he fridge and took off the caps. “Let’s go out back and sit on the deck. I can hear the monitor from there.”
Outside, he lit a few citronella candles to keep the bugs at bay, and their wicks sizzled in the dark. We sat in a couple Adirondack chairs that needed a new coat of paint, our legs stretched out in front of us.
“Have you seen Hannah yet?” Pete asked. “She works for us here.”
“I heard that.” I took a slow pull on my beer, not entirely comfortable with the way my heart beat a little faster at the sound of her name. “Yeah, I saw her earlier tonight, actually. I stopped by the house.”
“She’s had it rough.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“But it worked out really well hiring her. I had no idea how good she was in the kitchen. When Georgia came to me and suggested it, I wasn’t sure.”
“I knew she was pretty good. Does she still bake pies?”
Pete moaned. “Oh God, the pies.” He rubbed a hand over his stomach, which was slightly paunchy. “They kill me. But everything she makes is good.”
We drank in silence for a moment before Pete spoke again. “So what about you? Your dad’s retiring, I hear. You taking over the practice?”
“That’s the plan.”
“So you’re sticking around, then.”
“Yeah.”
Pete laughed. “You don’t sound too excited about it.”
“Sorry.” I took a long swallow before elaborating. “My mother is stressing me out.”
“Moms are good at that. I love mine, but most days I’m pretty glad she’s in Florida.”
“Exactly. I think I’ll like her better once I get my own place. I’m just feeling a little smothered. She was always easier to deal with when Drew was around.”
“You should talk to my brother, Brad. He sells real estate, and I bet he could find you a great place pretty quickly. Lots of people sell this time of year here.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll do that. How are your brothers? I hear Jack is remarried and has a baby?”
“Yep. So he’s exhausted, that’s how he is.” Pete laughed. “His wife is Margot, I’m not sure if you’ve met her. Their son James was born a few months ago. Brad’s the same. Still single, has his daughter with him every other week.”
“That’s great.” I tipped my beer back again. “I’m happy for you guys.”
“Thanks.”
We talked through another beer, getting caught up on family and friends and future plans. We laughed about the dumb things we did as kids and traded favorite memories involving Drew and all the dares he took.
“Oh, man, I thought for sure he’d break a leg when he jumped off that roof.” Pete laughed. “And I can’t believe he never got caught buying beer all those times.”
“It’s because there was always a female cashier,” I said. “He could talk a woman into anything.”
“Fuck yes, he could.” Pete took another sip. “I was actually surprised he got married first. I thought for sure you would.”
I raised the bottle to my lips. “Nah.”
“Think you ever will?”
After a long swallow, I shrugged. “Not sure, Mom. I’ll let you know.”
He punched me on the shoulder. “Asshole.”