Scars Like Ours | Red View Romance #2

🐈 Seven

The aroma of the casserole that Kenzie had in the oven was adding an annoying dose of hunger to Cliff's uneasy stomach. The stronger it got the more anxious it made him, because it meant it was getting closer and closer to dinnertime and everyone would start showing up soon.

While his sister and Annie were upstairs, he managed to distract himself with his search for the tuning kit. Finally he found it stowed away in one of the wicker storage baskets on the built-in shelf in the den, but the discovery came with an uncomfortable realization: if he tuned the piano, he'd be expected to play. His family would ask him for a song after dinner, and he'd be cornered into either playing in front of an audience for the first time in four years, or admitting why he didn't want to.

"Holy shit."

The familiar male voice had him flinching from his thoughts, and he turned to see Dawson standing in the archway, hands on his hips, a wide smile of disbelief on his face. When his eyes locked onto Cliff's face, though, the smile faltered, and his eyes went big.

"Holy shit," he said again, the traces of humor and joy long gone as he stepped into the room.

He looked different, Cliff realized. Stronger, broader, and every part the orchardist in his worn-out jeans and flannel shirt. The boyish looks that had followed him out of high school had finally departed, and left a man in their wake.

"Jesus, Cliff, what happened?" Dawson took the baseball cap from his head and stuffed it in his back pocket. His hair was matted, but perked back into shape when he ran his hands through it. All the while, his eyes never stopped analyzing Cliff, assessing the damage.

Cliff shrugged, giving him the same answer he'd given their sister. "Car crash a few years back. I'll get into it at dinner when everyone's around. It's, uh..." He paused, overwhelmed with emotion for the second time that day. He laughed it off with a shrug, knowing there was no hiding his misty eyes. "It's good to see you, Dawson."

Dawson gathered him in a hug, clapping his shoulder. "It's damn good to see you too. And about time."

"Is Jack around?" Cliff asked as they parted. When Dawson only shrugged, with a look that hinted at frustration, he pried, "You two getting along?"

"About as well as when you left," Dawson laughed. "But, hey, well enough to still be business partners. You've already seen Kenz?"

"She found me before I even got out of the car. I met Annie, too. They went upstairs, something about a dress." He hoped his infatuation wasn't somehow revealed in the short sentence. Thankfully, his brother seemed oblivious.

"Ah." Dawson nodded in understanding. "The bridesmaid dresses. Kenzie's latest wedding project-slash-obsession. I'm just glad tuxes are so easy."

"How's, uh... I mean..." Cliff worked his way around the sentence, wondering if he even had any right to ask. He'd been an absent member of the family for years--did he have any right to worry about the people who'd joined it while he was away? "You think Marshall is a good match for her?"

"The best." Dawson's answer was fast and certain. "He's a great guy, you'll like him. And when you see how happy Kenzie is with him, you won't have any doubts." His gaze went down to something behind Cliff, brows furrowing as he blinked. "There's a cat in the house."

"What? Oh, yeah." Cliff turned, and smiled at the sight of the familiar orange tabby strolling into the den. He'd left for a bit to explore the house, and apparently had gotten bored enough of the new surroundings to come find company again. "That's Fritters, he's mine. I hope it's okay if he stays--he won't mess with the furniture or anything. I already set up his litter box in my bathroom, so he knows where to go for that, too. But he's not so good with petting, at least until he's warmed up to whoever's trying to do it." And in Cliff's case, that took longer than he was even planning to stay in Red View for. He'd stick around for the wedding, then stop being a nuisance and get out of everyone's hair–assuming they'd even still want him at the wedding by the time dinner was over.