by Tori Brooks
Pulling into the lot of the coffee shop, he was relieved to find it nearly empty. Opening the door for Teri, he sat her at a small table in a corner and went to get them coffee. On impulse he bought a few sweet pastries as a bribe.
“I want you to be honest with me,” Teri said as soon as he returned. He noticed her refusal to look at him as she spoke, it was out of character.
Flynn set her coffee and the pastries in front of her. He sat across from her quietly, trying to read her expression. Aside from the obvious signs that she’d been crying recently, there wasn’t much to see. She was upset, hurt maybe.
“All right,” Flynn nodded.
“Why you?”
Of course he knew that was coming so he was prepared, and didn’t flinch at the question. She was watching him now, so he was glad he was ready.
“Have you been thinking about this all night?”
“Don’t evade the question.”
“It’s a delicate topic, Teri. You’re a lot better than you were when I got here and I don’t want to see you backslide.”
She stared at him and Flynn nodded again to concede the round to her.
“Paul knew exactly what he was doing when he put me here. It’s not just about the band either. I’m here to get the boys on their feet, but I also have a personal interest in making sure they don’t get hurt in the process. He wouldn’t get that with anyone else. I know the traps they can fall into, I found them all myself so I can help them sidestep those obstacles.”
“When did he hire you, Flynn?”
“A couple of months before he passed.”
Teri nodded, looking miserable. “Plenty of time to ask me how I felt about it, but he didn’t.”
“No. He didn’t tell you he was dying because he didn’t want to ruin the time he had left. You know he tried to make everything go as smoothly as possible.”
“He told you.”
Flynn nodded. “He couldn’t tell you about hiring me because you would have questioned it.”
“So he never intended for you to be here mentoring the boys while he was still alive. I was trying to picture how the two of you would have worked things out and magically got along together. That was never going to happen, was it?”
“Teri, we did reach an understanding. I looked at your relationship with Paul after my divorce was final, and you seemed happy. I admit I was a little hesitant about this. I wouldn’t have agreed if he was still here. I’m sorry to say that. It’s nothing against Paul, I just couldn’t have worked with him long term.”
“And you didn’t have to.” Tears welled in Teri’s eyes again.
“We only met once actually. The rest of the arrangements were through Tim. I wouldn’t have been his choice if the situation was different.
“Drink your coffee,” Flynn prompted as the tears ran down her cheeks. He waited until she picked up her cup and took a drink, then held it to her instead of setting it back down. Flynn handed her a napkin and she obediently wiped her face.
“I spoke to Drew,” Flynn looked for a change of subject and remembered there were a couple of things he should mention anyway. “We’re looking for another time for him to meet up with Bryan and practice drum solos. It’s too bad Spring Break isn’t going to work out, it would have been perfect.”
“You mentioned that before. Why not?”
“He’ll be in Sydney, his niece is getting married. Don’t worry, I have a plan. First I should mention that when Tim spoke to Oskar about Dev’s stress levels, he also asked for a little time off for him. Officially this is while they’re reworking the ad campaign, but it’s because the psychologist suggested it.”
Teri’s demeanor changed visibly once Flynn mentioned Dev. He felt dishonest distracting her again, but it just wasn’t time yet.
“Does Dev know?”
“Not yet. I’m not going to mention the psychologist, obviously, or even Tim and I interfering. I don’t want to anyway, but I have to explain it to a certain extent. Oskar cut us a deal: he’s buying in on the new direction of the campaign, and the new ads are being reviewed by doctor what’s-her-name. That’s all off the record of course. In return, I’ll do a spread for his men’s line.”
“You will?”
Flynn nodded. “I told Tim he could trade in on my status when dealing with Oskar. It isn’t a surprise, but we made Oskar ask. Both sides made concessions, in theory, so the end result is workable. I suspect if Dev gets time off, then I do a shoot, he’s going to read between the lines. Whether he guesses right or wrong doesn’t matter, it’ll still be a blow to him.”
