“Depends,” Shane said, hiding his grin behind a napkin. “You want Ranger skills or basic ‘don’t-get-eaten’ skills?”
“Both!” Kevin shot upright in his chair. “All of it!”
Shane leaned back, thinking it through. “Weather’s supposed to be perfect tomorrow. We could take Pete up to Eldorado Canyon, hike a bit. Good place to burn off some energy before school.”
At the name, old images tugged at him—rocky trails winding through wildflowers, sandstone cliffs turned golden in the sunlight. He and his brothers-from-other-mothers had learned half their boyhood courage up there playing soldier, tracking, daring each other to climb higher, run faster, laugh louder. He could still hear Elias’s voice echoing off the canyon walls, callingLast one up buys sodas!
April’s eyes softened, catching whatever memory crossed his face. Then she gave Kevin The Mom look—half amusement, half warning. “I have to open Riversong in the morning and you haven’t touched your homework.”
“But Mom, it’s the last week of school. It doesn’t matter.”
“Nope, we had a deal. And, I had to twist Principal Pirogue’s arm to give you time served with the suspension. I’m not having you go back to school without your homework. Do you know how bad that would look?”
Kevin shrugged. “I don’t care. They all hate me anyway.”
April cringed. “They don’thateyou.”
“Yeah, they do, Mom.” Kevin looked to Shane for backup. “Whenever something goes missing in the classroom, I get blamed. If a whole group of us is laughing too loud in the hallway, I’m the only one who gets time out. No one else does. No one else ever gets in trouble.”
“That’s not true, Kevin.” April’s tone indicated otherwise. She’d gone from relaxed and happy to defeated in a matter of minutes. Shane’s heart went out to her. At the same time, he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to override her. Kevin wasn’t his son.
As much as he feels like my son.
“You know it’s true, Mom.”
April put her napkin down beside her plate. “We’ve talked about how important it is to get good grades. It doesn’t matter what they think. You aren’t doing homework for them, but for you.”
“Your mom’s right, Bud. Doing your homework builds discipline. Discipline is the foundation of success.”
Kevin shifted his attention to Shane. “Did they teach you that in Ranger school?”
“SWCC school, not Ranger,” Shane said, smiling softly. “And it was a lesson I already knew.” He just didn’t want to tell Kevin how his father was the first to beat that lesson into him. “I learned it from my brothers growing up, when we’d play soldier in the mountains.”
“You mean your friends? All the guys?”
“Yup. My brothers. Some people are family by blood. Others are family here.” Shane covered his heart, “and they are just as important, if not more so.”
Kevin nodded solemnly.
“So, maybe if you get your homework done in the morning like you promised your mom, we could all go hiking tomorrow afternoon.” He raised his eyes to April. “But only if it’s all right with you.”
“Afternoon then,” she conceded, pointing her fork at Kevin. “You set yourself up at a table where I can see you and finish your homework by noon, we’ll go. But it’s all up to you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kevin saluted.
Shane hid a smile. Their conversation tightened something pleasant in his chest.
They finished dinner slowly, Kevin now talking about the animals he hoped to see on the trails, April laughing easier than he’d heard in weeks. When she stood to clear plates, Shane reached for one too, brushing her fingers. He wanted to tell her how good this felt, how right. But Kevin was right there.
“Honey, why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed? We need to be at Riversong by seven because I want to make sure the espresso machine’s going to behave itself. “And knowing you, it’ll take a while to fall asleep.” She ruffled his hair.
Kevin nodded. “Yeah, okay. Hey, Peetie. Heel, boy.”
Pete stood up and they both took off at a dead run down the hall to the bathroom.
“Slow down, you’ll slip on the wood…floor…oh never mind.” April laughed lightly as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“He’s a good kid, April.”
