Chapter 7

seven

. . .

River

“How comeyour name is River and Uncle King’s name is Kingston?” Cutler asked, over a mouthful of noodles.

I’d picked him up from summer camp, and we’d taken the canoe out for a bit before heading to the Golden Goose for dinner. Nash was working late on a project, as he and Kingston owned RoD Construction, and they were busier than ever lately. This town was booming, and the tourists were starting to buy up properties. Apparently, small-town life wasn’t such a bad thing.

We all pitched in with Cutler, as he really was all of ours, in a way. We’d been there the day he was born and every day since.

“Well, I guess that’s what our parents wanted to name us. Sort of like your parents naming you Cutler.”

“But I go by Beefcake now, so I don’t think they did a very good job picking that name.” He shrugged before taking a big swig of milk, leaving a white mustache above his lip.

I leaned forward with my napkin and wiped his face. “Yeah. Your handle is Beefcake, I get it. But you have a pretty cool name. You know that, right?”

“Pops says that Tara picked the name Cutler when I asked him about it.” Tara was Cutler’s mother, and she wasn’t around a whole lot, but I’d never heard him call her by her first name before today.

“Ah… I didn’t realize that. I think your dad liked the name Cutler, too, though.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But Tara thought of it first.”

“What’s with you calling your mom Tara?”

“Joey Bindle goes to summer camp with me, and he said that moms are supposed to take you to camp and make you breakfast and do all the things that my dad does. Things that you and Uncle Ro and Uncle King and Uncle Hayes do. So, I don’t think Tara should be called Mom.”

Damn. Beefcake was a straight shooter.

That was the fucking beauty of kids. They didn’t spend a lot of time analyzing shit. They said what they thought. I was down with that.

I ran a hand along my jaw. “All right. I get that.”

The bell on the door rang, and I turned to see Ruby walk in. Midge approached her, and I’ll be damned if Midge fucking Longhorn didn’t look uncharacteristically nervous. Her posture stiffened, and she kept clearing her throat.

She obviously snatched that fucking dog.

I barked out a laugh, and Cutler turned to follow my gaze.

“What’s funny, Uncle River?”

“That lady over there is Lionel’s daughter, and she told me something funny.”

“She’s real pretty, isn’t she?” he asked, and I nodded.

“She is.”

Ruby’s shoulders were back, chin up, as if she were about to confront a fucking mob boss as she stared at the older woman with a brow raised. Midge turned away quickly and led her in our direction, and Ruby’s gaze locked with mine. They stopped at the table beside our booth, and she dropped the menu down for Ruby.

Ruby shot her a death glare, and Midge hurried off.

“Didn’t I tell you she stole that dog?” she said, keeping her voice low as her gaze moved from me to Cutler. “Oh, hey. I’m Ruby.”

“I’m Cutler, but you can call me Beefcake.”

“Beefcake, huh?” Ruby dropped to sit on the chair. “Good name. I like it.”

She paused to place her order with Letty, one of the servers, and Cutler was practically bouncing in the booth now. “Why don’t you sit with us? We just got our food.”

I could tell Ruby was uncomfortable about how to answer him because apparently, her hostility didn’t extend to children. “He just told you his handle. The least you could do is sit with him.”

She fidgeted with her napkin before moving to her feet and sliding into the booth beside Cutler. “You don’t have to wait for me to finish eating, though.”

“We aren’t in a hurry. Uncle River is watching me until my pops finishes work.”

She nodded, and Letty smiled at her before setting down her soda.

“Okay.” Ruby took a sip from the straw and peeked up at me. Damn, she was pretty, and I was glad she was sitting with us. “So, tell me why you go by Beefcake.”

“Well, I was just telling Uncle River that Tara picked my real name, Cutler. And I don’t like it.”

“Who’s Tara?” Ruby asked, as Cutler finished chewing and smiled up at her. I wasn’t surprised Ruby didn’t know about Tara. Tara hadn’t been from here, and her relationship with Nash was short-lived.

“She’s my mom, but she doesn’t come to see me much, so I’m calling her Tara now.”

“Ah, I see,” she said, as Letty set her food down in front of her. “My mom was kind of like that, too. I get it. I call her Wendy instead of Mom.”

Cutler’s eyes widened as she bit off the top of a french fry. “Really?”

“Yeah. But I have a great dad, and I’m happy about that.”

