here or something?”
I rolled my eyes. “I can help, can’t I? It’s not like I’m incapable of washing dishes.”
“I’m not saying you are. I’m just curious if there’s a reason for this sudden blossoming of brotherly affection.”
I flicked some of the foam from the sink at him. It landed in his beard, and Deacon made a face that was so, so reminiscent of how he’d looked when we fought as kids that my breath caught. I turned back to the sink, hoping he didn’t notice.
“I just figured if I’m gonna be around for a while, I might as well be useful.”
“If you’re gonna be—”
Deacon stopped short, and I looked over at him sharply, actually hearing what I’d just said. Shit.
“What?” I said, maybe a little more gruffly than I needed to.
“Nothing.” Deacon’s answering smile was so knowing that it took all my effort not to squirm.
I handed him the plate I’d been washing, then yelled when Deacon dipped his hand into the sink and splashed soap suds in my face.
“Hey!” I said, splashing water back at him. “Rude.”
“Oh, you can dish it out but you can’t take it?” Deacon said, dipping his dishtowel in the water and flicking it at me. “I see how it is.”
And just like that, we were twelve and fourteen again. Or six and eight, even, fighting in the kitchen as Mal hid in the corner, protecting the tray of muffins with his body.
“You,” Deacon said, as I succeeded in squeezing a sponge’s worth of water down the back of his shirt, “are officially fired.”
“Can’t fire me, I already qui—”
The words ended in a gurgle as I took a cupful of water in the face. I spluttered, then raised my sponge again, only to hear Lily’s shocked voice behind me.
“What are you guys doing?”
In unison, Deacon and I turned around to find her standing in the back hall, hands on her hips and grass stains on her jeans, staring at us. It was a little disconcerting to be caught acting like a ten-year-old by an actual ten-year-old. I was glad to see that Deacon looked as embarrassed as I felt.
“Your father and uncle are just exercising their inner children,” Mal said from the corner. He looked over at us. “Are you two done, or do I have to keep acting as a human shield for these muffins?”
“We’re done,” I said, holding up my hands in surrender. I couldn’t help adding slyly to Deacon, “I’m sure you wouldn’t want to set a bad example for your offspring.”
“You’re one to talk,” Deacon said, but he did finally set his dishtowel down.
“Yeah, but I’m not the one who had the audacity to reproduce. Anyway,” I said, wiping my hands off on my pants, “I just came in here to get the paper. And since my help doesn’t seem to be appreciated, I’ll go do that now.”
“You can’t,” Deacon said.
“What do you mean?”
“It hasn’t come yet.” He shrugged. “I can’t remember the last time it came this late. Maybe they changed the delivery route up. It’s either that, or—”
“Or the paper’s delayed,” I finished, my stomach turning a somersault. That couldn’t be good. “I need to see if it’s been delivered anywhere else. Levi gets copies at The Roastery, right? I’ll go check there.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll come with you,” Deacon said. “I need to pick an order up from him anyway.”
I waited, jittery, on the front porch as Deacon went over a quick shopping list with Mal, who was staying behind to prepare lunch. Lily wanted to stay home, too, and check for bugs in the woodpile, so it was just the two of us heading into town five minutes later.
I waited for Deacon to bring up what I’d said in the kitchen, but he just walked beside me in silence, broken only by the occasional whistle. He fucking whistled, but he didn’t have the decency to put me out of my misery. Bastard.
“Oh, just say it already,” I said when we were two blocks away from The Roastery.
“Say what?”
“Say you noticed that I said I might stick around for a while, and ask me if I meant it, and then badger me to tell you when I refuse to answer, and then say fine, you won’t make me talk about it, but you’d like me to know you’d be happy if I did decide to stick around Summersea for a little longer, but you know it’s my decision. I know you want to.”
Deacon burst out laughing.