My Cone and Only

by Susannah Nix

  As he refreshed the paint on his roller, Ryan cast a thoughtful look at me. “You should ask that girl out.”

  I frowned at him. “What?”

  “I know you’re into her. What are you waiting for? Stop playing around and make your move.”

  I turned an accusing look on Tanner. “What’d you tell him?”

  Tanner held up his hands. “I didn’t tell him anything, I swear.”

  Ryan snorted and turned back to the wall he was painting. “Like I need Tanner to tell me anything. It’s only been obvious since forever that you’re in love with Andie Lockhart. I keep waiting for you to come to your senses, but I’m starting to wonder if you’ve got any in that head of yours.”

  I had no idea I’d been that transparent, but it probably shouldn’t have surprised me that Ryan had sussed it out. He’d always had an uncanny sixth sense when it came to me, always able to suss out when I was up to something. I had to be extra careful around him, or he’d be able to read me like an open book.

  For a moment, I was tempted to tell them both the truth. That Andie and I were together and I’d never been happier. It would have felt good to share the news and tell them they’d both been right.

  But I was the one who’d begged Andie to keep our relationship a secret. She hadn’t wanted to do it and had only agreed for my sake. It’d be unfair of me to spill the beans to my brothers when I was making her lie to hers about us.

  “That’s ridiculous. I’m not in love with Andie.” As I said it, the words left a sick, unpleasant feeling in my gut.

  Because they were a lie. I was in love with Andie. And not just in a pining, teenage crush kind of way. But in an honest to god, head over heels, spend the rest of my life with her, till death do us part kind of way.

  Holy shit.

  Ryan shook his head as he pulled his paint roller down the wall. “I honestly can’t tell if you’re lying to us or to yourself at this point. But if you drag your feet too much longer, someone else is going to come along and snap her up.”

  “Let them.” I kept my eyes on my own wall so I wouldn’t have to look at Ryan while I lied to him. “Andie’s great, but we’re just friends. I’m not interested in snapping her or anyone up. I like my freedom too much to tie myself down to any one girl.”

  “Still not ready to grow up yet, huh?”

  I managed to toss a cocky grin over my shoulder. “Never.”

  Ryan propped his paint roller in the tray. “Don’t you ever look at Manny and Adriana and how happy they are, and wish you could have what they have?”

  Yes. Wasn’t that what I’d wished for at seventeen? To marry Andie one day so I could wake up next to her every morning. Exactly like I’d woken up next to her every day this week. Now that I’d had a taste of what it could be like, I wanted it more than ever.

  “Do you?” I shot back to shift the conversation off of me. “You’re almost forty, and I don’t see you settling down with anyone.”

  He flipped open the cooler to grab a bottle of water. “Only because I haven’t met the right woman yet. When I find her, you can bet I’ll happily trade the freedom of being single for a chance to make a life with someone I love.”

  I wondered if that was really true. Ryan seemed pretty set in his bachelor ways. He’d been living alone in the same house for fifteen years, and when he wasn’t working shifts at the firehouse or the EMS service he moonlighted at, what was left of his free time was spent training for the Scottish Highland Games he competed in around the state. I wasn’t convinced he was as open to sharing his life as he claimed.

  “When’s the last time you even went on a date?” I asked him.

  I remembered a time when Ryan had been…not a ladies’ man, per se, but certainly popular with the ladies. I expected he was still just as popular with the ladies, but I hadn’t noticed him returning their interest in a while. A long while, in fact. He’d had a few serious girlfriends and more than a few not-so-serious girlfriends in the past, but lately he hadn’t had any girlfriends at all.

  He glared at me as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “None of your business.”

  “What, my love life’s fair game and yours isn’t?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Pretty sure it’s been a couple of years,” Tanner chimed in. “By my recollection.”

  I tried to recall the last time I’d seen Ryan with a steady girlfriend. It had to have been a couple of years, at least. Had he gotten tired of dating as he grew older and more set in his ways? Or had something happened to sour him on it? I couldn’t recall any of his breakups being acrimonious, but then Ryan was unlikely to have told me if they were.

