And then he laughed as Mike’s chuckle vibrated through him.
Epilogue
Late May
“Mike, you don’t have to do the dishes,” Caroline protested. “That’s what the dishwasher is for.” She stood next to him at the sink as he piled the dirty dishes from lunch into the bowl already filling with hot, soapy water.
Mike chuckled and handed her the dishtowel. “Yeah, but it gives us a chance to talk. ’Cause you know Ben and Tommy won’t be around if there are dishes to be done.” He shook his head. “You should’ve seen Tommy’s face when I told him there wasn’t a dishwasher at the new house.”
Caroline’s face registered shock. “There isn’t? What house doesn’t have a dishwasher these days?” She peered at him. “Y’all have gone and bought a house out in the backwoods, haven’t ya?”
He guffawed. “Just listen to you. Just like my momma. She complains about having to do dishes too. And for your information, yes, thereisa dishwasher, but it was worth saying it for the sheer entertainment value.”
Caroline swiped at him with the dishtowel. “You are just plain wicked, messing with that young man. I mean, c’mon,Mike, there are better things I can be doing with my time than washing dishes.”
“And there are better things I can be doing with Tommy than washing dishes, if you know what I mean,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. He knew Caroline well enough by now to judge how she’d react. As he’d thought, she blushed a little.
“I do believe that comes under the realm of TMI, Mr. Scott,” she said, fanning herself with her hand. Then she chuckled. “Who am I kidding? The number of times I’ve walked in on you two downstairs and I didn’t make enough noise to let you know I was coming.” Her blush deepened. “Talk about giving a southern lady an education.”
Mike knew she was joking, although she had come into the living area once to find them on the couch. Ben had been out, and Mike was saying good-bye, only they’d gotten a little carried away. Thank God they’d kept their clothes on.
Caroline held out a hand. “Well, if you’re putting me to work, pass me something to dry, why don’t you?” Mike smiled and handed her a plate. “So, how is the house coming along? Does it need a lot done to it?”
Mike shook his head. “It’s thirty years old and in really good condition.” He’d fallen in love with the house the moment he saw it online, and when he’d shown it to Tommy, it was a done deal. They’d taken a trip out to Social Circle to the east of Atlanta to look at the house and its environs. It came with nearly six acres, plenty of land for their purposes. The house had been built in the middle of a forest. The views from virtually all the windows were of the cool green trees that surrounded it on three sides. There was a paddock and lots of space for Tommy’s future menagerie. Better still, there was the possibility of a plot of land just down the road a ways, just right for a veterinary practice.
The house on River Cove Road couldn’t have been more perfect.
“I’m sure gonna miss having Tommy around here.” Caroline rubbed absently at the plate.
“Why’d you think we chose a house with five bedrooms? So that you could all come visit.”
“It looked so beautiful when Tommy showed us the photos you took.” She smiled. “He’s grown so much these last six months.”
“What? God, tell me he’s finished growing!” Mike joked. He knew Tommy was sometimes a bit sensitive about being so much taller than him. Mike didn’t mind. There was something about being held in Tommy’s strong arms that made him feel completely safe and secure. Mike had always been the larger guy when it came to his exes, so it was a pleasant change.
Caroline chuckled. “You know what I mean, Mike! He’s so much more… confident these days.” She quieted for a moment. “Does he ever talk about his parents?”
“No.” Mike took his hands out of the soapy water and leaned against the sink. “I tried, once or twice, to ask if he’d thought about getting in touch with them. He was adamant. Then I brought it up again when the house went through. I thought there might have been things back at his folks’ house that he’d want with him.” The memory made him smile. “He told me everything he needed was either at his dorm, your place, or standing right in front of him.”
“Oh, that is so sweet.” She took another plate from him. “It’s been nice getting to know you these last months.”
“Now that I’m no longer a porn star?” Mike said with a grin.
“Oh hush, you.” Another swipe of the towel. “You know full well my problem with you was not your career—it was the way you hurt that boy by hiding it from him.”
“I know. And like I said when we first met, I’m glad Tommy has you in his corner.” Mike had become good friends with Caroline and Benny. A weekend didn’t go by without spendingsome time with them and the kids. “You know,you’reTommy’s family now, and that’s not about to change. He’ll still be staying in the dorm, unless he decides that he can live with the forty-five minute commute twice a day from Social Circle. And you know he and Ben will stick together.” Thank God Ben had finally relaxed around Mike.
“So what are you doing with your time these days?” Caroline inquired. “When you’re not working at Woofs, of course.” She frowned. “Just how is this going to work, by the way? During the week, Tommy will be at school. On the weekends you’ll be working. How are y’all ever gonna find enough time to be together?”
Mike sighed. “It’s a logistical nightmare, is what it is. We’ve managed to sort out something, though. Mom said I can stay at her place on the weekends, which is great. When I told her there would be two of us, I thought she was gonna burst. She loves that boy.” He was never going to forget her reaction when she met Tommy for the first time. She’d smiled politely and then dragged Mike into the kitchen under the pretense of looking at her leaking faucet. She’d stared up at him and mouthed, “Oh shit. He’s a baby!”It hadn’t taken her long to warm to him, however. By the end of that first Sunday lunch, she’d taken Mike aside, glared at him, and told him bluntly, “Don’t screw this up, y’hear?”
“In answer to your question, I’ve been working on the house, getting it ready for when Tommy finishes for the summer. He’d made up his mind not to do summer school this year, saying he’d rather spend the time at the house, with me.”
Caroline froze. “He said that?”
Mike nodded. “Then I told him to remember the end goal. We’ll have time enough together when he’s finished his studies.” He gave her a half smile. “Which was the right thing to say, I know, but damn, I hated saying it.” Then he grinned. “ExceptTommy hadn’t done his research. Sure, the summer session is two blocks of seven weeks, and yeah, he only gets a week or so before it starts, but he can do it online.”
Caroline’s grin matched his. “Oh, nice. Y’know, you might have given me an idea.” She winked. “Ben needs to improve on his grades, after all.”
