Austin’s mind raced. Did he really have something he could offer Debbie besides debt?
“I’m sure she’d love to let someone else worry about changing the light bulbs in the vaulted ceiling.” Scott started ticking things off with his fingers. “And taking care of the pool maintenance. How about the upkeep on her vehicles and the yard.”
“Eli takes care of the pool and the yard.”
“Only until he leaves for college next fall. But Eli also works at the garage with me and as a busboy at Charity’s Diner. Debbie doesn’t always get his help as soon or as often as she would like.”
“She can easily afford to hire someone to replace Eli.”
Scott shook his head. “Maybe, but finding someone to take turns getting up in the middle of the night with a sick toddler isn’t as easy.”
Austin turned to Scott. “Have the girls been sick?”
The muscle in Scott’s jaw tensed as he shook his head again. “All Debbie has ever wanted is a family. You can give her that. That’s something her money can’t buy.” When Austin didn’t respond, he added, “It was never Debbie’s dream to be a single mother.”
Austin wasn’t sure how Scott knew what Debbie’s dream was. But he was right.
No one ever dreamed of being a single parent. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life, and now Debbie was experiencing how difficult it was.
But it had been easier when Debbie was sharing the burden with him. He never had to worry about his children when they were with her. Even when she’d been exhausted and stressed out. She’d still made sure they were fed and their homework was done.
Having her back in his life—in his arms—meant swallowing his pride. Could he do that?
A tightness seized his chest, squeezing the air from his lungs. His mouth dried up like the Sahara desert, and his own heartbeat grew so loud in his ears that he could no longer hear the radio playing.
Could a man physically choke on his own pride and suffocate to death?
Or will I be the first?
CHAPTER30
“You can’t give it to her!” Dallas yelled from the family room.
“Yes, I can!” Cody’s voice reached new decibels.
Austin sighed and rolled off his bed. He’d been attempting to rest on this Sunday afternoon, but obviously that wasn’t happening anymore. At least he’d taken the kids to church today, which was more than he could say about last week.
They’d arrived late and left early, so he didn’t have to worry about crossing paths with Debbie. But that hadn’t stopped his heart from racing when he spotted her flaming red hair near the front by her parents.
Then she’d taken Lucia—at least he thought it was Lucia—out to change a diaper, and their gazes had locked for one long moment before she looked at the boys on either side of him. A sheen of tears filled her eyes before she hiked up her chin up and hurried down the aisle.
“But she’s not your mom, dummy!” Dallas’s voice had risen too, but then it dropped with his next sentence. “We’re never going to have a mom.”
Pain, sharp and swift, pierced Austin’s chest. He’d never intended to raise his children without a mother. No one had ever interested him, though. Until Debbie. Most days, he thought they were doing fine, but then other days, his children felt the lack of a mother in acute ways. And it had only become worse since they’d experienced Debbie’s motherly love.
“Boys, what’s our rule about arguing?”
Cody turned to him, red-faced and eyes glistening. “I don’t want to go in the closet, Dad. I wanna go see Debbie.” He stomped his little foot.
“I know, but—” Austin had been about to say that he needed to fix things with Debbie first, when Dallas cut him off.
“I told you. You may as well just throw your present away, like I did.”
“What present?”
Cody held out a piece of yellow card stock; a picture frame with his grinning freckled face inside. The splotches of color around the edges made it obvious his son had painted the flowers, decorating the frame himself. “I told Ms. Jeffries, the art teacher, that I didn’t have a mom to make a card for. So she told me to make it for my grandma or whoever I wanted. I want to give it to Debbie.”
“But she’s not your mom, so you can’t.” Dallas propped his hands on his hips and leaned his upper body forward.
