Page 13 of Darn Knit All

“You’re not cursed.” I tilted my head to one side as I considered the selection of non-alcoholic beverages available to me. “Apple cider, please.”

“Good choice.” Aiden pulled a bottle free, cracking open the lid. “This one’s local. It’s from Red Dog Brewery, and the apples are grown at the 4H Farm.”

I sipped, enjoying the tart sweetness. “Oh, it’s good.”

Aiden grinned. “Call when you want a refill.”

He left us to serve another customer.

Theo reached for a chicken wing. “Sorry for dragging you out here.”

I shrugged. “I was watching reruns ofAstipia’s Next Top Model. I think you’ve saved me from myself.”

Red flags began to wave when he didn’t even smile.

“Hey.” I touched a hand to his leg. “You okay?”

“Sorry, just in a shitty mood.”

“Because whoever she is stood you up?”

He nodded then shook his head then huffed. “I don’t know. It’s just… never mind.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No.” He hesitated. “Maybe? No. Definitely not.”

He dropped the uneaten chicken wing on his napkin. Warning bells began to wail, for Theo was a man who devoured everything within sight. For him not to be eating? The situation had to be serious.

“Come on,” I coaxed. “I’ll be your sounding board.”

For the umpteenth time since I’d sat down, Theo huffed and sighed and huffed again.

“I’m just being ungrateful.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I need to get over myself.”

I waved a dismissive hand. “Stop putting yourself down. Let it out.”

“I’ve got a good home. A good job. A great family.” He stopped, making a frustrated noise.

“But?” I prompted when he didn’t continue.

“But. That’s a good question. I should be grateful but… Linc and Annie are the brains behind the business, I’m just the supervisor helping them toward their vision. I live in a rental. My family is primarily their family. I don’t know, sometimes I just feel….” He shrugged.

“Like you’re a third wheel in your own life?”

“Oof! Right in the feels there, Mai.” He rubbed his chest.

“You know, you’re not the only one who feels like that sometimes.” I tossed a fry in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Or maybe more than sometimes.”

“Try all the time.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t seem healthy.”

“I know.” He shuffled on his seat, one hand dropping to absently rub at the liner covering his right knee. I knew some of his story. He’d been in a car crash over a decade ago that had pinned him in the vehicle. They’d had to perform a transtibial amputation—removing his leg from below the knee—in order to free him.

I’d known of Theo before the accident but only in the way I knew of most people in this small town. We hadn’t been friends or even closely acquainted. At some point over the last decade, he and my brother, Ren, had become friends, and through Ren I’d begun to know Theo. But it hadn’t been until the last few years that we’d gotten close.

“I guess the question becomes, what are you going to do about it?” I asked, slicking another fry through some ketchup.

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