“Are you sure?”
“I don’t want them to make fun of me for going home.” Jacks dragged his feet back to the table and sat down, the picture of exhausted dejection. “What if they call me a baby and don’t want to be my friend?”
Michelle piped in. “Don’t you worry about that. It’s not gonna happen, I promise.”
“But I wanna go back upstairs. We were gonna play more Minecraft in the morning and then go to the park.” His little face crumpled. “Can’t I stay, please?”
“Of course you can.” Carter knelt at the side of Jacks’s chair. “If that’s what you want, then you go back upstairs with Henry’s mom and go back to sleep. I bet in the morning no one will even remember what happened.”
Casting him a doubtful look, Jacks hugged him, the comforter sliding off his shoulders and onto the floor. Carter picked it up and handed it to Michelle. “You call me in the morning and let me know how you feel.”
“Who’s that?” Jacks pointed to Reed, who’d remained standing in the half shadows of the kitchen, pale moonlight laying stripes across his solemn face.
“That’s a friend of mine. His name is Reed.”
“Is he your best friend?” Jacks yawned through his question.
A sweet smile curved Reed’s lips, but he said nothing.
He shot Reed a quick glance. “Something like that. Right now you need to go back to bed, but maybe you can meet him tomorrow.”
Carter kissed Jacks’s cheek and watched as Michelle tucked her arm protectively around him. Jacks lolled against her, half-asleep, and together they walked carefully up the stairs, leaving him alone with Reed and Evan.
“I’m really sorry for all this.”
Evan waved him off. “No big deal. It wouldn’t be a sleepover without one of the kids waking up.” He yawned. “Can I get you guys anything?”
“Not a thing. I’ll wait until Michelle comes back, and then we’ll be on our way.”
“Here I am.” Michelle reentered the kitchen from the back staircase, so prevalent in these old homes. She slipped her arms around Evan’s waist and rested her head against his shoulder. “Jacks was out even before I pulled the covers over him.”
“Thanks.” The weight of fear lifted from his chest, and Carter found it easier to take a deep breath. Reed put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick hug, and Carter flashed him a grateful smile. “We should get going.”
“Is this the man you told me about? I’m Michelle, by the way, nice to meet you. I tried to fix your boyfriend up with my brother a few months ago, but Carter was quick to inform me that he wasn’t interested.”
Remaining very still, Carter cursed inwardly. Michelle was nice and all, but damn she was nosy.
He needn’t have worried, as Reed understood his need for privacy and remained quiet. Or perhaps it was because he had no idea what they were to each other.
“Nice to meet you. I think Carter’s right and we need to let you guys get some sleep.”
Carter zipped his jacket. “I’m sorry we all caused you such a rough night. Thanks so much for everything, and I’ll call you in the morning.”
Before Michelle could say anything further, Carter gave her a kiss on the cheek, thanked Evan, and took Reed’s hand. They walked out to the front where Evan unlocked the door for them.
“Nice job. Many have tried but few have succeeded in shutting Michelle down.”
Carter laughed aloud for the first time since receiving the phone call and, still holding on to Reed, walked down the steps of the porch to the street. The night air blew cool, and only the faintest sounds of traffic could be heard from the avenue in the distance. It was getting on toward dawn, and perhaps he was giddy from lack of sleep, but Carter wasn’t tired any longer. He wanted to bring Reed home with him. He’d already seen him at his worst and hadn’t run.
“Should we go back to the hotel?” Reed nervously played with the zipper on his jacket, pulling it up and down, over and over. “I left my bag there.”
“Would you mind if we stopped somewhere first? I want to show you something.”
“Okay, but I’ll need to get my bag sometime this morning.”
Wondering what Reed had back at the hotel room that caused him such concern, Carter held out his hand. “We can walk. It’s only a few blocks.”
They walked in silence, Carter finding he liked Reed’s company because the man didn’t fill his ear with incessant chatter or try to make small talk over nothing. Reed also didn’t bombard him with questions about Jacks, showing respect and understanding that Carter would tell him everything.