  He’d always played his cards close to his chest, especially when it came to things like his love life. Maybe because he was so much older and considered himself more of a father figure to us than a brother. Or maybe that was just how he was with everyone. Not the type of guy to kiss and tell.

  “We’re not talking about me,” Ryan growled, dropping into the dad voice he used whenever one of us was in trouble. “We’re talking about Wyatt and what’s got him so distracted.”

  Tanner and I traded an eye roll, both of us knowing it was useless to try and pry anything else out of Ryan.

  Regardless, there was something I could tell my brothers, even if I couldn’t tell them about Andie yet. Another secret it was past time I shared.

  “I guess I might as well come clean,” I said as I stooped to get myself a water. “Before you hear about it from someone else.”

  “Hear about what?” Tanner asked, stepping down from the ladder.

  I grabbed another water from the cooler and tossed it to him. “I’ve been trying my hand at songwriting.”

  My brothers exchanged a silent glance before looking back at me.

  “Since when?” Tanner asked, keeping his expression neutral.

  I took a long drink of water, wiping my mouth before I answered. “A couple of years, I guess.”

  Tanner looked surprised. He probably thought I told him everything because he was the only person I’d told about my feelings for Andie.

  “I didn’t tell anyone about it until recently,” I said, trying to make him feel better. “I was waiting until I was sure they were good enough to play for people.”

  “How many songs have you written?” Ryan asked.

  “A couple dozen so far.”

  “That’s impressive.” Ryan gave me an approving nod. “I’m proud of you.” He wasn’t the sort to dole out compliments lightly. I hadn’t given him that many reasons to be proud of me, and hearing him say the words now left me disoriented.

  I ducked my head and scratched the back of my neck. “I talked to the band about it this week, and Matt’s going to work with me to flesh out the music so we can build a set list of original stuff for the four of us to play together. And then, I guess, start trying to get some more gigs out of it.”

  “Wow,” Tanner said. “Good for you.”

  “It’ll be a while before we’re ready to perform any of the new songs together.” I dared a look at my brothers as I told the next part. “But I was thinking I might see if I could do a solo acoustic gig at Zelda’s.”

  Ryan’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “You should definitely do that.”

  “Yeah, that’s a great idea,” Tanner said. “We’d love to come hear you perform your songs.”

  I nodded and blew out a relieved breath. “Maybe I’ll go talk to Zelda about it this week.”

  Ryan’s face split into a grin. “You know what you should do? You should write Andie a love song, invite her to Zelda’s, and dedicate it to her to declare your intentions.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Ryan.”

  “What? Women love that shit.”

  “It’s true,” Tanner said. “They do.”

  “I’m not declaring my intentions for anyone onstage at Zelda’s or anywhere else.”

  I didn’t need to, because I’d already told Andie how I felt and sung her all th
e songs I’d written about her. When I eventually performed them in front of an audience, she’d know exactly who they were for without me having to announce it to the whole world.

  Ryan shook his head at me. “She’s smitten with you too, you know. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes. I don’t know what you two idiots are waiting for.”

  “Her brother wouldn’t approve,” Tanner volunteered, earning a scowl from me.

  “That’s beside the point.” I was going to kill him for bringing this up in front of Ryan.

  “I don’t know, I think it’s square in the middle of the point,” Tanner replied, apparently eager to hasten his imminent demise.

  “Josh?” Ryan frowned. “What’s he got to do with it?”

  “I promised him I’d keep my hands off his sister, and it’s a promise I mean to keep.”

  Ryan’s eyes narrowed at me as he scratched his chin.

  I braced myself for whatever well-meaning advice he was about to impart but was saved by Isabella, who hurtled into the room wearing butterfly wings and a green tutu.

  “Whoa there, Tinkerbella.” I scooped her up before she could run through the paint tray and hoisted her onto my hip.

