“Hey, Pop. I just came by to see how you’re doing.”
His father set Joey down, and the pup barked and sniffed his shoes. “Working the books. It’s a big pain,” he grumbled. “I have no idea how your mother did it for all those years, bless her heart.” He stood and embraced Pete.
Out of habit, Pete inhaled, smelling for hints of alcohol. Thankfully, there were none, but Pete wasn’t fooling himself. He knew alcoholics could mask their dirty little secret too many ways to count. Still, Pete breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of the warmth of his father’s embrace. Softer around the middle now from age and alcohol, Neil still had strong arms that carried the memories of the attentive father he’d always been, and memories of their close-knit family, which had become frayed by rattled emotions with their father’s drinking.
“I told you I would find a bookkeeper to do it for you.”
Neil swatted the air as he headed into the store with Joey trotting alongside. “Pfft. Family business doesn’t mean hiring someone off the street, you know.” It was a bone of contention among his father and all of his children. Pete’s younger siblings had found careers off the Cape. Like Pete, they didn’t have any interest in working in a hardware store, and although it made Pete sad to think about, he knew that when his father retired, they’d likely sell the store, and Lacroux Hardware would become a thing of the past.
He followed his father to the register. “So, you’re doing okay, then?” The store hadn’t changed in years. It was a typical hardware store with stocked metal shelves, linoleum floors, and no decorations other than the OPEN sign hanging from the door. His father had never been one for frivolities.
“Fine, fine.” His father picked up an inventory clipboard and proceeded to the paint aisle.
Pete ran his eyes over his father’s polo shirt and jeans, both clean and unwrinkled. A thread of hope weaved its way through Pete’s heart. It was a pattern he’d tried to break, hoping a new day would bring a wake-up call for his father before a heart attack did. As much as it pained him to know that there would likely be no alarm going off in his father’s head, when Pete had first realized he had a drinking problem, he’d approached him about getting help, and his father had been knee-deep in denial. Weeks later, his brothers had staged a full-on intervention, much to Pete’s dismay. Their efforts had caused a fissure in their relationship with their father for a few hard months—with the exception of Sky, who had been oblivious to their attempts. While his brothers could escape their father’s wrath of denial by going back to their respective lives, Pete remained. Eventually, Pete relented the fight, unwilling to lose the father he loved in that manner. Guilt-ridden was now a perpetual state for Pete, as he knew that if he didn’t intervene, every day he saw his father might be his last.
“Okay, Pop. Then I’m gonna head out. Do you want to come by tonight and help with the boat? I could use a hand with the caulking.” Come on, Pop. Just one night. Pete may have given up pushing his father to get help, but he never gave up hope that if he could convince his father to get back into the hobby he used to live for—refitting boats, as he’d taught Pete to do—that he might think twice about diving headfirst into the bottle the next time the urge took hold.
His father mumbled under his breath, something about too much work.
Pete leashed Joey and hesitated for a second, his mind and heart battling over trying again to convince his father to get help. He replayed the last conversation they’d had about it in his mind. Hey, Pop, drinking isn’t going to bring Mom back. Why don’t we check out an AA meeting? I’ll go with you. His father’s eyes had narrowed, a rare scowl settling on his lips before he turned his back to Pete in a dismissive manner and grumbled, AA. I don’t need AA. Go on, son. I’ve lived my life. Go live yours.
He only wished he could.
AFTER SPENDING THE day at the beach, Jenna and Amy threw on sundresses over their bathing suits and went to the library to help prepare and organize for the annual book sale.
“Want to grab dinner at Mac’s after this?” Amy asked.
“Uh-huh.” Jenna stood before a box of books, withdrawing one after another, flipping through them, then writing the price for each on the inside cover before placing them neatly in the appropriately labeled boxes, alphabetized by author, of course.
“Can you believe Theresa didn’t say anything this morning about the cookie dough wrapper when she saw us?” Amy asked. “It’s like she wants us to know that she knows we’re the ones who broke the rules, but she doesn’t want to confront us.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with us. I think she wants Bella to know that she knows, without giving Bella the gratification of seeing her get upset.” Jenna eyed Amy. “But that’s Bella’s thing. You know she loves to prank Theresa, and she’ll keep doing things that she’s not supposed to until she gets a rise out of her—all done with love, of course.”
“Of course. We all love Theresa.”
“Ames, I’ve been thinking about Pete.” She watched Amy, who kept her eyes trained on her books, but smiled with Jenna’s admission.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She priced three more books in silence.
“Are we playing mental telepathy? You know I suck at that game.”
Jenna laughed. “I just don’t know what I think, but I’m thinking about him. You know, we’re friends, and I love that, but I want so much more, and at the same time, I don’t want to risk our friendship.”
“True.” Amy continued penciling in prices.
“And I’ve never really told him I was interested, and now that he’s shown an interest, he makes my heart go even wilder, making it even scarier to try to let him know how I really feel.”
“Yes.”
Amy was doing what Amy did best, drawing out Jenna’s thoughts by refusing to give her answers. She was patient to a fault, and when it came to Pete, Jenna knew she needed to be handled in that fashion. Telling Jenna she loved Pete brought out her defenses. This summer was supposed to be about finding happiness regardless of Peter Lacroux. Liar, liar. She’d been locked in her own mind for too long, running circles around Charlie and always circling back to Pete.
“I also think Bella was right, that he’s never had competition for my attention before.” She set down the book she was holding and faced Amy. “So, now that Pete has made it clear that he wants to take our friendship to the next level I should probably figure out how to talk to him so I can give him the same chance I gave Charlie.”
Amy lifted her gaze to Jenna. “But?”
“But…” Jenna joined Amy and took the book from her hands and set it down. She leaned her butt against the table, and Amy did the same. “Suppose when the competition is gone, he’s no longer so hot to trot for me?”
Amy pressed her lips together for a second. “I wish I had an answer, but honestly, that could happen.”