Austin dished up a plate and put it in front of her. He watched her from the corner of his eyes while they ate. Her gaze rarely left her plate except to linger on Noah occasionally. She pushed her food around, eating only a few bites.
When dinner wrapped up, Austin reminded the boys to take their dishes to the sink where Savvy helped them rinse their plates and load them into the dishwasher.
“Hey.” He touched Debbie’s arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She stared at his hand for a long moment before raising her gaze to meet his. Before she could speak, Cody came running back to the dining room. “Can we have ice cream now?”
Debbie turned to Cody and smiled. It still didn’t meet her eyes. “Only if it’s okay with your dad.”
Had she intentionally promised his kids ice cream for dessert because he’d vetoed it last night? He was frustrated with her, but one look at her strained face and he didn’t have the heart to say anything.
He looked at his son’s pleading faces then bit back a laugh at Noah’s matching expression. A sensation of warmth spread through Austin’s chest. The trust in the big brown eyes Noah turned on Austin made him feel warm and gooey inside.
He grinned at Debbie. “Look at all of those puppy dog eyes. They’re kind of hard to say 'no' to. But I wonder, do you have any chores that need to be done while I think about whether the boys deserve ice cream.”
That earned him half a smile. He recalled the way she laughed so hard she cried two nights ago while they cleaned up the spilled oil. Debbie may say she was fine but she was lying.
She picked up her plate and scraped the food into the garbage. “Austin, will you take the boys to the playroom and make sure it’s clean? Savvy, you can help me dish up the ice cream.”
Austin hesitated as the boys ran down the hall. He considered asking Savvy to swap tasks, so he could talk to Debbie. Her behavior worried him.
But Debbie wouldn’t meet his gaze, and he had a feeling she wanted to get rid of him on purpose.
The boys made short work of cleaning up, and Austin soon found himself seated at the table next to Debbie again.
She was still as quiet as she’d been throughout dinner despite the kids’ excitement over adding their own chocolate syrup and sprinkles to their ice cream. And though she served herself a single scoop of ice cream, she let most of it melt in the bowl.
When the dessert bowls were licked clean and loaded into the dishwasher, Austin told his kids to grab their backpacks and get in the truck.
“Wait.” Debbie picked Noah up and followed them to the door. “Dallas and Cody, thank you for all of your help with Noah. If you boys hadn’t realized he was missing this afternoon—“ She choked on her words.
Dallas shuffled his feet. “If we had watched him better, he wouldn’t have gotten into the pool.”
Cody hung his head too. “Sorry we lost him, Miss Debbie.”
“I’m glad you told me when you did.” She patted Cody’s head. “Noah broke the rules. So he won’t be allowed to swim tomorrow. But because I can’t take him out to the pool, I won’t be able to keep an eye on you boys either. So no swimming tomorrow, okay.”
Both boys’ faces fell.
Dallas’s shoulders slumped, and Cody let out such a dramatic sigh Austin almost laughed out loud.
Instead, he winked at Debbie. “You’re doing the right thing.”
Debbie didn’t look convinced. “Maybe, but now I’ve got to figure out how to entertain this guy all day tomorrow.” Still holding Noah, she stepped out onto the porch as Austin and the kids walked out.
She acted like she didn’t want them to leave. No doubt she felt overwhelmed by having to take care of Noah.
He paused on the sidewalk and studied her again, glad the kids continued on to the truck. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Twin creases furrowed her brow as she fidgeted with the hem of Noah’s shirt. She shrugged. “I will be.” She smiled, but it still didn’t light up her eyes.
Debbie needed assurance and maybe some comforting. Judging by the way she embraced him after he found Noah the other day, she could probably use a big hug too. But they barely knew each other. It wasn’t his place to offer to hold her.
His truck horn honked.
Austin scowled at Dallas who leaned over the seat.
“You’d better go, or Dallas might drive away without you.”
