

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

While Shannon ordered the pizzas and paid, Dante volunteered to go and pick them up so they could spend some time together, but Shannon’s parents had insisted because they didn’t want to put him out. Which gave him about half an hour to get something out of Shannon.

They made up what had once been Dante’s bedroom in silence. Working together the way they always did. He was always surprised how well they worked together, anticipating and moving before there was an issue.

“So you really aren’t happy to see them?”

“I am…but my mother lied to get the address. She said she wanted to send me a birthday present.”