Hard Knox - Riley Hart Page 0,25

of the town, their group of friends, where I moved from and stuff like that. The food came, and we ate together. Before long, I didn’t feel like I was eating breakfast with Remington Monroe. He was just Remy, and there was something endearing about him.

We had just finished eating when Remy said, “Mary Beth…she talks about you all the time. She’s real proud of you. Law says she told him I remind her of you. I don’t see it.” You could tell he hadn’t meant it in an offensive way. If anything, it was self-deprecating.

His words didn’t make sense at first, but then I looked at him, at his eyes and the secrets there, and thought about myself. There was an insecurity in him that I knew well, maybe sadness too. Not that I thought Remy was sad or even that I felt that way now, but I had, and I was sure he had too. I’d worked through my depression a long time ago, but I thought it was a battle Remy was still fighting.

“I see it,” I said softly, just as Lawson approached.

“Mmm, I missed this face.” He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Remy’s lips. It was like Lawson lit up Remy’s soul, the light so bright, I felt it.

“It’s only been a few hours since you’ve seen me,” Remy replied.

“So? I always miss you.”

Remy rolled his eyes, but I could tell he liked it. That Lawson was maybe the only person Remy would believe when they said that. Lawson was Remy’s reason for…well, everything, I was pretty sure. And the way Lawson looked at him, talked to him, I could see he felt the same.

A deep, penetrating ache landed in my chest. I cleared my throat. “Thank you both for your friendship with my mom. It, um…it means a lot to me.”

Lawson nodded at me as if I’d somehow passed some test. “You’re welcome, man. And hey, next time we have a get-together at our house or something, you should come.”

“I’d like that.” I really would.

Lawson smiled, kissed Remy again, and returned to work.

Mom brought my check over a few minutes later, and Remy said, “You’re welcome to join me anytime. I’m usually here a few mornings a week. If I’m writing, I might be a little lost in it and either won’t notice you or will forget you’re sitting with me, but you’re welcome.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Somehow, I didn’t think he was exaggerating either.

Remy stayed at Sunrise. I paid, told Mom I’d see her later, and was on my way. I didn’t go straight to my car, though. I walked around, explored the town a little. There was a hilly, shady park not far from Sunrise.

I ended up a few streets away and saw Safe Haven, the art studio. I remembered Kellan saying he owned it and talking about Logan taking classes, so I jogged across the street and went inside.

Kellan was leaning against the counter, talking to a woman and a little girl, who looked about five. He glanced up at me and smiled, then held up his hand as if to say he’d be a minute. I browsed around the studio, admiring the paintings, pottery pieces, and other forms of art decorating the space.

When the woman and her kid left, Kellan approached. “Well, if it isn’t the other Havenwood twink,” he said playfully.

“There are only two of us, huh?”

“The only two who are fabulous.” He winked.

Kellan reminded me of people I would have known in the city. I wondered if he’d ever left Havenwood or if he’d been here his whole life.

“Looking to take a class?”

“Me? No, I’m not very artistic.”

“Lots of people think that, but they are. You should give it a try.”

“Maybe… I just left Sunrise Café and was exploring. I saw the studio and remembered you owned it, so I thought I’d stop by.”

“Check out the schedule. You might see something you like.” Kellan pointed to a corkboard, and we went over.

A flyer caught my eye: Adult-Child Paint Night!

I immediately thought of Logan and Knox. Logan liked art. He drew and painted some. He’d shown me some of his work the night before. The thing was, I didn’t know if Knox realized he was an artist too. That table he’d made was art. I thought maybe the two of them had more in common than they saw on the surface. Maybe they needed to look at things in a different way.

“Do you do gift certificates? Or