Page 15 of Inherited Light
I squeezed her hand. “I’ll walk as slow as you need me to go.”
We strolled in companionable silence until we were down the path far enough we couldn’t see the restaurant any longer. There sat a bench under a lamplight and I gently tugged her with me toward it, so I could sit. Once I sat on the bench, I grabbed her chair and swung it around so our knees were touching before I locked the wheels. I took both of her hands in mine and leaned my forehead against hers. “I’ve had an amazing time tonight, Cat.”
“Me, too,” she agreed, a smile lifting her lips. “I got a little worried when you showed up in the car, but I understand now.”
I chuckled. “You decided I was some kind of spoiled little boy?”
“Well, Cinn does refer to you as the baby all the time.”
I sighed heavily and leaned back, without letting go of her hands. “It’s funny you mention that. I ran into my dad at the shelter when I picked up the car. He was quite concerned about me taking you out.”
“The wheelchair,” she said quickly, dropping my hand to hold hers up. “I understand. I used to hear it all the time.”
I took her hand which was flailing in the wind and lowered it again. “No, not the wheelchair. The age difference.”
Her eyes went wide and then she grimaced. “He doesn’t think you can handle an older woman?”
“I honestly don’t know why. I think it comes back around to being the baby of the family. They forgot to check and see if I grew up in the last twenty-four years.”
“You seem all grown up to me,” she whispered. “I think they underestimate you.”
“Oh, they do, but I guess it’s part of being the baby of the family.”
“Probably also the reason you grew up faster and harder than most guys your age?”
I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean most guys your age wouldn’t glance twice at me, much less take me out for the night.”
“Then most guys my age are self-absorbed jerks. You have me tongue tied half the time. You’re smart, beautiful, crazy talented, and I’m so damn drawn to you I can’t figure out why.”
“Maybe you’re drawn to me because it’s novel to date an older woman,” she suggested, but I shook my head.
“No, that’s not it. I don’t even think about the age difference. I know you’re Cinn’s age, but it seems like the older we get the less it matters.”
“Poetic,” she said, then stopped short of whatever else she was going to say.
“No, just honest. My dad is worried about me in general. I’ve been out of college for a while and still don’t have a job.”
“Aren’t you working at the shelter?” she asked and I rested her hands on my knees.
I adjusted my tie, loosening it so I didn’t feel so confined, then picked up her hands again. “I am, but the job is temporary. Once I finish the addition, I’ll be out of work again.”
“How much do you have left to complete?”
“The way I figure it, a little less than two months, give or take, depending on how quickly the electricians and plumbers finish their work in the salon.”
She held her hand out. “So, see, you have plenty of time to find more work.”
I rolled my eyes. “Want to tell my dad the same thing? He thinks if I don’t work for a big company I’ll never make anything of myself.”
“Is he right?” she asked, stiffening up with those three words. It felt like she was defending my honor, to an unseen entity.
“No, he’s not right, but I can’t tell him. I have to show him.”
She nodded her agreement. “What’s your goal in life, Ren? What is it you want more than anything?”
I let the smile come to my face. “Easy question to answer, Cat. I want to be happy. Does that sound cheesy?” I asked, but she shook her head no. “I grew up with Tabitha who was never happy and Cinn who had dozens of reasons to be unhappy, but was always happy. Well, most of the time.”
