Chapter 46
More relaxed, he thought, Time to face the elephant in the living room.
You mean closet, Beaumont. Elephant in the closet.
It was true. Not only was he trying to ignore his feelings, he was trying to put them away in a tiny, dark place where nobody—not Nate, and not even himself—could see them for what they were. He let that thought sit, unaddressed, at the top of his awareness, choosing for a moment to let it ride while he took in the salt-and-stone smell on the freshening breeze and the crunching sound of gravel under their booted feet.
“This is a beautiful evening,” he said, his voice barely substantial enough to be heard before a gust carried it away.
“It is,” Nate said.
Rusty wondered if the sadness he thought he detected in Nate’s voice truly resided there, or if he’d colored it with his own mood. He had to admit, his own state of mind, though frustrated and even a little angry, held a hefty ballast of melancholy. And he couldn’t keep it at bay.
Deal with it, Beaumont!