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“I know. I made the decision to move away, hoping that would help. And in some ways, it did. It was easier to focus on what I wanted to accomplish, and I could only help so much from a distance.”
“But isn’t that the whole point? You shouldn’t have to leave to solve your problems because you aren’t really solving anything by doing that. You’re just running away and dealing with the same shit from there; you just aren’t here to see it. But from where I’m sitting, it’s the same damn thing. And it’s going to eat you alive if you don’t start protecting yourself.”
“When did you get so smart?” I teased.
“Hey, my daughter is a doctor. It must run in the family.”
“I guess it does,” I said, letting his words sink in.
Maybe it was time I practiced what I preached.
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 arounda 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.”