“I like Lionel.” Cutler mimicked her by dipping his fry into the ketchup and then waggled his brows before biting off the top.

Why am I so fucking fascinated watching these two interact?

“I like Lionel, too.” She chuckled. “And that’s all you really need, right? It seems like you’ve got a great dad, and it’s obvious that all your uncles love you, too.”

“Joey Bindle says that it’s weird that I don’t have a mom who brings me to camp.”

Kids could be little fuckers when they wanted to be.

“Who is Joey Bindle?” Ruby asked when she set her grilled cheese back down on her plate and finished chewing.

“He’s in my class at school, and he goes to summer camp with me.”

“Well, I think he’s weird.” She shrugged.

“You do?” Cutler asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah. Why does he care who drops you off at camp? Do both of his parents drop him off every day?”

“No. I’ve never seen his dad. Just his mom.”

“Well, why does Joey make the rules? Why can’t a dad drop you off? Or a grandparent? Everyone’s families are different, and that’s what makes them special. You tell Joey that you feel lucky to have a great dad who shows up for you every day. But you don’t have to make him feel bad that his dad isn’t there; just let him know that you’re okay with having a parent who comes to get you. Not everyone has that.”

Cutler’s lips turned up in the corners. “Sometimes my uncles pick me up. Like today, Uncle River picked me up.”

“I’ll bet Joey wishes he had cool uncles like you. Sometimes people say things to make you feel bad because they feel sad about something, too.”

“You think Joey feels sad that his dad doesn’t pick him up?”

God, I love this fucking kid.

“I don’t really know because I don’t know Joey. But I know that if someone is pointing out something that you don’t have, it’s usually because they aren’t happy on the inside.”

“Are you happy on the inside, Ruby?” Cutler asked, and I chuckled because, damn, the kid didn’t hold back.

Ruby surprised me when she wiped her hands on her napkin and smiled at him. “Most of the time I am. Sometimes I’m sad inside, too, though.”

“Why?”

She thought about it. “Well, sometimes I get sad when my brothers do things that aren’t good for them, and I don’t know how to help them. How about you? Are you happy on the inside, Beefcake?”

“I’m happy on the inside.” He looked up and then reached for her hand, and she startled a bit. Cutler wouldn’t notice, but I did. “I’m sorry your brothers make you sad sometimes.”

A wide smile spread across her pretty face. I’d never seen her smile like that before. “You know what?”

“What?” he asked, as he dipped another french fry into his ketchup.

“Talking to you makes me happy on the inside, Beefcake.”

These two.

Who’d have guessed it?

The woman despised almost everyone, but Cutler fucking Heart was a closer. He’d won her over without even trying.

“Talking to you makes me happy on the inside, too.” He looked over at me. “Are you happy on the inside, Uncle River?”

I rolled my eyes, acting annoyed, even though I wasn’t annoyed at all. “Right now, I am.”

The little dude barely missed a beat. “Hey, Ruby. Do you know Demi?”

“I do know Demi. I used to work at her family’s ranch when I was a teenager, and she and I would ride together when I finished my shift.”

“Oh, man, really? Demi’s my girl, but you can be my other girl. We ride horses on Saturdays together. You want to come ride with us?”

“I haven’t been on a horse in a few years, so I’m probably a little rusty.”

“You going to say no and break Beefcake’s heart?” I said, my voice all tease.

She raised a brow before narrowing her gaze at me. “I promised to stop by Demi’s coffee shop tomorrow and I’ll mention it to her.”

“I know Demi will want you to come with us.”

“He’s a persuasive kid, huh?” I said, as I rumpled the top of his head.

“He sure is.” She smirked and reached for the other half of her sandwich, and we spent the next half hour listening to Cutler tell us all about his plans for the summer.

I insisted that her meal be added to my bill. Even though she put up a huge fight, she finally conceded, and we made our way to the door. She shot Midge a final glare, which made me laugh.

“All right, well, thank you for letting me crash your dinner,” she said, bending down to get eye level with Cutler. “I’m glad we got to chat.”

“I’m glad we got to chat, too.” He kissed her cheek, the little Casanova, and damn if a little part of me wasn’t fucking jealous.

She pushed back to stand.

“Do you need a ride home?” I asked.

“Nope. I’m heading to the bar to close. I just left so I could grab dinner.” She held up her hand and waved before walking away.

