Austin walked backward. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
On the drive home, he gave his boys a lecture on patience and manners while a restlessness consumed him. Like he’d forgotten to do something important.
The feeling increased as he sent the boys off to get ready for bed. His thoughts kept returning to Debbie and how terrified she must have been to find Noah in the pool. He wished he could help her somehow. Do something to restore her confidence in herself as a foster parent.
When the restlessness still hadn’t dissipated after reading the boys a bedtime story and tucking them in, Austin knew he needed to do something.
But what?
Then an idea came to him. He turned to Savvy who sat at the kitchen table doing her homework. “I’ve got to run an errand. Listen for the boys, please. And get yourself to bed by ten if I’m not back by then.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head before walking out to the small garage to find what he needed.
CHAPTER12
Debbie stayed by Noah’s bed extra long that night to make sure he was sound asleep before leaving his room. She still reeled from the events of that afternoon and hardly dared take her eyes off him.
She’d hidden the key to the pool up in her closet, so there was no chance of him getting it and sneaking off to the pool again. But there were so many other ways the active and inquisitive little boy could harm himself despite the extensive childproofing she’d done.
The doorbell rang as she walked out of his room.
She glanced at the clock on the stove as she passed through the kitchen. Nine-thirty.
Who’s visiting this late?
Her sisters often stopped by late at night after their kids were in bed, but they usually texted or called first.
Hopefully, whoever it was wouldn’t stay long. She was exhausted and needed to get some sleep so she could keep up with Noah tomorrow.
She opened the door to find Austin standing on her porch with a grocery bag in his hand. Her heart leaped in her chest. There was something about the rugged construction worker that did funny things to her insides.
“Austin?” She motioned for him to come inside. “Did one of the kids forget something?”
“No, I’m here because I thought you could use…” He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a key chain. After rattling it a bit, he shoved the keys back into his pocket.
Austin usually acted so confident, she couldn’t help but laugh at his odd behavior. “Use what?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I was worried about you. You had a traumatic experience, and I wondered if you needed…someone to talk to or…” He shrugged again. ”A shoulder to cry on.”
Debbie wrapped her arms around herself as the fear and desperation she’d experienced earlier this evening flooded over her. “Was it obvious how rattled I was?”
He grinned. “Kind of.”
They stood in awkward silence as Debbie chided herself for not hiding her emotions better. She’d always hated how she wore her heart on her sleeve. When she’d tried to prove she belonged in Peter’s circles, the only way she’d been able to hide her feelings of inadequacy was by acting aloof and haughty. She hadn’t been able to pull that off this afternoon, though. She’d been too upset.
“So do you?” Austin said
“Do I what?” Debbie pulled herself from her thoughts.
“Do you need someone to talk to?”
“Does that mean the shoulder to cry on is no longer an option?” She teased.
“Not if that’s what you want, I mean need.”
A twinge of sadness hit Debbie at the way he corrected his words. It reminded her Austin didn’t approve of her and her money. He was willing to help a friend in need, but wasn’t about to go around handing out hugs.
That’s what Debbie really needed.
She needed someone to hold her and tell her she wasn’t a failure, that she could learn to be a good mother. And she needed someone to promise her she’d eventually have a family of her own. Preferably sooner than later.
