Page 26 of The Art Of Starting Over

“Nope, sure haven’t, bud.”

“You can come to my house in Chicago,” Maren told him. “My dad will say so.”

Hayden watched the back-and-forth between the kids, all the while trying to gauge Devy’s reaction to Maren talking about her dad.

“Are you going back to Chicago?” Conor asked. If Hayden wasn’t mistaken, he sensed some desperation in his son’s voice.

“Yep, my daddy said I can come live with him when I tire of small-town life.”

This got Devy’s attention. “He said that?” she asked her daughter.

Maren nodded and smiled brightly, as if everything was okay.

Devorah said nothing. She picked up a paper napkin and began shredding it into small pieces. Thankfully, they were saved when Colt and the waitress appeared with their food. For the most part they ate in relative silence, with only the kids talking or Colt occasionally asking Hayden about his return to Oyster Bay.

“Permanent,” Hayden told him. “I liked Wyoming, but it was time to come home.”

“I’m sorry about your wife,” Colt said.

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if people knew around here or not.”

Colt nodded. “Your dad comes in a lot. He mentioned it when he said you were moving back,” he told Hayden. “You know if it wasn’t for your dad, I’m not sure my home brew would be so successful. He’s one of my best customers. Always has been.”

“Yeah, that’s how I found out you bought this place.”

“My dad likes beer,” Conor blurted out. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. “Am I wrong?”

“No,” Hayden said. “But you also don’t need to broadcast it, and it’s not like I drink beer all the time.” In fact, he hadn’t even finished the one the waitress had brought him earlier.

“My mom likes beer too,” Conor said, as if everyone at the table needed to know. Hayden grimaced at Conor’s use of the present tense. He didn’t have the heart to correct his son, but he also needed to change the subject.

“Not now, Conor.” Hayden’s voice was stern, and it sent a message to his son. There were some things you didn’t talk about in front of strangers. Not that Colt and Devorah were strangers, but the others sitting near them were.

Conor opened his mouth to say something but closed it quickly. Hayden was thankful Conor was sitting across from him so he could give him a pointed look. It wasn’t that Conor couldn’t talk about his mother and her passing. Hayden wanted him to do it in the comfort of their own home, where the walls held secrets and didn’t spread rumors.

They finished dinner, and when Hayden tried to pay his bill, Colt waved him off. Hayden still put cash on the table for the waitress. She deserved her tip, regardless of the meal being on the house.

“Thanks for the company. It’s really great seeing you both again,” Hayden said to Colt and Devy as he motioned for Conor to slide out of the booth.

“See you tomorrow, Maren.”

“Bye, Conor.”

“Stop by anytime,” Colt said, while Devy remained silent. Hayden hadn’t expected her to say anything. He suspected Maren’s comment about her father was weighing heavily on Devorah.

Outside, Conor and Hayden climbed into the truck. Hayden started it and sat in the parking lot for a minute before backing out of his spot. They didn’t have far to go, and in hindsight, they should’ve walked. He wanted time to think about how to approach the topic of Sofia’s death but didn’t have time before he’d be at his parents’. This being a school night, Conor needed to take his shower and get to bed.

Hayden turned left when he should’ve gone straight.

“Don’t we live the other way?”

“Yeah, we do. We’re going to drive around a bit.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No.” Hayden sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want you to talk about your mom, Conor. You should talk about her. She loved you very much.”

“Just not the way she died.”

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