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“Let’s get this moving. I want to prove everyone doubting Paxton Wells wrong.”
Auden hummed. “I like this protective side of you. Nice to see a Little stick up for those they love. Your Daddy is going to be really damn proud of you.”
CHAPTER 32
Pete (aka Pops)
Things were warming up by the time I made it back outside. It still amazed me how fast it could go from cool to thick, wet heat in this city. We’d never lived this far south before the offer from Bellport. I’d always assumed people complaining about humidity were exaggerating.
Now I understood why they laughed in my face when I said such thoughts.
I stuck my hands in my pockets and headed down the sidewalk toward the busier parts of town. My choice to walk to Grizzly’s place this morning was partly because Paxton had the car and partly because it had been nice outside.
With the increase in heat, I regretted my decision a bit. Even so, I wouldn’t take back what had just happened. Grizzly needed more people in his corner. And I was happy to be one of them.
Grizzly's block was still quiet at this hour. The live oaks threw shade in uneven patches across the sidewalk and a couple of the homes had cute fences with flower boxes hanging on them. Allof it was very small-town America and perfect for the sweet man living here.
My son’s obsession with his agent made me immensely happy. The pair was perfectly suited for one another. I’d never seen Paxton as happy as he’s been since committing to Grizzly. I also enjoyed the idea of getting to be the family Grizzly doesn’t have. I had more than enough love to go around.
Truthfully, I'd liked him immediately, which wasn't something I said about everyone. I was a reasonable judge of character. Life had required it, especially the years of raising Paxton alone. Even with this, there were some people I was kind to without being friendly and welcoming.
Grizzly passed every internal standard I kept for the ideal person to keep close. The fact that he was in love with my son gave him a few extra points too.
What surprised me most about Grizzly was how much he reminded me of my sweet Miriam. My late wife had a similar personality to the man holding my son’s heart. They were both sweet and gentle yet could be strong-willed just as often. I had no doubt the gentle giant would love my son until his last breath.
As for Miriam, I didn't think about her every day anymore. In the early years, she was everywhere—in Paxton's laugh, in a song on the radio, in the way the city felt around me. My grief wound around everything I did.
Until one day it was better. My heart didn’t hurt as much at the thought of her. And my memories brought a nostalgic smile instead of tears.
My love would have had opinions about Bellport. She would have walked these streets the same way I was walking them now,head up, taking everything in with a calm gaze. People would have flocked to her, both from her beauty and her contagious energy.
And she’d have thrived. She’d have loved on the people here with everything she had. She’d have cheered the loudest for Paxton when he stepped on the field. She’d have tucked Grizzly against her chest and promised him the world if he’d let her mother him.
Miriam had always been drawn to people who were more than they appeared. Who carried depth you couldn’t always see on the outside.
I was thinking about this when I turned the corner onto Main Street and the smell hit me.
Hazel's.
I came to an immediate halt.
The biscuits. Lord above, the biscuits. I hadn't planned to stop. I'd eaten the pastry at Grizzly's, and I wasn't a man who ate twice before noon. But the smell coming from the open door wasn't going to give me a choice.
Butter. Warmth. Happiness.
Miriam couldn’t have Hazel’s herself, but I could eat some for her. With that reasoning, I strode straight to the restaurant for a basket of fluffy goodness.
The line inside was short. I took my place and looked up at the chalkboard menu, which I could have recited from memory at this point. If I wasn’t looking at it, then I’d have started up aconversation with someone when I really didn’t feel up to it just yet.
Talking to Grizzly had been good, but it didn’t mean I wanted to rush into another heavy chat.
I got a half dozen biscuits to go, telling myself they were for the house. This wasn't entirely a lie because I did intend to bring them to the house. Whether all of them survived the walk home was a separate question I pushed aside.
When I stepped back out onto the sidewalk with the paper bag warm in my hands, I almost walked directly into Bram, one of my new Bellport friends.
"Pete." He caught my arm briefly, the automatic steadying gesture showing off his good reflexes. He was a broad man, somewhere in his late forties, whom I’d met on a random day while exploring town. I’d noticed him because he always looked slightly overdressed for whatever he was doing. Today it was a linen shirt, dark pressed trousers, and shoes that looked a touch pretentious. "Nearly took you out."
"I'd have survived," I joked. "Probably."