  “Isabella!” Manny appeared in the doorway, looking red-faced and exasperated. “I told you to stay out of here.”

  She shoved a soggy, half-eaten Nilla Wafer in my face. “Do you want some of my cookie?”

  Manny tried to hide a smile as I dodged his daughter’s attempt to put her spit-soaked cookie in my mouth, and I heard Ryan and Tanner snort in amusement.

  “No thank you, but I’ll bet Tanner does.” I dropped her into his arms, and when he opened his mouth to protest she crammed that gross cookie right in his piehole.

  That’s my girl.

  “Mmmm, delicious.” Tanner shot me a murderous look over Isabella’s head. “Thank you.”

  “It’s looking great in here.” Manny peered around the room at the progress we’d made. “The color’s okay, right?”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out while my brothers confabbed about the color Manny and Adriana had chosen for the nursery.

  I had a new text notification from Andie, and I turned around to hide my smile as I swiped to read it.

  Birdie invited me to dinner tonight.

  My smile faded. I’d been looking forward to getting back to her as soon as we were done here. Especially after my bombshell realization that I was in love with her. I wasn’t necessarily ready to tell her that I loved her yet, but I sure as hell wanted to see her. If she was having dinner at her aunt’s house, that meant we’d be apart for even longer.

  I swallowed my disappointment as I typed my reply.

  OK guess I’ll see you later then?

  Apparently this was what being in love did to me. A few extra hours away from my girlfriend, and I was moping like the world had ended.

  “Wyatt.”

  I turned around at the sound of Ryan’s voice and found all three of my brothers looking at me expectantly. “Sorry, what?”

  Ryan was holding Isabella now and trying not to wince as she tugged on his thick red hair. “Tell Manny your news.”

  My thoughts were so full of Andie, it took me a second to remember what news he was talking about.

  “He’s been writing songs on the sly,” Ryan said for me when I didn’t answer fast enough. “After years of pretending not to have any musical aspirations, our talented little brother’s finally betrayed some ambition.”

  “Are you going to get the band to start playing your songs?” Manny asked.

  “Hopefully.” I told him how Matt was going to work on the arrangements with me and about my plan to approach Zelda about doing a solo set in the meantime.

  “Be sure you let me know when,” Manny said. “We’ll try to make it to your show if we can. Depending on the baby situation, obviously.”

  “What do you say?” Ryan asked, peering down at Isabella. “Do you want to go to a concert and see Uncle Wyatt sing?”

  She nodded, her expression solemn as she continued to yank on Ryan’s hair. “Yes, I do want to do that.”

  “Zelda’s is twenty-one and up,” I pointed out.

  Ryan bent his head to address Isabella again. “Then Uncle Wyatt will just have to find someplace kid-friendly to play.”

  “You know what he should do?” Manny was pointing at me, but he was looking at Ryan and Tanner. “He should talk to Randy.”

  “Yes!” Tanner’s head bobbed in agreement. “That’s a great idea.”

  “Does he ever book anything at the dance hall but country-western?” Ryan glanced over at me. “Are your songs rock songs or country songs?”

  “Either way,” Tanner said before I could answer, “Randy has all kinds of contacts. I’ll bet he could help him get bookings at other venues.”

  I didn’t want Uncle Randy using his leverage to get me gigs—even if he’d be willing to do it, which was by no means certain—and I was about to say as much when my phone buzzed in my hand.

  It was a text from Andie’s aunt Birdie.

  If you’re free tonight, come to dinner. The usual time.

  My stomach went into free fall. On the bright side, it meant I’d get to see Andie sooner rather than later. The part that made my lunch curdle in my gut was that Josh was almost guaranteed to be there too.

  I hadn’t laid eyes on him since I’d started seeing Andie. I’d been avoiding him. Dreading coming face-to-face with my best friend after breaking my promise to him.

  What were the odds he’d notice something had changed? Pretty fucking good. Even if he didn’t, Birdie sure might. Or Josh’s girlfriend, Mia. She’d asked me some pretty pointed questions awhile back that made me think she might have suspicions about my feelings for Andie.