“I like her, Uncle River.”

You and me both, little dude.

The office had been a shitshow today, and I’d made it over to Magnolia Haven just before the sun went down.

“Oh, my boy, those are beautiful. You always were the best at picking out which blooms I’d plant next,” Grammie said.

Pearl Arabella Pierce was the epitome of everything good. The woman who’d never given up on me. My North Star. My home.

She’d put up with a lot of shit from me, but she’d never turned her back on me.

“I just know what you like,” I said, brushing my hands together to get rid of the dirt that settled there. “These will be easy to see from your window now. And I’ll come back and fill the flowerbed beneath that tree next week.”

“Let me feel the dirt, please,” she whispered, as she smiled up at me from her wheelchair, which I’d parked outside in the garden while I got these flowers planted. I reached into the bag of soil that I’d brought with me, and I grabbed a little in my palm before kneeling in front of her and placing the soil in her dainty hand. She closed her eyes and rubbed her thumb along the dirt. “I always loved getting my hands dirty in the summer and spring.”

My grandmother was an avid gardener. It had always been her happy place. So, when she could no longer live on her own, Kingston and I found her the best place we could. A room of her own with a west-facing view of the mountains and a little garden area that I could fill for her.

“You sure did. But you didn’t like when I made you those mud pies very much.” I chuckled.

She sifted the dirt through her fingers and decorated the grass beside her before brushing off her hands. “You loved to turn on the hose and make a mess, didn’t you? And King just liked to roll in it and laugh. Gramps always got a kick out of what little rascals you two were.”

My grandfather had passed away two years ago, and Grammie’s health had declined after that. She and I had spent hours in the hospital at his bedside as the cancer ate away at him day after day. Kingston found reasons to stay away. He’d never been good at dealing with the heavy stuff. Maybe he was the smart one because I thought it had taken a toll on me and Grammie, watching him disappear before our eyes each day. Grammie had never been the same.

“We did put you two through it, didn’t we?” I asked as I wheeled her back inside. She waved and greeted everyone we passed in the hallway.

“You two gave us the greatest joy in our lives,” she said, as we stopped at the sink to wash our hands before I parked her chair beside the window. She smiled when she took in the pink and white blooms I’d just planted.

She was being kind. I was a hellion, but they’d embraced me all the same. Kingston was a whole lot easier than me, and I was grateful they’d had him to balance things out with my moody ass.

“So, tell me what’s going on with you? Any new lady friends in your life you want to tell me about?”

She wasn’t a fan of my dating life, nor my brother’s. If Grammie had her choice, we’d both settle down and have a couple of kids—but she knew that wasn’t happening.

“I haven’t been out much this last week. Nothing new to report.” I’d been tired of my routine, and as much as I enjoyed having a beautiful woman in my bed as much as the next guy—lately, I’d just been keeping to myself.

I was a moody bastard. I wouldn’t deny it.

“When are you going to bring little Cutler by to see me?” she asked. “I can’t believe he’s moving on to first grade after the summer. I feel like Nash just brought him home from the hospital not that long ago.”

I chuckled. “Yeah. He’s growing up fast. I told you he goes by Beefcake now. The kid is hilarious. I’ll bring him by next week.”

“Thank you. King brought him by not that long ago, and he asked me to call him Beefcake, so it sounds like the new name is sticking, huh?” She chuckled.

“Yep. At least for now. Have you had any other visitors this week?”

“Romeo and Demi came by to see me yesterday, and she brought me the most delicious sun tea from her coffee shop. I’m so glad Romeo found himself such a special girl and finally gave his heart away.”

Here we go.

“Yep. She’s great for him.” I raised a brow. “He has a rough exterior, but you know he’s a big softy beneath it.”

“I know someone else who is just like that.” She winked.

God, I loved this woman.

“All right. Enough of the birds and the bees talk. We’re way past that. Let’s go play some gin rummy with the girls. It’s that time. Kingston’s probably already in there flirting with all the ladies.”

Yes. I came here several days a week, but Wednesday was gin rummy night at the nursing home, and Kingston and I always spent an hour playing with Grammie and her friends.

It was the least we could do.

This woman had done everything for us.

So, in a way, I’d already away given my heart when I was a young boy.

The woman who owned my heart just happened to be an eighty-three-year-old saint whom I called Grammie.