Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

DUSTY

Honestly, I hadn’t thought through the fact that a date night at my house meant the possibility of being in my house. Of course Nova would need to use the bathroom. Of course she would notice that my table was missing. Of course she was smart enough to put those things together.

What I didn’t expect was that she wouldn’t say anything about it. It was worse this way. I would rather know exactly where her head was at than have to guess.

The truck was silent. My mind ran our moment on the deck in a loop. Part of me wished I’d just kissed her, but it was important to communicate I was happy to go as slowly as she needed. I wasn’t going anywhere. As impatient as I felt, we really did have all the time in the world.

My hand snaked across the center console and ran down her wrist, taking her hand. Maybe I couldn’t kiss her until she was ready, but I could try to hold her hand.

Nova didn’t pull her fingers away. “Is this the kind of small town I’ve seen in all those Hallmark movies, where two people announce they’re dating and the next thing you know, the mayor is congratulating them on their engagement? ”

“I don’t think I’ve seen that one,” I said, shifting her hand so it fit perfectly in mine. “But I’m interested to know if this means we’re dating.”

Nova started to pull her hand free. She was skittish tonight. Noted.

I held fast. “Okay, no pressure. We don’t have to define anything right now.”

“I shouldn’t have used that word. My kids—you know, I still haven’t talked to them. Alice asked me the other day if you were my boyfriend.”

My heart was already beating wildly, but those words sent it into overdrive. “What did you tell her?”

“No,” she said. “Because you aren’t. I should have asked what she thought about it then, but I didn’t. Too chicken, I guess.”

I was just glad she still let me hold her hand.

She plucked at her skirt with her free fingers. “Maybe we don’t have to worry about it yet.”

“Can people know that we came together?”

“Is ‘people’ Gracie Mae?” she asked.

“She’s one of them.”

“You know, at some point you have to tell her yourself. You call these people your friends, but can you really consider someone a close friend if you can’t tell them how you truly feel?”

My pride stung, but she was right. I kept hoping someone else would step in and tell Gracie Mae to back off, that she would read the signs I was putting out to her and make the choice herself to understand I wasn’t interested. But it was the coward’s way.

“I wondered if I was just another Gracie Mae for a hot second,” Nova said, surprising me.

“What does that even mean?”

“You know, you’re a flirt. I’ve seen how you put your arm around her at the diner. You can’t really blame the woman for holding out hope.” She looked out the window. “Part of me wondered if I was reading into your teasing the wrong way, too. But that was anxiety talking, and I saw the light.”

“You aren’t,” I said as boldly as I could. “I’m hoping to get that mayoral endorsement soon.”

Nova laughed. “Good thing this isn’t a Hallmark movie or we’d have ninety minutes to fall in love.”

I squeezed her fingers gently. We could take all the time she needed.

Me? I didn’t need more time. I knew how I felt about her.

“Are you hoping to keep us a secret for now?” I asked, a little afraid of her answer.

Nova seemed to consider the question. Or maybe she was formulating an answer. “No. I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with you if I was afraid of what people would say.”

“I have to hand it to you. Most people are afraid of the gossip in this town.”

She seemed to think about this. “I guess if I have nothing to hide, I don’t really care what people say about me.”

That was healthy. Or maybe her dissociation was the healthy part. Either way, I liked that I didn’t have to hide.

The high school gymnasium was crawling with people by the time we got there. Tables were set in a U formation, holding all the auction items with clipboards for people to write down their bids. My seniors were behind the food table, helping people purchase drinks and concessions. Roy was right outside the doors setting up a photo-op with his longhorn, Steve. Bounce houses with entrance fees lined the lawn.

It was a family event, and there were many avenues to raise the money we needed to send our boys to camp.

Coach Henry stood near the risers, hands in his pockets. “Brody didn’t come with you?” he asked, looking past me. “Oh, howdy, Nova. ”

“Hello,” she said, stepping close to my side. She didn’t touch me, but the energy buzzing between us was palpable. Neither of our bodies had forgotten the moment we’d shared on my back deck.

I did a sweep of the gym, but didn’t see Brody. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen him when we were setting up, either. “Did he come earlier?”

“Not that I saw. I called his grandma an hour ago, but she didn’t answer.”

Uneasiness settled in my gut. Brody had been my number two guy ever since we’d caught him after he’d snuck into the high school gym. He’d worked hard for this fundraiser, and he was planning to be here.

“I’ll try his phone first,” I said. “If he doesn’t answer, I’ll try to reach Patty at Pleasant Gardens. She’s there in the evenings pretty often.”

“Okay.” Henry frowned. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Neither did I.

