Page 12 of Home Changes
“I’ve been good. Did my twenty-two in the military, and now, I’m back. Because, well,” he glanced off to the side, “I’m sure you know. Dad’s failing.”
Allison’s smile faltered. “Yeah … we all know about Chester. It came on slow, but it was hard to miss. It got pretty rough there for a while. He and Barry butted heads a lot. They might've come to blows if it hadn’t been for Kathy. Kathy Marks. You might remember her?”
He nodded. “Vaguely.”
She sighed. “Barry has, or I guess I should say had, a temper. But you’ll hear about that the first time you talk to Edna Michaelson.”
Seth laughed, resting his hands on his hips. “Is Edna still the town gossip?”
“Well, for the women, yes. Used to be your dad and Delbert were the ones spreading the men’s gossip. Somehow, whatever Edna knew, your dad and Delbert found out within hours. There are no secrets.”
“Doesn’t sound like that’s changed much.”
“Nope. Still the same.”
He smiled down at the pavement, then glanced back up at her, brow lifting slightly.
“So … why are you here? I mean, at the hospital?”
She lifted her wrist and held it up so he could see the faint red line of the incision. “Never tangle with a broken jelly jar. It never ends well.”
Seth winced. “How bad was it?”
“Bad enough that Zeke Johnson, the doctor in Hollister, wouldn’t touch it. He sent me here to thehand surgeon. They say I’m healed and can do whatever I want now. But if I have any problems, I’m supposed to come back. You here with your dad?”
Seth nodded slowly. “Yeah. I probably should’ve been here last week, but I had to go pick up my partner.”
Allison blinked. Her brain filled in the blanks. A partner. Oh.
Oh.
Well. That explained why he’d never dated in high school. He was gay. She was so slow. How had she never guessed?
“Well, I’d like to meet him,” she said with a smile. “Maybe you two could stop by the bakery sometime.”
Seth’s brow furrowed. “You let dogs in the bakery?”
Her smile froze. “Why would you call your partner a dog? That’s … that’s rude.”
Maybe he wasn’t just gay. Maybe he was rude, too. That would be a shame. But twenty-two years could change a person. God knew she’d changed.
“Allison,” Seth said slowly, “my partner is a German Shepherd. An actual dog.”
Allison felt her face flush in a hot wave ofembarrassment. “Oh. You mean … he’s not a man. You’re not … gay?”
Seth’s mouth dropped open for a second, then snapped shut. “What are you talking about?”
“I thought … when you said you had to go pick up your partner … I just assumed?—”
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “My partner is a military working dog. I’m a retired MWD handler. I adopted him because they took him out of service for arthritis.”
Her mouth formed a silent O. Then she burst out laughing. “Oh my God. Okay. Okay. Can we start over?” She knew her face was turning a brilliant red. The heat on her cheeks had nothing to do with the late afternoon sun shining on the entrance to the hospital.
Seth was laughing, too, now, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yeah. I’d like that. And just for the record, I’m not gay. Not even a little bit. I’m surprised you and Ken never got together,” he added, studying her. “I thought for sure you two would end up married.”
Allison blinked again, caught completely off guard. “How did you know …”
