Shamie reached across for his own beer. “Don’t get me wrong, I like Bret,” he began, twisting the cap off the bottle and taking a short pull, “But I saw our Aunt Sam go through this with Uncle Evan, Kade’s dad. Selina did too. I’m actually pretty amazed she doesn’t see the parallels.”
“Kade’s dad is a firefighter?”
Shamie nodded. “Well, now he’s fire chief. That was always his ultimate ambition. Everything else took a back seat, including his wife and sons. And he had been through a LOT with Aunt Sam, you’d think he’d prioritize, you know?” His brow creased as he reached for his beer again. “Aunt Sam got tired of essentially being a single parent all the time and issued an ultimatum. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. They’ve been divorced for years.”
“Truthfully, I think Selina is in denial that it’s the same,” Cameron opined in his soft voice. “Or she thinks she her story will have different results. I don’t know.”
“Look, far be it from me to want to break anyone up,” Shamie continued. “It’s a delicate situation. I’m pretty sure Selina will be shocked to realize you have feelings.”
“Which is why I haven’t told her.” Jaron replied wearily.
Shamie looked over at Cameron. They seemed to have a small discussion with their eyes. Finally, Shamie spoke up. “Well, they aren’t married. They aren’t even engaged or cohabiting or anything close to it. You might want to consider letting her know. Are you afraid she’ll reject you?”
Jaron fingered the weathered leather of his guitar case. “I’m afraid of that, but even more than that, I’m afraid of losing her from my life altogether.”
Cameron rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, then I guess you have to figure out what you’ll regret more years from now: telling her and taking your chances, or not telling her and running the risk she ends up with someone else.”
The three men sat quietly, lost in thought.