“He might think you’re crowding in on his job?”
“It’s possible. What are the odds of being able to take Bryan to New York to meet with Drew for a weekend?”
“Instead of Dev?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m lost. Did you just change the subject again?”
“Not entirely,” Flynn shook his head. “Dev doesn’t know about my spread with Oskar yet. I need to get Drew and Bryan together anyway, the sooner the better.”
“Agreed.” Teri took a drink of her coffee.
“Bryan will hear me and Tim discussing the Oskar Viktor shoot. Naturally he’ll be curious. When I’m honest with him, I think he’ll be on board with it. Bryan will have a better idea on how I should pitch it to Dev, and I’ll have a spy in the ranks on this one.”
“You have Kenny in your pocket already.”
“Kenny won’t be enough if Dev doesn’t like it. Bryan is closer to Dev than Kenny is. Dev isn’t as hesitant to discuss his feelings with Bryan. Even if Dev acts like it’s no big deal, I want to know for sure that he’s not jumping to conclusions.”
Teri sighed as she thought about it. “Bryan practices his drums at home too, so I might be able to convince his parents. Drum lessons would be a relief. He’s almost eighteen anyway, and I’ve already sent Dev to New York with you.”
“Bryan can play you know.”
“You keep saying that, but I’m just not hearing it.”
“He can keep a beat, it’s just entering and exiting solos. Give him a break, he wasn’t originally a drummer.”
“I remember. If Drew can fix that, I stand a chance of swinging a weekend for you. When?”
“As soon as humanly possible.”
“I’ll call Markie tomorrow then. That’s his mom.”
“Great.” Flynn drank his coffee, and noticed Teri watching him as he set his cup down. He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly, hoping he wasn’t inviting trouble.
“How much do you and Nicholas talk about me?” Teri asked.
Flynn almost choked. “Less than we used to, why? Does it bother you?”
“I don’t know. Was it his idea to start pushing me into taking pictures again?”
“No, that was me.” Flynn took another drink, hoping to appear casual. He wasn’t sure where she was heading with this, but she looked determined. Like she had an agenda. He hoped that offer to be naked and frisky in front of her camera didn’t come back to bite him. He was all for getting naked with her, but she wasn’t ready for the frisky he had in mind and he wouldn’t be able to hide it.
“It’s his job to be supportive, it’s mine to get you back on your feet,” Flynn continued.
“Your job. The agreement you reached with Paul.”
“Hmmm,” Flynn nodded.
“What else are you supposed to do?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
Teri stared at him, waiting. Flynn suppressed a grimace.
“We weren’t sure how you’d react to me being around, of course, but I told Paul I’d do what I could to start getting you out of the house. He was worried about you. Nicholas was here to look after you. He thought you’d need more. I didn’t have to be at the reading of the will. He wanted me there because he knew there’d be trouble and wanted another adult on your side. For the record, I think I’ve been doing my jobs fairly well.”
Teri nodded and looked away.
Flynn felt a sudden chill at Teri’s question. She knew he wasn’t.
“No time,” he shook his head.
“Make time. There’s no reason for you to be alone.”
“All right, not interested,” Flynn revised his answer.
“The night manager over there has been giving you some hopeful looks.”
“Why are you so concerned?” he called her on it, not really believing she’d admit interest herself but hoping nonetheless.
This time Teri chose her words carefully. “It’s just that sometimes it’s like I’m seeing a different side of you. Something you keep hidden away. You’re always on guard for the camera, even at the house. The few times I’ve seen you drop that guard, it seems like you’re lonely but you’re holding back. I know you don’t want to set a bad example for Jess, but it doesn’t have to be. Find someone nice.”
“An interesting observation. It’s not time yet.”
“What are you waiting for?”
Flynn smiled. “The right time. I’ll know it when I see it. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know.”
