“Nice to meet you, Rudy.”
Rudy blocked Austin’s access to the sitting room doorway before releasing his hand. “What’s wrong, Deb?”
“The social worker took Noah home last night.”
“Who?” Scott asked.
“You know, the little hellion she’s been fostering?” Rudy said.
Debbie smacked her brother’s arm. “Don’t call him that.”
“Well, from the stories mom told us, the kid was quite a handful.”
“Yeah well, you and Scott were tyrants when you were little too. Noah was just a… little busy.”
Austin snorted.
Debbie scowled at him, but her voice softened as she continued. “He had the prettiest brown eyes, and he loved to snuggle and read books before naptime and bedtime.”
Austin stared at Debbie. It amazed him sometimes how much Debbie loved children, even a child as rambunctious as Noah. No wonder his boys loved Debbie. Kids knew when an adult cared about them, and they usually reciprocated.
Scott cleared his throat, and Austin pulled his gaze away from Debbie. Heat again filled his face.
“So Austin, how did you meet my sister?” Rudy asked.
“We ran into each other at the grocery store. Literally.” He grinned at Debbie. “And I drove—”
Debbie grabbed his arm. “I hired his daughter to paint a mural in the dining room.”
Scott answered this with a grunt.
Rudy folded his arms across his chest. “What’s his daughter painting a mural for you have to do with him hugging you?”
Debbie smacked Rudy’s shoulder again. “Knock of the protective big brother act. You’re my little brother, remember?”
Rudy sucked in a deep breath, drawing himself up to his full height. He puffed out his chest and propped his hands on his hips. “Yeah but we’re bigger than you, Deb.”
“Oh please. Get over yourself.” Debbie rolled her eyes. “Austin and I are just friends.”
Friends.
Right. He and Debbie were just friends, and you don’t go around kissing your friends. That ruined friendships.
Ten minutes later, Rudy and Austin team-lifted one of the many boxes the Gazebo kit was packaged in while Scott hefted a slightly smaller box onto his shoulder and walked out of Debbie’s garage.
When they set their box down near the area prepared for the gazebo, Rudy asked, “So Austin, you have three kids, huh?”
“Yep.”
“And where’s your wife today?”
So much for dropping the protective big brother act.
“I’m divorced.”
Scott and Rudy exchanged a look Austin couldn’t interpret.
“How long have you been divorced?” Rudy asked.
