Graham entertained us over burgers, fries, and milkshakes by performing impressions of his teachers. When he started working his way through my brothers, I almost snorted strawberry milkshake out my nose. He nailed Owen’s accent and even pretended to be Kane on the back of one of his bikes.
“I think you might have a future as a performer.” Devyn dipped a fry into her ketchup before popping it into her mouth.
“Can I go try the claw machine?” Graham asked.
I scanned what was left of his meal. “Are you done with your burger?”
“I’ll have some later.” Graham got up from the plastic chair. “Please?”
“Think you can win me a stuffed animal?” Devyn reached for her wallet and pulled out a handful of quarters.
“Can I try it, Dad?”
“Go ahead.” Besides losing all of Devyn’s change, he wouldn’t be able to get into too much trouble. Not out here in Broken Bend. Growing up in such a small town had felt stifling at the time, but I hadn’t realized what a safety net it had been for me and my brothers.
“Do you miss it?” Devyn asked.
“Working at The Burger Box?” I joked.
She laughed. “No. Do you miss Broken Bend? We always used to talk about moving away. You were brave enough to do it. I’m the one who ended up staying close to home.”
I could have admitted the only thing I’d ever wanted was to be close to her. Laying that kind of line on her wouldn’t be fair. I had too much baggage to make a play for Devyn now. Though I’d never trade being a dad for anything, the chances I’d taken while trying to forget her over the years had left me with a lifelong obligation.
Her hand rested on the table, just a few inches from mine. I brushed my finger against hers. A jolt of awareness crackled up my arm. She looked down at where our fingers barely touched, then lifted her head to meet my gaze.
“You’re the brave one. Look at all the responsibility you’ve taken on. You manage a non-profit and how many volunteers?”
Devyn glanced down again and shifted her hand so our fingers no longer touched. “I sometimes wonder what would have happened if you and Duke had never gotten into that fight. Do you think you would have moved back to Broken Bend after college?”
The hurt in her tone felt like a dull blade sawing into my heart. He obviously hadn’t told her she’d been the subject of our fight. Too much time had passed to travel back to the past. As much as I wanted to tell her, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Even if she admitted to having feelings for me too, I’d promised Duke I’d leave his sister alone. That was one promise I’d be willing to break, but all the reasons he gave me for staying away were valid. I couldn’t argue with him that she deserved better than a guy like me.
“Well?” Devyn prodded.
“Probably not,” I lied. “My goal was always to get out of here. Though now that I’ve got a kid, the slower pace of a small town like Broken Bend appeals to me.”
“What’s stopping you from moving back now?” She fiddled with her straw, then took it between her lips and sucked down a sip of her shake.
Watching her wrap her lips around that piece of plastic had to be the most erotic thing I’d seen in years. Blood rushed to my cock. I shifted my hips on the plastic bench and forced myself to look away. “I’ve got a great job in Dallas. Pays well and I get to help animals live a better quality of life. Like Shirley.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to make something that will work for her?”
Though I mainly worked with domesticated animals, we had the resources to build something custom. “Yeah, I think I can.”
“How much would something like that run? I’ve heard custom prosthetics can be really pricey.”
I couldn’t let her down. “The company could use some good publicity. I’ll see if they’d be willing to donate it in exchange for doing some social media posts.”
“That would be fantastic.” Devyn slumped against the back of her seat. “We operate on a shoestring budget already.”
“Let me see what I can do.” I had to come through for her. I’d failed her all those years ago. This was my chance to make up for it, even if she didn’t realize that was my goal.
* * *
Devyn
It had been so hard to watch Henry drive away without telling him how I felt about him. Having him show up in my life again after all these years had to be a sign. And he had the ability to save Shirley. For the millionth time, I griped at myself for resisting Lou Ellen’s offer to set me up with her nephew for so long.
He’d promised to follow up with me after checking in at the office about a donation. In the meantime, I started shooting tons of footage of Shirley and Squiggy in case they wanted to feature a before and after for their social media campaign.