Chapter Eight
The next week was crazy as Teri tried to prepare for Dev’s birthday. Dev preferred celebrating with the boys over a planned party, and it was easier to humor him than fight him on it, but there were still things to be done. Flynn tagged along shopping with her for Dev, she wasn’t sure if it was for approval of what she bought or looking for ideas.
Dev was easy to shop for. The boys got each other things like CDs, so Teri didn’t even walk into a music store. Instead, she picked out a couple of shirts, which Flynn immediately exchanged. Teri bought a few computer games for him. Flynn picked up a couple of computer hacking books. She was tempted to warn him Dev didn’t need help in that department, but bit her tongue. She didn’t want to create mistrust between them. Besides, Teri knew Dev would love the books, assuming he didn’t already know everything in them.
Dev’s birthday went well. He consented to a family dinner to make her happy and this year they ate the cake with forks like normal people. Flynn joined them, enthralled at last year’s option of eating cake and ice cream with either fingers or chopstick. Just one, not a pair. Teri reminded them the challenge was not to be repeated. Ever. It surprised her that they listened. Must be Flynn’s influence.
When Teri’s birthday rolled around the following week, Flynn chartered a boat for the day while Dev, Cassie, Tiffany, and Bryan were in school. They went whale watching. It was peaceful, even with Kenny and Jess along. Teri knew he was just trying to keep her distracted so she wouldn’t think about Paul and the cabin. It was a solid plan, she was pretty sure if he hadn’t intervened she would have spent the day in tears with a box of chocolates.
As soon as the kids got out of school, Nicholas picked them up and they met Teri’s group at an exclusive seafood restaurant where Flynn had a room reserved. The walls themselves were a collage of aquariums, and the shimmering light playfully reflected off a waterfall along the back wall.
As usual, her birthday presents were all photography related: magazine subscriptions, filters, and a new bag. Nicholas got her a new lens, which was unusual because it exceeded the previously established price limits. Flynn surprised her though, he arranged for all of them to learn scuba diving.
Even though it was her birthday, the boys took off after dinner, presumably to a movie, and the girls had study dates. Nicholas left, leaving Flynn and Teri alone for the night.
They visited a small ice cream shop on the waterfront. Flynn pulled a single birthday candle out of his pocket and stuck it on top of her black walnut ice cream cone. He lit it and encouraged the other customers and staff to join him in singing Happy Birthday to her. Embarrassed, Teri blew out the candle the moment they finished.
“That was too fast, did you even make a wish? If you didn’t, we’ll have to do it over again,” Flynn teased as he led her to a small table in the corner of the shop.
“Then I did, thanks.”
“What did you wish for?”
“Not allowed to share,” Teri shook her head at him. “You know the rules.”
“A technicality. So did you have a happy birthday?”
“I did, thank you. You went to a lot of work to keep me distracted. I appreciate it.”
“You weren’t really supposed to notice, you know. I’m getting too predictable. I’ll have to shake things up a bit.”
“No!” Teri’s eyes widened at the thought of Flynn shaking things up.
Flynn smiled and winked.
“Besides, you’re not really that predicable. Scuba diving was a serious break from traditional presents for me,” she continued.
“I noticed a distinctly camera-oriented theme,” Flynn agreed. “Nicholas mentioned you bought an underwater setup for a shoot awhile ago and haven’t used it since so I figured diving would be a multipurpose diversion.”
“So diving is just so I’ll take pictures?”
“It’s your passion. You were letting it slip away, Teri.”
“Flynn,” she looked at her lap and her eyes misted over. “I only lost Paul in January, it’s April. I’m allowed to grieve.”
“I know. Nicholas is here for you, I am too. He’ll coddle you and be sympathetic. I’ll let you cry when you need to, but otherwise I want you to live your life again. Photography is a big part of that.”
Flynn stood up, took Teri’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, let’s walk.”
Teri let Flynn lead her back out into the chilly spring evening. A light rain started to fall, so they hastily retreated to the restaurant and Flynn’s car.