“What can I do?” Nova asked, pinching the elbow of my sleeve.

“Right now, just try to enjoy yourself. It could be nothing. I’ll check in with his grandma to make sure he’s okay, then we can go bid on a sunset tractor drive.”

“Someone’s offering that up?” she asked, tucking her chin slightly in disbelief.

Teasing Nova was a sport. She was so smart, it was hard to get her sometimes. But her ignorance in our country ways helped. “No, but I can make it happen if you’re interested.”

Nova laughed, the sound rich and sweet. “I’ll go see what they have.”

She didn’t laugh often enough, in my opinion. Getting to hear that sound was like catching a glimpse of the aurora borealis. Magical. I watched her walk through the crowds of people, greeting Flora, then continuing to mosey on to the long tables. She was walking down the line, reading the placards with concentration.

She would be fine alone for five minutes while I made a phone call, but I still didn’t want to leave the room, to leave her sight. I wanted to be around her always, and getting to spend time with her tonight had been a glimpse into what the future could look like, one where I wasn’t alone. The sounds of kids running around or Nova baking to fill my house. Of having someone else to cook for. To smell a roast in the crock pot and know I didn’t have to portion it into lunches for the entire week. To sit on the back porch watching the sunset while kids jumped on the trampoline, trying to rocket launch each other.

I yearned for it.

“Hey, man,” Tucker said, walking my way and holding June’s hand. “Dad’s already got a line for pictures with Steve.”

I clapped him on the back. Steve was always a success. “That alone will bring in enough money to send at least a few of these boys to camp.”

June put her arm around Tucker’s waist, pressing into his side. “Do you think you’ll hit your goal?”

“It’ll be tight, but it’s possible. A parent donated the bounce houses without rental fees, so I hope that closes the gap.” I shrugged. “We won’t know until we add up all the bids. Hopefully everyone is feeling mighty generous.”

“I’ll bet they are,” June said. “These folks love their football.”

Henry’s idea of having the teams wearing uniforms and working all the tables was a great idea. Get the boys in front of their eyes.

“Gracie Mae is coming,” June continued. “Maybe when it’s all cleaned up, we can go out?—”

“I brought someone tonight.”

They both blinked at me. Tucker didn’t seem as surprised as June. Time to be blunt with them. What had Nova said? If I can’t tell people how I really feel, can I consider them my close friends? Well, I’d already told Tucker multiple times and he understood, but June and I still needed to cross that barrier.

Time to put the past behind us for good and allow myself to consider her a close friend again. “Gracie Mae is a wonderful person, but I don’t feel that way about her. I don’t know how to be more blunt than I already have been, either.”

June held my gaze, standing straighter. “She’s been holding onto hope that you’d change your mind, I think. I’ve tried not to get in the middle.”

“I don’t want to hurt her, but I have feelings for someone else. I don’t know how else to say we’ll only be friends.”

June gave me a sheepish smile. “I can talk to her.”

“It needs to come from me,” I said.

She nodded, then tilted her head, her long, curly blonde hair trailing over her arm. She seemed hesitant, tense. We were never this strained before, back in school. “Is it Nova?” she asked.

“Yes.” I found her in the crowd again, talking to Desi Partridge. “I hope tonight is the start.”

“How do her kids feel about it?” Tucker asked.

“I don’t know. But they’re pretty rad kids, so I hope they approve.” I kept looking, hoping to see Brody mixed in with some of his friends, but he wasn’t here. My gaze dropped to June. “Anyway, I…uh…thought that in the spirit of honesty, I would apologize for making things difficult with us since you’ve gotten back. I’m super happy for you both.”

Tucker beamed at me, patting me on the back. “There we are. Only took you six months.”

I shoved him off playfully.

“Thanks, Dusty,” June said. We shared a look, and I felt the moment peace passed between us, the tension easing. She looked behind me. “Gracie Mae’s here. ”

It was time. “Okay. See y’all.” I turned around, walking a few steps from them to meet Gracie Mae on our own.

She smiled widely at me, her blonde hair curled and makeup pristine. She was beautiful. “Hey,” she said, her smile growing. “Great crowd tonight.”

“You can always count on Arcadia to show up when it matters, right?” I asked. Before she could answer, I powered ahead. “Listen, I…uh…brought a date tonight.”

Gracie Mae’s face fell slightly before she fixed it again, a slight blip.

“I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else,” I continued. “But I think things are going well with Nova Walker, and…uh…I wanted you to know.”

Her expression looked frozen. “Yeah, cool. She’s super nice. That’s really great.”

I could see her fighting disappointment.

“So, uh…I hope we can stay friends, Gracie Mae. I really value your friendship.”

She nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Of course, yeah. I mean, I knew…it’s not like you haven’t said that before. I just hoped…anyway, thanks for telling me. I do hope you guys have a good time tonight.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll see you around.”

It was palpably uncomfortable between us, but I couldn’t help feeling a wash of relief that we’d been honest and talked it out bluntly. She seemed to accept it this time.

I rubbed the back of my neck, anxious because I still couldn’t see Brody. “Anyway, I need to run. Gotta check in on a student.”

“Okay. See you around.”

I slipped outside, the late spring air pleasantly warm in the twilight. Finding Brody’s number, I tried that first, but it went to voicemail. Then I called his grandma and got the same thing. The longer the phone rang in my ears, the more nervous I became. By the time I found the number for Pleasant Gardens, I was pacing.

Cindy answered the phone. I could tell by the slight rasp in her tone.

“Hello, Cindy, it’s Dusty Hayes.”

“Good evening, young man. I just saw your grandpa walk back to his room after dinner. Want me to put you through?”

“No, actually. I’m not calling about him. I was hoping to speak to Patty McAllister.”

“Oh, honey, she isn’t in tonight.”

Shoot. “Did she work earlier today?”

“No, she was supposed to be here, but—well, you know how things are.” Cindy lowered her voice. “I don’t reckon that boy makes it easy on her to leave.”

A sinking feeling filled my gut. Was Brody hurt? He lived a very independent life. “Brody’s a good kid, ma’am. I have the pleasure of coaching him, and?—”

“Not Brody,” she said. “Good heavens. He’s an angel.”

Well, I wouldn’t go that far. The kid had a mouth on him during practices.

Cindy lowered her voice further, like a good southern woman with a juicy bit of gossip was apt to do. “I’m talking about that nasty son of hers.”

The hair stood up on the back of my neck. “You don’t mean Brody’s dad.” Saints alive, I sure hope she didn’t.

“Mmhmm. She won’t say anything, but you know he brings trouble.”

“I thought he was in jail.”

“Got out last month.”

Brody’s bruises suddenly had a lot more clarity. I’d never understood why such a popular kid was getting in fights. And here I’d been, trying to connect with him. Just a stupid, ignorant adult trying to tell him I understood when, really, I’d never gone through what I suspected Brody had suffered .

I thought back to Henry finding him in the school gym, showering with a bloodied lip. If his father was responsible?

I was going to kill that man. No, because then I’d be in jail. I needed to breathe and think through this. Calling the police sometimes made these situations worse for the victims, so I needed to be sure that whatever I did got Brody’s dad away for good.

It wouldn’t be enough to find a place for Brody to stay, because that left Patty alone with the lowlife.

Think, Dusty.

“It’s really a shame. Patty can’t turn him away, but I’m not supposed to tell anyone,” Cindy continued, unaware of my broiling rage. “You know he’ll be in trouble if he’s found within one hundred yards of that place.”

My entire body stiffened. “Right,” I said, pretending I knew exactly what she was talking about. “Don’t want the law involved.”

“Maybe that would be best. Call in that he’s breaking the restraining order and they’ll cart him away, won’t they?”

I wanted to shout at her. Why hadn’t she done so already? That was sure to put him in jail long enough to figure out a safe plan, wasn’t it?

“I need to go,” I told her, suddenly feeling her release of information had been more calculated than I’d given her credit for. If I took care of it, she wouldn’t be breaking her friend’s trust. “Thanks, Cindy. You’ve been very helpful.”

I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket. The event was going strong. Floodlights had come on in the football field while I’d been on the phone, lighting the grassy area swarming with kids and bounce houses. The way back into the gym was crowded, and the tables with auction items were teeming with people.

Maybe getting enough money to send everyone to camp and supply them with uniforms free of charge next year was possible. A surge of affection for this town and their love and care shot through me. Maybe I’d grown up without parents, but I hadn’t grown up without love. Arcadia Creek was a community that looked out for each other, that showed up when we needed them.

I found Henry standing beside the table of refreshments chatting with a parent. When he noticed me watching him, he excused himself and came to my side. “You found him?”

“Not really. But I learned that his dad is back.”

Henry swore.

“My thoughts exactly, Coach.”

Henry ran a hand over his face. “We shouldn’t get involved.” The look on his face was saying the exact opposite.

“I also learned his dad is breaking a restraining order.”

Henry swore again. “We can call that in.”

“Right, but I want to make sure it’s handled right. We don’t want anything blowing back on Brody or Patty.”

“I trust you, son. What did you have in mind?”

“This place is crawling with cops.” I scanned the crowd, looking for someone I could trust. “I figured I’d start by talking to one of them.”