Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)(44)

“I haven’t told the folks yet,” his brother began. “But I wanted to tell you. I’m going to be leaving Fool’s Gold.”

Aidan leaned forward. “What? When? Seriously?”

“I don’t have a date. And yeah, I’m serious. I thought a lot about what you said to me before. At the bar. About wasting time here. You were right about a lot of things. My art is what I want to be doing. At least more than I am. I’m tired of dealing with Dad and his shit. I’ll always be under his thumb in one way or another while I live here. Even if it’s just in my head.”

Aidan understood what Nick was saying, but also knew he would miss having his brother around. First Del left, then the twins. Now Nick.

He grimaced. “Let me guess. You’re going to Happily Inc.”

Nick nodded. “I’ve talked to the twins... I mean Mathias and Ronan.”

“I still think of them as the twins, too. We probably always will.” They’d been twins for too long to be anything else. But that was just his point of view. What did they think of their own situation?

“I’m going to visit,” Nick continued. “See what’s what. If it’s all they claim, I’ll move. They said they have room in their studio where I could work.”

“I’m glad you’ll be more focused on your art,” Aidan said. “But you’re not like them. You don’t want to live and breathe whatever it is you’re creating.”

Nick leaned back in his chair. “Agreed. I’ll find something else. Part-time, at least.” He flashed a grin. “I’m good with my hands.”

“I didn’t think it was that kind of town.”

His brother laughed. “I meant I could pick up some carpentry work. Home repair.”

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

They both laughed. Nick pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket and pushed a few buttons. “There’s a gallery in town. I’ve sent a few of my pieces.”

He passed over the phone. Aidan scrolled through the pictures Mathias had emailed. The gallery was in a small square in what looked like a nice downtown. There were mountains in the background. They were different from the ones around Fool’s Gold. These seemed more angular. Rock aggressively thrusting to the sky. By contrast, the Sierras seemed more refined.

He handed back the phone. “I think you’re making the right decision,” he said. “And I’ll miss you.”

Nick raised a brow. “We’re going to talk about our feelings?”

“I can do that now. Pick a topic and we’ll explore it.”

“No, thanks. Is that Shelby’s influence? What’s next? You going to pee sitting down?”

“I’m looking to be a better man. I’ll still pee standing up.” He held in a grin. “Are you threatened by the changes? Do you worry that the family structure will be compromised? Don’t be concerned, Nick. Your place is secure.”

Nick’s wide-eyed shock was gratifying.

“What the hell are you talking about?” his brother demanded. “What has she done to you?”

Aidan maintained a serious and concerned expression. “I’ll always be your brother. We should hug. That will reassure you.”

Nick swore. “Who are you?”

Aidan laughed. “Just messing with you.”

Nick didn’t look amused. “It’s not funny. Don’t talk like that. It freaks me out.”

“You really need to get in touch with your feminine side.”

His brother scrambled to his feet. “No, I don’t. And you should put yours away. I gotta go.”

Aidan was still laughing when Nick bolted out the door.

*

APRIL FOOL’S DAY fell on a Friday, which was perfect. The bakery was extra busy on Fridays, especially in the morning, and Shelby couldn’t wait to hear what everyone had to say. Just to make sure there was plenty of chance to talk about the full-page announcement she and Aidan had taken out, she left a copy of the Fool’s Gold Daily Republic right on the counter.

But customers came and went without saying a word. No one even hinted they’d seen anything, which made no sense. The ad was in the first section, on page eleven. How could anyone have missed it?

A little after eight, Gladys walked in. The eightysomething woman walked purposefully to the counter.

“I want to talk business,” she said.

“All right.” Shelby smiled. “About the paper?”

“What? No. My great-niece. Nancee. She’s thinking of coming to Fool’s Gold for a few months, just to get her feet under her. I want her to stay, but we’ll see. The point is she makes cupcakes.”

Shelby couldn’t figure out why no one cared about the ad. It was huge. It was very clear. She and Aidan announced their marriage. Was no one reading the paper today, or was it one of those things psychologists were always talking about? That everyone assumed the world was talking about them, when in fact the world was too busy talking about itself?

“Are you listening to me?” Gladys asked.

“Huh? No. Sorry. You were saying?”

“Nancee makes cupcakes. Really good ones. You’re always trying new things in the bakery. That has to be hard on man power and equipment. You only have so much space back there, and so many employees. Having Nancee bake your cupcakes would free up space and time.”