Page 11 of Unspoken Love

For the last few days, work had kept him too busy to do much more than feed the horses and trade a few words with Faye in passing.

He’d bumped into her again just that morning on his run, just before sunrise, as she was out jogging along the surf. When she had seen him, she’d waved and slowed her pace.

They run together for nearly twenty minutes, matching strides and sharing soft smiles without needing to say much.

It had been the highlight of his day so far.

But, once again, he’d had to rush home to shower and open the Brew-Ha-Ha, leaving her behind with a wave and a regret he couldn’t shake.

Still, she was starting work on Monday.

And he would be training her.

That meant more time with her.

And suddenly, time with Faye was something he wanted more than anything else.

“How is Faye doing? Healthwise?” his mother asked.

He shrugged. “She can hear me, at least.”

His mother tilted her head. “That’s thanks to the cochlear implant. Is she having any issues with it?”

He frowned and set his fork down. “Not that she mentioned. Why? Should she?”

His mother shook her head. “No, but some people can have a hard time adjusting. You know, after having gone so long without hearing.”

He frowned down into his almost empty plate. “She almost passed out on the beach the first day she was here. She claimed she had skipped lunch, so I took her to the Golden Oar for a burger.”

His parents were quiet and he glanced up.

“What? It was just dinner.”

His father made a strange sound in his chest and Nate sighed. “It was just dinner.” He repeated each word slowly.

“Well, that was nice of you,” his mom added, touching his father’s hand. “Wasn’t it?”

“Sure,” his father said as he took another sip of his tea, then he winked at him, causing Nate to roll his eyes.

“It was.”

“Well, I think it’s great that you were able to hire her,” his mother said. “I know Max was worried about her moving here permanently. Not that they don’t have the space for her in that big house.”

“You aren’t pressuring them to have kids yet?” he joked.

“No,” his dad answered. “We got pressure from your grandparents after we got married, so we know how it feels. To each their own. If they want kids, they’ll have them on their timeline.”

Nate thought about his sister being a mom and it gave him a warm fuzzy feeling. “Juliette would be a great mom,” he said into his drink.

“Yes.” His mother sighed longingly. “You’d make a great dad someday too.” His eyebrows shot up, and his mother winked.

“So you won’t pressure Juliette, but me, not a problem?”

“You’d have to settle on just one woman and get married first,” his father joked.

“Faye’s nice,” his mother said after a heartbeat.

Nate let out a laugh and leaned back in his chair, lifting his glass in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. We’ve officially crossed into dangerous territory. I came for chicken, not a full-blown ambush.”