body shook with the laughter he held back, imagining Aidan dealing with a hissing cat. “Thank you.”
“That’s not what his ex said.”
Most times, he couldn’t accurately profile whatever shaped Aidan’s thoughts. That was definitely a good thing.
They ended the call just as the ding of a new email sounded. Bull spun in his chair to face the computer and saw Anthony’s message. He opened and printed the items, preparing to start work on the new project. All the while smiling as snapshots of Ben flipped through his mind.
June
Ben wiped down the last counter as Natalie sorted the mixing bowls into the cabinet, readying things for the next morning. Days had rolled into weeks, and during that time, they had established a routine. That first week alone at the bakery had proven Ben could run the shop without Natalie at his side. After being on her own for years on a never-ending seven-day schedule, she finally felt as if she could take a day off and her sweet world wouldn’t end. They took turns working weekends and switched off their morning and late-night schedules to give each other a chance to recharge.
In the last month, they had become partners, just as Natalie had promised.
Ben tossed the paper towel in the garbage bin and exhaled a deep breath, ready to call it a day. Natalie still had to do some grocery shopping, but she preferred to do it on Friday nights rather than battle the weekend crowd.
Natalie walked over to his perch against the table. “Next weekend is Father’s Day,” she signed.
“Are you expecting a lot of orders?”
She shook her head and busied herself, folding and refolding the towel in her hand.
He took the towel from her and set it aside, needing her attention. “Then why the announcement?” The randomness of the comment surprised him, especially since Natalie was a stickler for rules, structure, and having a plan. He touched his thumbs together in front of his chest, then moved both hands forward, signing for her to continue, hoping she’d answer his question.
“I’m going to make my dad dinner that day and I want Gabe there. They’re the only family I’ve got. I have to try to mend this break between them.”
He stared, not really sure how Natalie would manage that. Gabriel couldn’t even watch a movie with a father-son relationship on screen without his body tensing.
She took a step closer. “And you’re going to help me do that.”
He shook his head and waved his hands in the air before signing, “Absolutely not. I’m not going to make Gabriel do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
“You guys have been together for months. You don’t think he’d want you to meet the only other member of his family?”
He wasn’t sure how to respond. If his own parents were still alive, he would have jumped at the chance to introduce Gabriel to them.
He worried his lip, wondering. His supposed friends had kept him hidden away, except when it had worked to their advantage or they had needed a scapegoat.
Shaking his head, he needed to dispel those thoughts. Gabriel wasn’t like them. No. Gabriel kept the physical contact to the bare minimum while he worked at the bakery to help up front, but Ben assumed it was his way of keeping things professional in front of the customers.
Now, the doubt began creeping in with the resurrection of his memories and Natalie’s words.
A hand on his forearm jolted him back to the present.
“It’s like you were a million miles away,” she signed, the concern etched in her expression.
Shaking his head, he forced a smile. “I’m fine,” he signed and waved a hand in the air, brushing off her concern. “I think we can call it a day. And you’ve got some grocery shopping to do.”
As they double-checked all the ovens and doors before locking up the shop, Ben was thankful Gabriel had insisted on taking him to renew his driver’s license. He needed the drive home alone to clear his head.
Stuck in traffic, his thoughts kept looping. Memories of his sister never wanting to introduce him as her brother. Never bringing friends over to the house. His friends leaving for a late-night party, claiming he wouldn’t get past the bouncer at the door. The kids in the group home rolling their eyes whenever he entered the game room, not realizing how deep their words cut into his heart. “We don’t want him on our team.” Back then, he hated being able to read lips. Ignorance would