Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Sometimes you have to be very straightforward with Boomer. He doesn’t think to look much past the surface of a question,” Noelle explained. “He probably doesn’t realize you think he’s with MaeBe and that’s why you haven’t picked up on his hints.”
“Hints? I didn’t know there were hints. And what was I supposed to think? I know people live together platonically sometimes, but it’s more usual for a man and woman living together to be together.”
“Probably, but they are absolutely not, and you should know that MaeBe totally approves of you. We talked about it, and while she is very much in the live and die alone camp right now, she likes you. Ever since Kyle died, she’s been messed up, especially when it comes to relationships.” Noelle had gone somber.
“I’m confused about Kyle,” Daphne admitted.
“We all are. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. It depends on who you ask. I only know I went to his funeral, and it was the weirdest thing I’ve ever been to. It’s like all the MT people know what’s going on, but they won’t talk about it,” Noelle replied. “I think it’s one of those top-secret things you have to get used to when you’re with one of them. We all have to have enough faith that they know what they’re doing and be okay with being in the dark about some things. Boomer was there, you know.”
“He was there the day his friend died?”
Noelle shrugged. “He was there the day whatever happened happened. I know he carried MaeBe out of a building that was about to explode. She’d been hurt quite badly. She cares a lot about Boomer, so the fact that she approves of you is a big deal.”
“Is she all right? She seems sad sometimes. I wasn’t sure how since I thought she was with the best man I’ve ever met. She seemed distant even when we were playing games she said she loved.”
“Getting back to game night is a big thing for her. I think it was Boomer’s idea.” Noelle went over to look at the industrial oven, fiddling with some of the dials. “He also encouraged her to get back online and play the games she loves. I think that helped, too. She joined a guild, and she’s talking to this guy who’s going through something similar. Well, he’s going through something, and they’re bonding over it. If Kyle is alive, I think he’s going to find he’s lost his shot with her.”
Daphne wasn’t sure how they could be so uncertain whether their friend was dead or not, but she needed to concentrate on the problem in front of her. “I still think you’re wrong about Boomer liking me that way. We’re kind of opposites.”
“I’ve found opposites attract. I can’t imagine being with someone exactly like me. It’s good to have some things in common, but otherwise, I like having Hutch’s perspective on things. We came from two completely different worlds. I had a mom and dad who loved me, and Hutch’s homelife was awful, to say the least.”
She heard the bell in the lobby chime again, and she knew she should get out there and help her employees, but she couldn’t pull herself away from this talk. Weeks of curiosity had been building, and having someone to talk to about her crush felt too good. “Boomer’s parents weren’t great.”
“No, and yet that didn’t break him. My husband has been through more pain than I can imagine, and he’s still a good man who loves his friends and family and would walk across hell to help any one of them. He has, in fact.” Noelle got a little teary. “We can learn a lot from our opposites. Opposite doesn’t mean bad. And sometimes the traits we think make us great are the very things that can hold us back. We can mistake fear for caution. Caution is a good thing. Caution means we think things through before we act. Fear means we never act at all. I learned from my husband and this group of crazy, amazing people he brought into my life. You should think before you leap because if you do care about Boomer, that family comes with him. For you and Lou. You might have enough family, but I’ve found it’s a great place to be.”
Could it be possible? Could he actually want her the way she wanted him? Did she have any right to act on it? She had a kid, and Lou had never seen her date.
“Hey, Daphne.” Sandy Weaver stood in the doorway that led to the storefront. She was working the cash register this afternoon. “There’s someone here to see you. She says you were married to her son. Should I let her come back?”
Speaking of her family. Her mother-in-law never referred to her as her daughter-in-law. She was always either Louisa’s mother or the woman who’d married her son. Somehow her mother-in-law always managed to tie Daphne’s existence to someone else, as though she didn’t matter if she wasn’t meaningful to someone who did matter to Amelia.