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“Houston,” he replied. “And then for a long time, North Carolina. I was stationed at Fort Bragg when I was in the military. Long story short, my mom passed away when I was in high school. About seven years later, my father married a woman who was originally from Papillon, and they decided to move here.”
So they had a lot in common. Her father had died when she was young, too. His death had started all the chaos that had led her here. “Did you move here to be with your dad and stepmom?”
“I moved to be close to my dad. There wasn’t anything left for me back in Houston. My father was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. His wife at the time decided she hadn’t signed on for that and they divorced very quickly. I moved here to be close to him in case he needed me,” he said quietly. “I lived with him for a while, but it recently got bad enough that I couldn’t handle it on my own, and now he’s at a facility.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. My grandmother had it, too. I watched my mom try to take care of her, so I know how hard that can be.” She remembered those days when her mother had to try to keep everything together. She would hear her mother crying when she thought everyone else was asleep.
There was a reason she put up with her mom, even at her most infuriating.
“He was why I left the way I did last night.” Major turned the boat and then pointed. “That’s where we’re going. It’s not inhabited, but there could be other people out here. Though I don’t see any other boats.”
She didn’t care about the other people. She was worried she was taking Major away from something important. “Is he okay?”
“He was having a good couple of hours,” Major replied. “The man who runs the facility called to let me know he’d asked about me. My dad doesn’t recognize me most of the time. Well, that’s not true. He recognizes me as other people. He often thinks it’s a different decade.”
“My grandma did, too. She thought I was my mom as a kid.” Brynn could remember her mother telling her to go along with it, to be kind because her grandma had been a great mom and missed her babies.
“That must have been scary for a kid.”
It had been at first, but her mom had been so calm she’d set the tone. “She was still my grandma. I think it’s disturbing at any time. But last night was good? You got there in time to talk to him?”
He nodded, and she could see the peace the night before had brought him. “I did. It was the first time we’ve talked like that in months.”
“I’m glad.”
“I found out some things I didn’t know before.” He pulled up to the dock, and Dolly jumped out of the boat, her body nearly vibrating with excitement. The dog bounded toward land. “He’s got this show he likes. It calms him down when he watches it.” He stepped gracefully out of the boat, tying it to the dock before offering her a hand up. “I have you to thank for that.”
She felt her heart squeeze with the emotion she always felt when someone told her a show she’d been in helped them through hard times. “Really?”
He took her hand in his, and though the boat was unsteady, she felt safe enough to take the steps that brought her to the dock. “Really.”
She set Duke down, and he looked around like he wasn’t sure this was a place for dogs or people. Dolly was barking, trying to get him to come and play, but he stuck close to his momma.
She reached back into the boat for the bag that held their lunch and her art supplies. There was also a big, thick blanket Sera had told her was a necessity if they were going to spend the afternoon out here.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
When he turned, she was a little too close, and for a moment they stood there, bodies almost brushing. All it would take to press their lips together would be for her to go up on her toes. He was so handsome, so masculine, and yet somehow gentle. Something about this man called to her in a way she’d never felt before.
His lips curled up as he stared down at her. “I tried to tell him I’d had dinner with Taylor. That was your character’s name, right?”
She stepped back before she could make a complete fool of herself. He was far too tempting. “That was me. Taylor Smith-Price.”
“He told me you were sixteen, and I should find a more mature woman,” Major explained.
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m plenty mature, thank you.”
