How’s that for a view? He gazed out at the wide expanse of sand that stretched toward Sand Point Road, where the Little River began. Here and there were figures walking on the beach beneath a brilliant blue, cloudless sky.
In high school there had always been those who spoke of leaving Maine, of going to the West coast, New York, anywhere but Maine, but Finn had never been one of them. That was yet another thing he and his friends had in common—a love of the state. More than that, a love of the ocean, for none of them had ventured too far inland. In his own case, the coast… pulled him somehow, and he was never more alive than when he could walk on a beach or smell the sea air. He’d leaped at the chance to work on the hotel. Several months on a site overlooking the shore?
Heaven.
Lewis coughed loudly, and Finn peered at him in concern. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Then he coughed again, and nodded toward the ocean.
Finn followed his gaze, and stilled. There was a tall man on the beach, walking a gorgeous chocolate Labrador.
He had no clue why this particular man should draw his attention. Finn knew nothing about him, except that he clearly adored his dog, judging by the way they interacted. As for the dog, he or she didn’t appear to be that old: maybe it was the puppy-like way the dog bounced and capered on the sand, or the way he tugged on the leash.
Maybe it’s as simple as not being able to resist a man who loves dogs.
Not that Finn had any intention of getting any closer. With his family and friends, he felt confident and secure, but when it came to strangers, his shy nature got the better of him every time.
No, his Fantasy Man was better being viewed from afar—and brought to mind when Finn was alone in his bed.
Finn washed the last plate and placed it on the dish drainer.
Did no one ever think of installing a dishwasher in this place? Then he reconsidered. The kitchen was tiny, and everything that could have been put in it had been squeezed in, including the washer at the end of the narrow room. It was the first time Finn had encountered a washer in a kitchen, but he figured that was because the place was a rental, with no space elsewhere for it. And the lack of a dishwasher wasn’t much of an irritation. Thankfully, Finn had grown up in a house where the kids did the chores, so washing the dishes was nothing new.
His phone buzzed as he poured himself another coffee, and Finn smiled when he saw the name on the screen. “Hey.”
“Am I calling at a bad time?” Levi inquired.
“Not at all. I’ve eaten, I’ve washed the dishes, so now I’m all yours. What’s up?”
“It’s about those rocking chairs you made for Teresa and Ry. They’re beautiful. So I was wondering…”
Finn chuckled. “Aren’t you a bit young for a rocking chair?”
“Dork. Okay, yes, I am asking if you can make a chair, but it’s not for me. It’s Grammy’s seventieth birthday in June. I thought I’d plan a party for her, and invite as many people from her Christmas card list as I can. She would love one of your rocking chairs.”
“June? That’s doable. Any requests as to which timber I use, or are you going to leave that up to me?”
“I’ll defer to your skill and judgement. And I take it you’ll be coming to the party.”
“Just you try and stop me.” Levi’s Grammy had been a part of Finn’s childhood. She’d brought Levi up since he was a baby, and she’d made Finn welcome every time he visited. Finn had lost count of how many times he’d stayed over at Levi’s place when they were growing up.
“It was good to see the whole gang at the wedding. I’m guessing the next time might be the party, depending on who can make it. Seb will be there, because school will have finished for the summer. As for Ben, we’ll have to see. He’s job-hunting at the moment.”
“I thought he had a job?” Finn hadn’t heard anything from Ben for a while, and during their catchup he hadn’t talked about his work situation.
“Oh, he does, but I don’t think he’s happy there. Right now he’s just looking. But better to look when you already have a job then when you don’t.” Levi paused. “Can I ask you something?”
Finn stilled. Levi usually came right out with it. “Ask away.”
“That remark of yours at the reception… that I’m not the marrying kind. Is that how I come across? Because I would marry, in a heartbeat.”
“But he’d have to be pretty special,” Finn surmised.
“Yeah.” Another pause. “How did you know?”
“Well, you’re either really secretive about your dates, or you’re really picky, because I can’t name one guy you’ve dated.” Even in high school, Levi had never spoken of crushes.
“It’s just not very high on my list of priorities right now.”
“So you haven’t got anything going on with Noah?” Finn teased. “I mean, I didn’t know about the bowling. Sounds… cute.” Not that Finn believed that for a second. Noah was another one who gave little away. Finn picked up his coffee and wandered into the living room where he stood by the window gazing out at the street.
“No one’s got anything going on with Noah.” Levi laughed. “And getting him away from his trains is a miracle, believe me.”
“Is he still doing that?” Noah’s parents had let him use the space above the garage for his train track when he was a kid. Except Noah had had bigger ideas. He’d decided to build a small town, with a railway looping around and through it.
“He keeps adding stuff. There’s a railway station now, a fair, and the town keeps growing. It makes it really easy to buy him presents for Christmas and his birthday. I just find out what he needs for the model. But now and then, I drag him away from it and we go bowling or to a movie. He comes here sometimes too. Grammy loves it when he stays over.”
“At least he’s still around.” Noah and Levi were the only ones who had stayed in Wells. The rest had all moved away.
“Yeah.” Levi chuckled. “And speaking of Noah… Want to know what he said the other day?”
“I don’t know why you ask, because you’re gonna tell me anyway.”
“He said, ‘I guess Finn finally caved and joined a gym, like so many other gay men.’”
Finn snorted. “Who needs a gym, when you have to carry planks and boards around a site? And that ‘so many other gay men’ part…” He had to admit, Noah was an enigma. They’d been friends for years, but Finn still had no clue what made him tick.
Noah didn’t give anything away.
“Aw, he was just making a joke.”
Finn smiled to himself. Levi the Peacemaker.
“What about Teresa, putting us all on the same table at the reception?” Levi chuckled. “Because I’m sure it was her idea.”
“It wasn’t that surprising. We were all pretty tight in high school.” Originally, it had been Finn, Levi, and Seb who’d been friends, and as time went by their number had increased. “Do you ever think about how we all got together?”
“Sure. I still say some of us had an invisible sign on our foreheads that said gay, that only another gay guy could see.”