“That wasn’t much of a walk,” Flynn apologized as he slid into the driver’s seat beside her.
“Closer to a sprint I’d say,” she agreed.
“It’s good practice for you. Dev is sixteen now, you know what that means.”
“Girls?”
“Normally I’d say yes, but that’s going to take more time. No, I was hinting at a driver’s license.”
“You teach him.” Teri responded immediately. She still wanted to forget teaching Cassie.
Flynn gave an exaggerated sigh. “Fine, but you owe me.” He glanced at her with a smile. “I knew you’d probably run from that one.”
“So it was a set up to get me to owe you? I could ask Nicholas or one of the boys you know.”
“Nicholas already said he didn’t want the job and you don’t want your son behind the wheel with any of his friends as coach. I already arranged for a private driving instructor. No point putting him in a regular driver’s education class and have him distracted by girls. I understand that was the reason he didn’t take the driver’s education course in school.”
“You’re taking this seriously.” Teri stared at him, trying to find the motivation behind Flynn’s actions. This went beyond helping him play the guitar.
“Seeing Dev on a skateboard leads me to believe he might develop a fondness for fast cars, so teaching him good driving skills beyond the basics from the beginning will be important. I’m being proactive. On that note, he’d like to try surfing this summer.”
“First you tell me he might take up racing so I have to worry about him crashing —”
“Not for years yet I’m sure.”
“Then you say he wants to take up surfing and get eaten by sharks?”
“I’m sure that’s not his intent. Besides, it’s statistically unlikely. Shark attacks are widely reported because they’re uncommon. You can’t coddle him, Teri.”
“You’re encouraging this?”
“To an extent. Of all the mischief he could get into, you have to admit surfing is pretty tame. I know about tracking your phone, and let’s not forget his plot to drug Jess. Cars, if he does go down that road, will be later so don’t worry about it now.
“The part about surfing that surprised me is that it’s a solitary activity and he almost always wants to be with the bo
ys. You said yourself they’re like brothers. Dev hates being apart from them. School is going to be hard for him after Bryan graduates. They don’t have any classes together, but just having him there is enough for Dev. I’ve seen him when Bryan is out sick and he’s visibly depressed.”
“The boys don’t skateboard,” Teri argued, then her shoulders sagged. “But they’re always there with him. Even if they’re at the beach they’d be farther away.”
“Doing something on his own will be good for him. Kenny and I discussed it. He’s talking Jess and Bryan out of joining Dev on the waves to see if he really will go solo.”
“You talked to Kenny before me?”
“Kenny already knew, Teri, all of them did. I’ve made enough progress with Dev that he came to me hoping that I could talk you into it.”
“Hence taking over the driving practice so I owe you?”
“I’ll save that favor for another time if I can. This is more of a heads up. Nothing has to be decided until school’s out. I wanted to give you time to get used to the idea. He’s a strong swimmer, I checked. I’ve got a few friends who surf and I’ll find someone good to teach him. Also somewhere safe, without letting him know we’re going there because it’s safer of course.”
“Do I really have a choice?”
“He’s sixteen and you’re his legal guardian, so yes, you have a choice. Technically.”
“But not really.”
“I’d hate to be the one to tell him no. If you’re leaning that way, let me know and I’ll see if I can put your mind at ease or work on talking him into something else.”
Teri sat in silence and considered what Flynn said. God only knew what else Dev would come up with if she squashed surfing. Skateboarding was bad enough. She was so sure he was going to break every bone in his body. Now she had to deal with the fear he would drown or get attacked by sharks. Flynn sounded confident. And it could be worse, she could choose the beaches and he’d have someone with him. Maybe even a couple of people, with spear guns.
Flynn pulled into the driveway as Teri wondered about shark repellents. The rain was merely a drizzle now and she ignored it as he opened her door and helped her out of the car. He walked her up to the door but hesitated on the porch instead of following her inside. Teri turned to look at him.
