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It was clear he didn’t think I’d be able to come up with anything. And as long as those clover-green eyes were sparkling at me, it was true. I couldn’t even think when those eyes were on me. But Nico spoke up instead.
“He left boxes of fresh vegetables on the porches of the poor families in town every year at harvest time.”
I stared at him in surprise, and West turned to do the same. Nico ignored us and continued to talk with a soft smile on his face.
“I’m sure he thought no one ever knew who’d done it, but I saw him once. It was the middle of the night, and I was outside sneaking a cigarette. We had a gravel drive, so my mom, my sister, and I had never been able to figure out how they left the box without us hearing footsteps. That night I learned his secret. He parked his pickup at the street and walked all the way down to our front porch in the weeds so not even his shoes would crunch on the gravel. He set the box down and snuck back up to his truck. I know for a fact he left those boxes in front of at least fifteen houses around Hobie. I used to hear my mom talk about it with some of the other ladies.”
I didn’t want to hear this. It was never meant to be a thing people knew about. If my father had found out, he would have accused me of stealing from Grandpa and Doc. “No, I didn’t—”
West turned to me with a look on his face that made it seem as if he’d never known me before.
“You did. You totally did. You and Grandpa spent so much time planting a kitchen garden, yet we never seemed to eat much of the food you grew. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have helped. Hell, we all would have helped.”
I craned my neck again in desperate hopes of spotting anyone who worked at the Pinecone and had access to alcohol. “Can we not—”
“What made you start?” This time it was Charlie who spoke. I glanced at him and saw genuine interest. But I still felt uncomfortable talking about it.
“Is it just me, or do we still not have our drinks?” I asked, raising my hand for attention from any server even if it appeared rude. “You know what? I’m going to go find her.”
I stepped out of the booth and went to look for our wayward server.
20
Charlie
Charlie’s Revelation:
You truly can’t judge a book by its cover.
The rest of the dinner was straightforward. West and Nico were good company, and when we finally got some alcohol into Hudson’s belly, the four of us ended up having a great evening. We laughed and talked and teased until it was late enough to remind West and Nico they had a little girl.
“We have to go relieve Goldie,” Nico said out front of the restaurant. “But I meant what I said about us taking you to Dallas one of these weekends to check out the clubs. Otto and Walker will go with us too. Otto’s always trying to give Seth a taste of the big-city gay scene for some reason.”
“I’d love that. There are only two gay bars in Cork, and neither would hardly be considered a club. I was hoping to be able to hit a big one while I’m here. I could go for some dirty dancing,” I admitted with a wink. Was there a part of me trying to bait Hudson? Maybe. I wondered if he even noticed or cared. How would he feel if I found someone at the club to snog?
Oh, who was I kidding? If Hudson was there, I wouldn’t be able to even think about kissing someone else. I was sick with wanting him. Only him. I needed to get past it. I’d already been there weeks with no hint of him wanting to renew anything physical with me. I could tell he still wanted me. I’d catch him looking at me with a heated gaze or hear him suck in a breath if I got a bit too close to him at work. But he never made a move, never even left an opening to imply he’d be open to me making the move.
West put his arm around Nico. “I’ll text them and see when they have the same weekend night free and we’ll make a plan. Sometimes Hudson’s even willing to go with, though he doesn’t appreciate it like we do.”
I glanced at my supposedly straight coworker. His blush was on in full force, and he was studying the pavement as if it had the cure for cancer written on it in pebble script. I wondered what would happen if his brother and brother-in-law knew Hudson wasn’t quite as straight as everyone thought. But apparently that subject was verboten. God forbid anyone think Hudson Wilde liked men.
