Debbie patted Cody’s head before sending him back out onto the field. Then she darted down the sideline to get Noah who’d used the distraction to escape.
An empty camp chair sat beside her. Had she brought it for him?
The domestic scene warmed him but also made him a little nauseous too. It was bad enough he found Debbie so attractive, he didn’t want to admire her thoughtfulness or the way she treated his children with more care and concern than their own mother had.
He stepped up beside her. “Thank you for getting the boys here.”
Debbie looked up in surprise. “Hi. You got here sooner than I expected.”
“Me too. Traffic didn’t end up being as bad as I thought it would.” He motioned to the chair beside her. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
“Go ahead.” She pointed to a folded chair behind her. “I brought that one for you, but you may as well sit in Sheila’s chair.”
He hesitated before sitting. “Sheila?”
“My sister.” She pointed to a redhead on the far side of the field. “I don’t know why she even bothers to bring a chair, because she never sits at these games. She walks the sidelines the entire time.” Debbie laughed. “She says she does it because she needs the exercise, but it’s really so she can yell at her boys better. Never mind that her husband is their coach.”
Just then, the woman on the other side cried, “Get it, Easton! Go, go, go.” She looked downfield at another boy who looked identical to the first. “Weston, go help your brother!”
Austin laughed. “She named her twins East and West?”
Debbie rolled her eyes. “Yes, and she mixes their names up all the time. She’s been known to call them things like Eat and Wheat. My favorite, though, is Easy and Wheezy.” She grinned. “Those are the nicknames I use for them.”
“Please tell me their last name isn’t North or South.”
“No, thank goodness. It’s Lowery.” Debbie pulled a wiggly Noah back onto her lap. “Speaking of names…I’ve noticed everyone in your family is named after a city. Was that intentional?”
“Yes, by my ex-wife. Her name was Cheyenne. She insisted since she and I were both named after cities that we needed to do the same with our kids.”
“How long have you been divorced?”
“Five years.”
Debbie pressed a hand to her chest. “So Cody was only two when she left?”
Austin’s mouth went dry as his stomach hardened. “What makes you think she left?”
“Because you have custody of the kids. From what I’ve heard, if the mom wants custody, she usually gets it. Or shared at least.”
“How do you know we don’t share custody?”
“When I came to your house last week, and your boys answered the door, I asked to talk to their mom and dad. Cody said ‘we don’t have a mom.’ That left me curious as to what happened to her.” She said it with a shrug, as though it wasn’t a big deal, but there was a tautness in her posture that was anything but casual.
Austin couldn’t fault her interest. He was equally curious about her former marriages.
Why had her first husband divorced her? And if she didn’t marry her second husband for money, why did she marry him? And why did she change her name back to her maiden name?
He wasn’t ready to discuss with Debbie all the ways Cheyenne had betrayed and hurt him, so he wasn’t about to pry into her private life.
He changed the subject. “Where’s Savannah?”
“She decided to stay at my house to paint. Said she’d catch the boys’ game on Thursday.”
“And you’re okay with her staying there alone?”
Debbie laughed. “She’s sixteen. And she’s been tending your boys for how long?”
Austin shook his head. “No, I just meant… You don’t know her that well. I’m surprised you trust her to be there alone.”
