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Magnus’s dad, Rufus, was in his midseventies and fit as a fifty-year-old, and he even had a girlfriend these days. Saying no to dinner would not be letting the guy down. Rufus’s happiness did not depend on Nick attending the feast.
The “old” man was perfectly happy. He still spent the summers hiking the forest that surrounded the town, which was everywhere except for where Cooper Springs met the Pacific Ocean. He was head of the local Bigfoot Society. And even though he’d sold the pub to Magnus years ago, he still helped his son run it when they were busy or if Magnus had business that took him away from town.
“Yes, I will saynoto Rufus,” Nick insisted. The last thing he wanted to do was spend hours with a bunch of happy people, chatting and comparing lives. He shuddered. Sitting at the bar was different because he wasn’t with them here; he wasnearthem. He wasn’t expected to interact when he sat at the bar. For fuck’s sake, hisniceshirt was a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt that had no stains. He’d picked it up in Colombo and somehow it hadn’t been left behind when Nick had barely escaped with his life.
On Thursday, people would want totalkto him. They would want him to catch them up on his life, which—spoiler alert—was shit. He rubbed his jaw. Fuck, he’d even have to shave.
Magnus shook his head and grinned. “We’ll be seeing you a bit after three, then.” His attention flicked over to Liam. “Liam, it’s always good to see you. You want an order of fries? And what can I get you to drink?”
Nick resisted grinding his teeth. For one, Liam was on the list of people Nick liked. And for two, he didn’t have dental insurance. Or any insurance.
“I always want fries. Do you have that habanero-aioli?” Magnus grinned and nodded. “Cool. That too, please, and how about one of those stouts?”
Shrugging out of his parka, Liam draped it over the back of the tall barstool on his other side. Liam smelled like rain and saltwater. He’d either been walking on the beach or working in the carving studio he had set up in his front yard.
“Heya, Nico, how’re things?” Liam asked him with a broad smile.
When he’d first crawled back to Cooper Springs, Nick had tried to keep Liam at arm’s length. But it had been impossible. Liam Wright was the most genuine person Nick had known in his entire life, always truthful, but alsoalwayskind. Nick had never been able to hate him. The man was un-hateable even during Nick’s worst moods. He just… ignored Nick’s sharp bits and kept showing up in his life, happy to be friends and to do whatever.
More than once, Nick had thought it would be handy if they were attracted to each other. But the fact that they’d been friends since Nick’s family moved to Cooper Springs when he was nine eclipsed any sort of physical attraction. Plus, Liam was just too fucking happy.
“Fine,” mumbled Nick.
“Fine,” Liam teased. “You don’t sound fine.”
“Well, Magnus just threatened me with his father.” Truly, that should be enough, and Liam knew it, but he added, “And the new owner moved in today.”
Liam understood him well enough to know which of those two things bothered him more. He bumped his knee against Nick’s. “You knew it was going to happen.”
Magnus set the pint of stout in front of Liam and wandered to the other end of the bar, where his dad sat working on a book of crossword puzzles.
“Yes, but why this guy?” Nick whined. He couldn’t help it.
“What’s wrong with him?” Liam asked. “I haven’t met him yet.”
There was nothing wrong with Purdy that Nick was willing to admit to Liam, even if they were best friends. No one in Cooper Springs, except Liam, were aware that Nick had flunked out of school or that said flunking had led to the vagabond life that had also recently ended in failure.
“I just don’t like him,” he said, knowing he sounded somewhat petulant.
“Okaaaay.” Liam drew out the word, and Nick had the feeling the conversation wasn’t over yet, merely delayed. “Are you working on anything new?”
Nick shook his head. “Nah. I’m kind of at an impasse.”
Although he had taken his saw to an unsuspecting piece of lumber this morning just so he could see Purdy’s reaction. Purdy had been exasperatingly calm.
Liam nodded sagely. “Open yourself up, and inspiration will come.”
“How are your, um, princesses coming along?”
Recently, Liam had been inspired to create male princesses. He’d been gifted a mother lode of freshly cut pine and was slowly carving them—with his chainsaw, same as Nick—into works of art.
Unlike Nick, Liam had talent and knew what he was doing. The two carvings he’d finished so far were gorgeous male princesses, each over six feet tall. Nick was absurdly jealous of Liam’s skill; the best he’d managed so far was a slightly pornographic dolphin. Chainsaw art was not easy.
“Great, great,” Liam replied. “I’m pausing to decide who’s next. Maybe I’ll do something else first. I don’t want to burn out on them. Besides, I’m gonna have to start looking for a real studio soon. The front yard is getting a bit crowded.”
Nick nodded. Liam’s yard did give the impression of a crowded train platform, albeit with inanimate objects. Still somewhat paying attention to Liam, Nick continued to surreptitiously watch Purdy and the two obviously younger-than-Martin men who’d helped him unload the truck. As he watched, they stood up from the booth and started putting their jackets on and moving toward the exit.
The door shut behind them.Good riddance.
