Maybe what she said to Ezra was to try and put him off. Discussing a romantic relationship with his father, and her being someone he saw at school every day, was probably awkward as hell. His son would be as discreet about it at school as Lucas himself, but she wouldn’t know that.
When they were done eating, Ezra stood. “I’m off to the float-building.”
“We’ll see you in a bit.”
“Bye, Ezra.”
He jogged around the side of the house, and shortly, they heard the car leave. They sat quietly on the deck for a few minutes.
“Well, I suppose we need to get going.” He wanted to address the almost-kiss earlier, but something told him that this wasn’t the right time, so he stood and began clearing the table instead.
She stood, grabbed garbage, and followed him inside. “Any more pushback from Sealy over the football players?”
The shakiness of her voice was a telltale sign of nerves from being alone with him. He realized that she was trying to find her footing—trying to fill the silence with conversation in an attempt to avoid the discussion they needed to have. Since he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable around him, he allowed the diversion. Temporarily.
He huffed. “I spoke with him earlier in the day. Started spouting that he’s getting all sorts of complaints about the game being in jeopardy, and between us, I’m sure he’s pissed off because Coach Howard pulled Ezra from his normal position to replace Ryker in the big game. I just let him spew what he wanted to get off his chest and told him I wasn’t backing down. It’s not like this is the conference championships or the playoffs, and even if it were, I still wouldn’t change my mind.”
“Male rite of passage. Ryker was the possible homecoming king, wasn’t he?”
“Yep. Along with Judah Lawson, and Kennedy Dixon was up for homecoming queen. I’m sure there are more than a few kids on the court who are a little excited about them being suspended through Saturday night because it gives them a better chance of being elected. Ryker and Kennedy probably would win, although Judah could have won since he and Kennedy are a recognized couple.”
He finished washing the dishes and turned to her. She appeared calmer now. It was time to take a chance.
“I need to confess something.” He leaned back against the sink, the dish towel thrown over his shoulder. One ankle crossed the other, and his hands gripped the counter’s edge behind him. “I heard what Ezra said to you on the deck. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but my room is right above where you were sitting. I’m sorry if he made you uncomfortable.”
She blushed slightly and made a show of putting away condiments in the refrigerator. The whole scene was terribly domestic, and he didn’t hate it.
“It’s okay. He’s looking out for you.”
“He could have been a little more subtle,” he grumbled.
“Teenage boys don’t understand subtlety. Even the mature ones like Ezra.”
“I’ve always encouraged him to be open. That he should speak his mind and can ask me anything. Mature he may be, and observant as hell. He’s discovered my attraction to you, and it’s caused his normal acuity in social situations to slip a little.”
Even though her back was to him as she rearranged some things on the shelves, he noticed the slight stutter in her movements at his honesty.
“I blame myself for his slip. His mother left just about the time he was starting to sense that things weren’t good between us. Most of his growing-up years, I spent as a clueless single dad, learning as I went along and praying I didn’t screw up too badly. One of the things I decided early on was that I never wanted to hide things from him, and I went with the philosophy that it was just better to answer all his questions as honestly as I could.”
Turning to him, she said, “You haven’t screwed up with him. He’s a great kid. It was a sound approach.” She finished her soda and moved to rinse out the can. He watched her at his side, with just his head turned. “Do you mind if I ask what happened? With his mother, I mean.”
He looked down at the floor, and his thoughts turned inward. Could he tell her? Should he tell her? It would mean laying all of his faults out in the open, and while he knew he wasn’t perfect, it was still difficult.
“I’ve never talked about this with anyone.”
She leaned her hip against the counter. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s private. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, it’s okay. I actually want to tell you. It’s just that I probably don’t come out of it looking so good.” Raising his eyes from the floor, he turned his gaze on her. “My son is right, Elyxandre. I am attracted to you, and I know that’s somewhat problematic. I find that, more than anyone else, I don’t want you to think badly of me.”
A soft smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “I doubt I will.”
He turned to face her, mimicking her pose, hip to the counter, one hand on its edge in front of him, their fingertips just short of touching. “We met in a writing course our freshman year in college. My ex-wife was a music major and studying to be a teacher, like me, and we were part of an informal study group that some of us formed. She was beautiful, smart, and we hit it off. We started dating.
“After graduation, we talked about getting married, but I was very adamant that I wanted to make sure we were settled. Jobs were highly competitive, and neither of us wanted a long-distance relationship, so it became even more challenging for us to find work near each other. Then Tejeda Springs had openings, so we both applied, hoped for the best, and luckily, we were both offered positions.
“Once we established ourselves and knew we were going to stay here, I asked her to marry me. We waited another few years before getting pregnant with Ezra. I didn’t want us digging ourselves into a hole financially, and she agreed, although looking back, I’m not even sure she really wanted children. I think she was fine with waiting, and when I finally said I was ready to take that step, I’m pretty sure she agreed only because she thought she was supposed to.”
He walked to the refrigerator and grabbed another soda, showing one to her as a way of asking if she wanted another.When she nodded, he popped the tops of both and handed her one. He took a healthy swig before continuing.
