Read Online Need You Now (Love in Unknown) by Taylor M. Lunsford - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Taylor M. Lunsford
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staying cooped up inside all day. Jax, this is Caine. You know Uncle Gage? This is his big brother. He and I’ve known each other since we were your age.”
Caine shook the solemn little boy’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Jax studied him through big brown eyes. “Why are you driving such a little car? Don’t you have a big one?”
“I do.” Caine laughed. “This is a special car, though. It’s called the Mayor Mobile. Only the mayor and his friends can ride in it. You want me to give you a ride home?”
Jax looked up at his father, eyes lighting with excitement. “Can we, Dad? You’re one of his friends.”
Micah looked to Caine for confirmation before nodding. “Sure, buddy. I get shotgun, though.”
“Okay.” Jax rolled his eyes, scrambling up onto the backseat of the cart. Micah ducked in and folded his long legs.
“Been a while,” Caine commented as he softly pressed the gas pedal. He waved to some of the moms of his Little League players as they passed, chuckling when they turned their heads for a better look at Micah.
His friend gave him a sideways glance before nodding. “Yep. Kinda hard to stay in touch when we’re on opposite ends of the country.”
“Uncle Caine? Did you really know my dad when you were little?”
Caine looked over his shoulder. Mel’s nephew was looking around, curious eyes taking in every detail from a new perspective. Uncle Caine . He liked the sound of that.
“I did. We got into a lot of trouble together over the years.” He chuckled, remembering some of the shit they’d pulled. “I remember on summer, we had to be about eleven, we decided to build a tree house in that big oak tree in your backyard. We worked for hours getting scrap wood from all over town. The day we were ready to start building, your Aunt Mel threw an absolute fit.”
Jax giggled. “Aunt Mel got mad? About what?”
Micah nodded to one of the old men who frequented the coffee shop looked back at his son. “I made the mistake of telling her she wasn’t allowed to help us or play in our tree house.”
“Lesson numero uno of dealing with your Aunt Mel, Jax. Never, ever tell her she can’t do something. It’ll make her ten times as likely to want to do it.” Caine decided to take the long way around the park to get to Rosebush Drive. Let Jax see more of the town that way. Along the way, the little old ladies who gathered each afternoon to walk around town for exercise shouted out greetings that he acknowledged with a wave. The old houses lining the streets looked like cheerful ladies in brightly colored Victorian dresses.
“What’d she do?”
Caine smiled at the memory. “Your Grandpa Ethan took us aside and told us we had two options. Either we built Mel a clubhouse of her own or we let her in ours. Excluding girls was not something real men did.”
“So we let her in ours.” Micah shook his head, one hand gripping the top of the golf cart as they took a corner a bit faster than was perhaps wise. “But we told her no tea parties and no dolls.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes, the two men comfortable in the realm of nostalgia, Jax seemingly fascinated by the fact that he was riding in a new machine. They rounded the corner and started past Guadalupe Park. “Hey! Look, Dad, there’s a maze. Have you been inside it?”
“Sure. Everyone’s been in there at some point.” Micah turned around. “Anyone tell you the story yet?”
“Uh-uh. It looks super cool. Like something out of my video games.”
Caine’s grandfather would have liked the kid’s description of the family monument. “My grandpa had it built. It was a gift to the town for it’s one hundredth birthday, back in 1956. His grandpa started the town and he wanted to do something special. So he decided to build the maze for all the boys and girls of Unknown. At the center, there’re two swings in the spot where my great-great-great-grandpa proposed to his wife. One’s named James and the other is
Caine shook the solemn little boy’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Jax studied him through big brown eyes. “Why are you driving such a little car? Don’t you have a big one?”
“I do.” Caine laughed. “This is a special car, though. It’s called the Mayor Mobile. Only the mayor and his friends can ride in it. You want me to give you a ride home?”
Jax looked up at his father, eyes lighting with excitement. “Can we, Dad? You’re one of his friends.”
Micah looked to Caine for confirmation before nodding. “Sure, buddy. I get shotgun, though.”
“Okay.” Jax rolled his eyes, scrambling up onto the backseat of the cart. Micah ducked in and folded his long legs.
“Been a while,” Caine commented as he softly pressed the gas pedal. He waved to some of the moms of his Little League players as they passed, chuckling when they turned their heads for a better look at Micah.
His friend gave him a sideways glance before nodding. “Yep. Kinda hard to stay in touch when we’re on opposite ends of the country.”
“Uncle Caine? Did you really know my dad when you were little?”
Caine looked over his shoulder. Mel’s nephew was looking around, curious eyes taking in every detail from a new perspective. Uncle Caine . He liked the sound of that.
“I did. We got into a lot of trouble together over the years.” He chuckled, remembering some of the shit they’d pulled. “I remember on summer, we had to be about eleven, we decided to build a tree house in that big oak tree in your backyard. We worked for hours getting scrap wood from all over town. The day we were ready to start building, your Aunt Mel threw an absolute fit.”
Jax giggled. “Aunt Mel got mad? About what?”
Micah nodded to one of the old men who frequented the coffee shop looked back at his son. “I made the mistake of telling her she wasn’t allowed to help us or play in our tree house.”
“Lesson numero uno of dealing with your Aunt Mel, Jax. Never, ever tell her she can’t do something. It’ll make her ten times as likely to want to do it.” Caine decided to take the long way around the park to get to Rosebush Drive. Let Jax see more of the town that way. Along the way, the little old ladies who gathered each afternoon to walk around town for exercise shouted out greetings that he acknowledged with a wave. The old houses lining the streets looked like cheerful ladies in brightly colored Victorian dresses.
“What’d she do?”
Caine smiled at the memory. “Your Grandpa Ethan took us aside and told us we had two options. Either we built Mel a clubhouse of her own or we let her in ours. Excluding girls was not something real men did.”
“So we let her in ours.” Micah shook his head, one hand gripping the top of the golf cart as they took a corner a bit faster than was perhaps wise. “But we told her no tea parties and no dolls.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes, the two men comfortable in the realm of nostalgia, Jax seemingly fascinated by the fact that he was riding in a new machine. They rounded the corner and started past Guadalupe Park. “Hey! Look, Dad, there’s a maze. Have you been inside it?”
“Sure. Everyone’s been in there at some point.” Micah turned around. “Anyone tell you the story yet?”
“Uh-uh. It looks super cool. Like something out of my video games.”
Caine’s grandfather would have liked the kid’s description of the family monument. “My grandpa had it built. It was a gift to the town for it’s one hundredth birthday, back in 1956. His grandpa started the town and he wanted to do something special. So he decided to build the maze for all the boys and girls of Unknown. At the center, there’re two swings in the spot where my great-great-great-grandpa proposed to his wife. One’s named James and the other is
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