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I nodded and kissed his knuckles, then started the Jeep and drove us to his parents’ house.
* * *
Tully playedwith his nieces and nephews, he chatted with Zoe and Rowan—siblings he wasn’t particularly close to—he had some quiet conversations with Ellis, and his parents hugged all of them a lot.
We checked on the bird in the box and managed to feed it some minced beef and water. Mr Larson said it was a baby magpie, likely unable to fly to escape the storm. I figured if it lived through the night, we could take it to someone to look after.
I sat with his mum while Tully helped his dad take down the boards of plywood from the windows and they tidied up the yard. The old weather station Tully had installed was nowhere to be found, but that wasn’t surprising.
“Thank you for making him come back,” his mum said quietly. “I know he didn’t want to.”
“He needed to,” I said. “And he’ll be glad he did.”
She smiled as she watched him lifting off one of the boards. “You have a way with him,” she said, still smiling. “You calmed him down so easily today. He listens to you.”
“It’d been a stressful two days, that’s all,” I said, dismissing her claim. “Though he does have a short fuse.”
She chuckled. “He really doesn’t. He’s normally very placid. Cool-headed and easy going; it’s what makes him very good at his job. He’d be the one to break up a fight, never start one. He argues with his brother all the time, but that’s all in jest. Mostly. I think I’ve seen him genuinely bristle only three times in his life: once was when he cussed out the news reporters on live TV, and two times were today.”
“Oh. Well, he was tired and hungry today,” I said, immediately trying to defend him. Then I realised what point she was making. “Those three times are because of me? Are you implying I’m not good for him?” I started to feel a little unwell... I was too tired to be having this conversation right now.
She took my hand and squeezed it. “Heavens no, just the opposite actually.”
I was so confused. “I’m not following. Sorry, I—”
“He was defending you, Jeremiah.” She smiled at Tully, who was now bickering with his dad about how he was holding the board while his father unscrewed it. “He’s so in love with you.”
Oh, dear god.
“And it’s wonderful to see,” she mused happily, still watching him. He was still bickering with his father.
“Are you sure he doesn’t have a temper, because...?” I gestured to him. He was now arguing a little louder than before.
“Okay, maybe a little bit,” she allowed. She patted my leg. “Take him home.”
They finally got the board off and Tully dumped it on the pile with the others. Taking him home sounded like a really good idea. “Tully,” I said.
He looked straight over at me and came inside. “Are we going? Please tell me we’re going?”
I nodded. “I’m tired.”
He put his hand to my belly and slid his arm around my waist. Displays of affection in front of people would definitely take some getting used to. Especially in front of his parents.
Then I remembered that I’d kissed him in front of them, and that made leaving sound even better.
We said goodbye to everyone, and Tully got to Ellis. “You coming?”
“I will. Tomorrow, if that’s all right. I might stay here tonight,” he said.
It was understandable.
“Plus, I’m pretty sure I don’t wanna hear what noises’ll be coming outta your room—”
Tully snatched the cordless drill off his father and tried to get around the couch to kill his brother. Rowan and their dad tried to intervene, the kids all joined in, laughing and squealing like it was all the best game they’d ever played.
I sighed and gave a nod to his mum. “Thank you for the food.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Maybe one day you can tell us about the hero story the news crew talked about and that nice-looking fireman mentioned.”
