Page 47 of Winter Break

“You’re not coming back,” I said softly.

“This is home, Turner. It always will be. For you and for me, no matter where life takes us. And you are my family, son. You know that, don’t you? I hope I’ve been the mother you deserve.”

“Anita, I …” It was too hard, fighting the tears back and finishing that sentence, so Anita filled the silence.

“I’m not leaving you, son. But I am leaving. For now. Indefinitely. And I am excited about that. I’d be less excited if I didn’t see how well you have everything under control here. How this place is blossoming under your care. Hell, the whole boardwalk is blossoming under your care, Turner.”

“I can’t do it without you.” I was on the verge of tears.

“Of course, you can, Turner. You may not have noticed, but you have been doing it without me. The bookstore is all you. The committee is all you. Well, you and Martin. And you have Casey now, and Dalton’s here for a few weeks to get us through the holidays. He’s such a sweet boy.” She stood and walked the paperwork to my side of the desk, slapping it in front of me and placing a hand on the back of my chair, pulling it out and around until I faced her. I couldn’t help but laugh at her gumption. It was very Anita.

She leaned down, her frizzy hair, despite being tied back, flopping over her shoulders between us.

“I want to make something very clear to you, son. One Hundred Four Breakwater Avenue belongs to you now, and you alone.”

I reached out for the legal document and waved it between us. “No, I get that.” She stared long and hard before she said the next thing.

“I don’t usually listen to a thing Chris Garner has to say, but he’s right about one thing. This building is worth a stupid amount of money. I know you can run this place, but the choice is yours and yours alone, now. You can sell it if you want.”

It was the perfect thing for her to have said. All doubts cleared from my mind. At least all doubts about the future of the building; there was still one big event that had happened during the previous twenty-four-hour period that I had a million doubts and questions about.

But I was in no way uncertain about the future of Breakwater Toys and Gifts or Breakwater Books and the Cuppa Café. Not a single doubt about One Hundred Four Breakwater Avenue.

My stare matched hers as I shook my head no, and I assured my benefactor, my friend, my family, “You chose me for a reason, Anita. That is not what I want. Not in the least. That’s why you chose me.” Much as it was difficult to believe and to say, I finished strong. “One Hundred Four is mine and will remain mine.”

She kissed my forehead and walked off before I could see her cry.

Chapter Eleven

Dalton at Twenty-Two

Turner and I spent as much time as we could together that winter break. Anita and Turner hired me to work at the toy store, and Turner asked me to help him get the new store ready, though I think I was more of a distraction than a help anytime Turner and I found ourselves alone.

Before Anita and Wyatt left, it was challenging to find time to be alone, though one evening, when I found him hanging shelves in a tank top and shorts, I couldn’t help myself. I quickly aided him in finishing his task, then walked him backward, my lips never leaving his, my hands grasping his bare arms, until we were secure in that stupidly tiny bathroom. I pulled his paint-splattered shorts down and practiced my blow job-giving skills.

Turner and Anita had shown up at our house for Christmas Day, with Wyatt in tow, and the day was all kinds of awkward. Between Turner and me trying, and possibly failing, to contain our attraction, and Wyatt eyeing my father like the corporate bad guy he was where Anita was concerned, it was an interesting day.

The only ones who seemed to be having a happy holiday were Brett and Mallory. Brett had gotten down on one knee the evening before, after we’d had dinner with Mallory’s family. The two were ecstatic, and everyone at our little holiday party was ecstatic for them. Conversation focused on Anita and Wyatt’s trip and Brett and Mallory’s wedding plans.

The Lessands showed up later in the evening for drinks and dessert, and Austin dragged me away from Turner and my brother after jokingly congratulating Brett on tricking Mallory into marrying him.

“Where have you been this past week, dude?” Austin asked, tugging me to an unoccupied corner of the room near the Christmas tree.

“I told you, I’m helping out at the toy store.”

“All the time?”

“Well, yeah. I’m helping Turner set up the new bookstore after we close at night too. So …” I glanced across the room, where Turner was laughing at something my brother had said. His eyes found me immediately, his smile bright and happy. It filled me with joy to see him like that and to know that I was the one making him smile. I could feel my own face lighting up in response.

“Holy shit,” Austin said, drawing the words out.

“What?” He physically turned me so that my back was to Turner and most of the room, then he tilted his head and stood straighter to look over my shoulder.

“I mean, I’m used to seeing you look like that,” he said, waving a finger in my face. “You’ve been mooning over him since we were kids. But …” He leaned over to look behind me again.

“But what?” All of a sudden, my heart felt like it was beating its way out of my chest, I was that anxious to hear what Austin had to say.

He gripped my arms and stared intensely at me, to the point where I was about to look down just to break eye contact. At that moment, he said, “What. Happened?”