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“Never.” Her laughter follows her out the door.
When his eyes return to me, he asks, “So, did you talk to your mom about dinner?”
“Not yet. I will. It was late last night, and I didn’t have time to this morning.”
“I’m pretty much available most evenings. Sometimes I work late, but I’m usually always home by seven.”
“You work construction, right?” I ask.
“Yeah, well, I guess you could call it that. I’m a heavy equipment operator. We work in all different types of job sites. I don’t actually build anything, but I haul away the dirt and debris. I dig basements and footers, those kinds of things.”
“So you get to do something different every day? That must keep it interesting.”
“It does. I think if I did the same exact thing, like a factory job or something, I’d go stir-crazy. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I think for me, it just wouldn’t be a good fit. What about you? You like working at the boutique?”
“I love it. Jordyn is great to work for.”
“Is it your dream job?”
“Is yours?” I counter.
“Yeah, I love being outside and running all different types of equipment. The pay is good too.” He grins. “Your turn.”
“I don’t really know, to be honest. I went to community college and received my associate of arts degree, but it’s basically useless. It’s pretty much just my general education classes. I’ve never been one of those people who’s always known exactly what they want to do with their life. My little sister, on the other hand, she’s got her shit together.”
“Just because you don’t know if this is the job that will carry you through life doesn’t mean you don’t have your shit together. Come on, Court, you have to know that.”
“I guess. Chloe is two years younger than me. She’s a medical assistant working at a job she loves. She’s marrying her high school sweetheart, Rodney, who graduated from high school with me, and he just graduated from college with some kind of tech degree. They’re grabbing life by the horns and to hear my mother tell it, I’m letting it pass me by.”
“And you’re two years younger than me.”
“Yeah, I was a sophomore when you were a senior.” I look down at my hands to hide the blush that creeps onto my cheeks. I don’t want him to think I was crushing on him or anything. I mean, not specifically him. All the girls in our school talked about and crushed on the Kincaid brothers. It’s as if it was an entire movement. They were catches back then, and still are to this day.
“It’s okay to not know what you want to do for the rest of your life, Courtney. It’s your journey. Not your parents’ or your sister’s. It’s yours. Maybe it’s the boutique. Maybe it’s not. Regardless, it’s yours. Don’t hide from that.” His gaze is penetrating as he wills me to hear what he’s saying and believe it.
I take a minute to let his words sink in. Finally, I look up to find him watching me intently. “I’m glad it was you, Merrick Kincaid. I’m glad it was your family photo, and it was your name I blurted out to my mother. I’m so thankful for what you’re doing for me.” He’s not just helping me out by being my date for my sister’s wedding. He’s supporting me, giving me a shoulder to lean on, one that doesn’t come with judgment or strings. It’s been a handful of days since he agreed to help me, and already this man sitting before me is important.
I’m in trouble.
“Tell me about your family.” He smiles, and that’s how we spend the rest of our lunch. He talks about his brothers’ wives and their kids, and how they all compete to be the favorite uncle. Some of it I’ve heard before. Jordyn and I talk when the boutique is slow. His sisters-in-law, his brothers, and his parents have also been there while I was working. They’re not strangers to me, but the situation we’re in is odd at best.
“They’re not going to hate me, are they?” I ask him, as we stand to head to the counter to pay our bill.
Merrick places his hand on the small of my back and his lips next to my ear. “I don’t know a single soul on this planet who could hate you, Court. Least of all my family.” He guides me to the register where Tammy, a girl we both went to school with, checks us out. She was a year ahead of me, so a year younger than Merrick.
“Merrick Kincaid,” she purrs. “When are you going to take me on that date?”
I’m embarrassed for her, but also for myself. She knows that we’re together, and in her eyes, there is no way that Merrick could be with me in a romantic sense. She doesn’t have to say the words for me to understand the meaning of her hitting on him right in front of me.
“I think my girlfriend might take offense to that.” He turns to look at me. “Right, baby?” He leans in and presses his lips to my temple.
“Girlfriend?” Tammy asks. More like spits, but I’m trying to be nice. “Since when?”
“A while now,” Merrick answers. He takes his change and shoves it back into his wallet, dropping the few coins into the small tray on the counter.
“Well, when you get bored, you know where to find me.” She sneers at me before turning her slimy smile to Merrick.
My mouth drops open in shock and a little squeak falls from my lips. I can’t believe she just said that.
