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“She isn’t mine.”
“Just the same, maybe you ought to take a second look at her. Finding a pretty girl is one thing, but a woman who is good and kind is another.”
Dustin gave his mother a sour look. “Have you seen Rylie, Mom? She is gorgeous.”
“Then you’ve got the whole package within your grasp.”
Dustin sighed. “Is this why you invited me to brunch? To play matchmaker?”
“No, actually. I want to get rid of your father’s boxes, but I don’t want to donate them locally. I was hoping that maybe you could drive them into Sacramento or something and drop them at the Goodwill?”
Dustin lost his appetite. Not because he didn’t want her to get rid of his dad’s things; hell, he’d burn them if she’d let him. It was that they couldn’t seem to have one conversation where the old bastard didn’t make an appearance.
“You know they will come pick the stuff up for you, right?”
“I know, I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to look through it first. The other boys have, but you’ve never checked to see if there is something you might want.”
Dustin set his fork down with a clink. “Let me be very clear. There is nothing I want from that man. I don’t need to look through boxes of shit that are just going to stir up a bunch of memories I’d rather forget. All right?”
“Of course, Dusty, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s Dustin. Has been for a long time.”
The rest of their brunch was eaten in silence and he took several calming breaths. He shouldn’t have snapped at her, but asking him if he wanted anything from that son of a bitch…
Then she’d called him Dusty. He hadn’t been Dusty since before his eleventh birthday. Not since the boy he’d been had been beaten and tortured out of him.
You need to be a man. Stop hiding behind your mama’s skirts, you little candy ass wimp.
Dustin wiped at his mouth and stood. “The quiche was great Mom, but I’ve got some stuff to do today.”
He could tell she was hurt, but he couldn’t stay there another minute. He needed something to distract himself and banish the ghost of his father from his mind.
He came around the table and kissed her cheek. “I’ll come see you again soon.”
* * * *
Rylie had gone to the same church her father had been taking her to since she was a little girl, and as she left, she cruelly thought it was about time that Pastor Dan retired. He was just so…boring. She’d almost fallen asleep twice during his sermon about the dangers of online dating.
Of course, her exhaustion had nothing to do with drinking too much or the late-night walk with Dustin Kent.
As she parked in front of the Sweetheart Cemetery, she tried not to dwell on his promise to stay away from attached women. There were plenty of single women in town for him to hook up with, and there was absolutely no innuendo that she was even in the top ten of his hook-up list.
Not that she wanted that anyway. She was happy without a man mucking up her life.
She got out of her car and walked across the green grass between the tombstones. When she finally reached her father’s plot, she sat down, holding a fresh bouquet in her lap.
“Hey, Dad,” she said softly. “I know you’ve been watching everything that’s been happening, and I’m sure you’re upset, but I’m okay. Really.”
There wasn’t a sound or a breeze that gave her some sign her dad was listening, but she knew he was there. He was always with her.
“I’m staying in Dustin Kent’s pool house and I know what you’re thinking, but he’s really not a bad guy. I think he’s just been through a lot and learned that the only way to survive bad stuff is to be a total jerk and keep people at arm’s length. He didn’t have to help me, but he did. And that’s why I am going to give him a real chance to be my friend. No preconceived notions.”
She picked up the dead flowers from last week and replaced them before standing. “Same time next week? I love you. Miss you, Daddy.”
Just before she turned, she noticed the headstone next to his was starting to get overgrown and she grit her teeth. Bending over, she pulled out the obstructing plants and put them in the plastic bag she?
?d brought for garbage. When the words on the gravestone were uncovered, they read, Here lies Willow Anne Templeton. Beloved Wife and Mother.
