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“Is there creamer?” I asked, hoping beyond all hope there was.
“Oh, you mean that bottled garbage that’s supposedly terrible for you?” Louis asked.
I grimaced. “Yes, that.”
“Caramel macchiato is the flavor of the week. I love the stuff. What do I care if it’s bad for ya?”
Beau snorted and went to get me some, and I settled into my chair across from Louis with a grateful smile.
“So, Lyndi, I hear you’re a photographer,” he said, digging into his bacon.
I thanked Beau for the coffee and refrained from staring at him as he sat down next to me in those darn sweatpants. “Yes, sir.”
“That sounds like a fun job. What made you want to do that?”
I started to give him a simple answer. But then I remembered how at peace I’d felt in his home so far and how there was something about it that had me feeling like I could be myself, so I decided to be honest instead.
“I’ve always been more comfortable out of the spotlight, but I like to watch people. I don’t even remember how old I was the first time someone gave me one of those old wind-up cameras and told me to go wild at a family gathering. It was so fun to slip into the room and take photos of my family laughing and talking together. But I didn’t feel like I had to join them. It was like I could be there, but not. And, I don’t know, I like taking photos of the moments that people are usually too busy to appreciate.”
Louis’s kind, hazel eyes sparkled, reminding me so much of his son. “Hmm. Yeah. I definitely wish I’d taken more photos back in the day. Something you don’t always think about until you’re staring at the same few every day.”
Beau cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably beside me. “Anyway, Pops, what do you wanna do today? You up for anything?”
He scoffed. “Me? No. I’m not getting around too well these days. But you two should go to the festival I told you about. Get out and enjoy the fresh air. Have some fun.”
“You could use a little fresh air, yourself,” Beau said with a pointed look.
“Did you see I got me a new front porch rocker? I’ll be out there, doing my thing. You two go. Seriously. I need to rest.”
Beau put down his fork and sighed. “We’re here to spend time with you, Pops.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll be more use to you later if I’ve got the energy for it, right?” he fired back, not budging.
“It’s okay, Beau,” I said, reaching out and touching his forearm before quickly pulling my hand away. “Um, we can go explore.”
He didn’t look too sure. “The festival’s pretty chaotic. If you don’t want to do that, we can find something else to do.”
“We can play it by ear,” I suggested with a shrug.
It was something Grayson always said for some reason, and we both knew it. I was fairly sure it was because he was trying to get his dad to let him do something and didn’t want to hear no right away, but either way, it was cute.
Beau recognized the line and looked up with a smile, our shared fondness for Grayson releasing some of the tension between us. But then I caught his dad looking between us with a wide grin and I focused on my coffee again.
I’d thought Beau was tentative and kind with Grayson because he was his best friend’s kid and he was sweet like that. I hadn’t realized it was because they’d had so much in common until recently. And the reminder of that made me tread carefully.
“Okay, well, I’m stuffed,” I said after eating most of the food on my plate. “This was really good, Beau.”
He shot me a crooked grin. “I aim to please.”
“Hush.” I stuck my tongue out at him automatically, really starting to hate that simple phrase and what it did to my insides. “I’m gonna go get ready.”
“You do that,” he replied to my back as I carried my dishes to the sink.
Then I slipped down the hallway to get ready, and thirty minutes later, we pulled up to the festival. The dirt parking lot was crowded, and dust clouded the air around us. People were everywhere. My fingers tingled, knowing already this wasn’t my scene.
A parking spot opened up ahead of us, but instead of pulling into it, Beau made a quick maneuver and pulled right back out of the lot.
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking over my shoulder to see if I could spot the issue.
