“Are you honest?”
“As honest as I can be without trying to hurt someone.” Mitch decided to be blunt with the boy, who acted as the man of the house. “Look, I really like your mom. A lot. But she still misses your dad, and loss is tough to deal with.”
“Dude, it’s been seven years.” Simon ran a hand through his ragged hair. “I miss him too, but I don’t get into crying jags or anything.”
Mitch didn’t say anything about the scene he’d witnessed a few weeks ago in Becca’s shop.
“And it’s not like she hasn’t dated since Dad died. She even told me he’d want us to be happy.” The pleading look in Simon’s eyes drew on Mitch’s heartstrings.
“If he was as great as I hear he was, he would want you guys to be happy,” Mitch agreed. “But when you love someone as much as your mom loved your dad, healing takes time. Letting go is even harder.”
Hell, his brother still hadn’t let go of Rhonda, and Deacon couldn’t stand the witch.
“Some pain grabs a hold of you and is a bitch to let go. When your mom’s ready, she’ll see that.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you could help her see that.” A direct challenge Mitch not only heard, but saw in the boy’s face.
“Yeah? Well maybe you could help Jenna see that too.”
“Sure. I can. I will.”
“Fine. I will too.”Wait. Will what?
Simon lost the intensity and laughed. “Sucker. Good luck, Mitch.” He gave Mitch a bear hug, which Mitch, surprised yet pleased, returned. “And let me know when I can start calling you Daddy.”
“God.” He turned and left to the sound of Simon’s hysterical laughter.
******
Becca knew she had to deal with this. It had been four days without seeing Mitch, and she felt like an addict needing a fix. They’d texted and chatted, laughed and shared information about a few things in town Mitch had wanted to know about. But not seeing him left a void she couldn’t fill, no matter how busy she tried to be.
The shop, her cousin, her friends, and Simon couldn’t fill it. Damn Mitch Flashman.
She stood at his doorway ringing the bell.
“Hold on!” She heard the yell from inside. “No, fuck you.”
She blinked. When he ripped open the door, he wore only a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts.
Whoa, momma.
“Oh, hey, Becca.” His wide grin welcomed her. He stepped back. “Come on in.”
“Motherfucker. You did not…” Deacon paused in the living room, and spying Becca, gave a sheepish smile. “Oh, ah, hey, Becca.” He held a video game controller in one hand. “I was just helping Mitch out with something.”
She stepped farther into the room and looked at the television. “NBA2K? I thought you guys liked football?”
Deacon looked embarrassed, but Mitch laughed. “We love to play football, and not online. On a field. But Deacon sucks at basketball—”
“I do not.”
“We generally stick to virtual b-ball.” He tossed his controller to Deacon and smiled at her. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.” She felt shy all of a sudden. “I came to see how you were.”
He glanced from her to his brother. “Actually, I had something I wanted you to give Simon. It’s in my study. Hey, Deacon, play a game without me? I’ll be a few minutes.”
“Sure. I think I’m changing my guy to Russell Westbrook.” Deacon walked back to the couch, flopped into it, and went back to playing.