  Shit. What do I do?

  I chewed on my thumbnail as my brothers continued to make plans for my musical career without bothering to solicit my input.

  I could say no. Make up an excuse to beg off.

  But that would just delay the inevitable. I couldn’t avoid my best friend forever. The whole point of the charade was to preserve the friendship. At least at Birdie’s we’d have plenty of buffers and distractions. Hopefully he wouldn’t pay too much attention to me and Andie. Hopefully she’d be on her good behavior. Hopefully we could pull this off without arousing any suspicion.

  I inhaled a deep breath and accepted Birdie’s invitation.

  God almighty, I hoped we were ready for this.

  21

  Wyatt

  I was the last to arrive at Birdie’s house. Josh’s truck and Andie’s Jeep were both already parked out front when I got there.

  My feet dragged on the walk from my truck to the house like I was wearing antigravity boots.

  As I stepped onto Birdie’s porch, I ran a nervous hand through my hair. Taking a deep breath, I summoned an attitude of cool nonchalance before I jabbed the doorbell.

  Mia let me in. While I was giving her a hug, I heard Josh and Andie’s voices inside, and my stomach gave a nervous lurch.

  Mia pulled back and frowned at me. “Are you okay?”

  So much for cool nonchalance.

  “Long day,” I told her. “But the sight of your pretty face has boosted my spirits.”

  Mia rolled her eyes—she was long since used to my bullshit—and I followed her into the house. Josh and Andie were in the kitchen helping Birdie with dinner. Andie looked up from cutting vegetables as I walked in. Her mouth didn’t move, but when her eyes met mine, they gleamed like someone had turned up a dimmer switch. My insides turned to goo, and a feeling of peace overtook me at the sight of her. For a stupidly long moment we both stood there beaming at each other like a couple of knuckleheads.

  Until Josh looked up from the onion he was slicing, and I jerked my eyes away from Andie in a hurry.

  For fuck’s sake. This was no way to maintain our cover.

  “Hey, man.” Josh nodded a greeting at me and went right back to his chopping.
Apparently he hadn’t noticed me and Andie making moony eyes at each other.

  Whew.

  I went into the kitchen, clapping a friendly hand on Josh’s shoulder as I moved past him to greet Birdie. She stood at the stove in a long floral muumuu making fried chicken—my favorite—and she let me kiss her cheek before shooing me away from the sputtering pan of hot oil.

  “You know where the drinks are,” she said as she reached up to brush her short graying hair back from her forehead. “See if anyone needs a refill.”

  Birdie had been in my life even longer than Josh—longer even than I could remember. She’d not only been my preschool teacher, but also one of my mom’s best friends, so she’d known me pretty much since the day I was born.

  When my mom died, it was Birdie who’d sat with me and Tanner during the viewing before the funeral while Ryan and our dad stood next to the casket accepting condolences. I didn’t remember much about that day, but I remembered holding on to Birdie’s hand and trying not to cry, because our dad had told us we needed to be brave. And I remembered Birdie telling us it was okay to cry if we felt like it, so we’d stopped trying to be brave and the three of us had sat there and cried for my mom together.

  I’d do basically anything for Birdie. Step in front of a bullet, donate a kidney, whatever she needed. I’d done all the renovations on her garage apartment at cost so she could earn some extra money by renting it out. Of course, then she’d turned right around and let Andie live there rent-free for a couple of years, because that was the kind of person Birdie was. She’d never been married or had kids of her own, so Josh and Andie were the closest family she had. Especially after their parents—Birdie’s sister and her husband—had moved up to Maine a few years ago.

  I picked up Josh’s beer to test it for fullness before wandering over to where Andie was slicing cabbage. “You good?”

  “I’ll take another.” She raised her beer bottle to her lips, and my mouth went dry as I watched her chug the last of it. “Por favor y gracias.” When she handed me the empty, she let her fingers brush against mine.