She’d made a point for Tucker to see that with pictures and then asked herself why she bothered.
“Let’s get you back to bed. You’ve had a long day. Only two more days left in the school week and then it’s the weekend.”
“You’ll call everyone tomorrow?”
“I will. Remember, you can’t bring it up at school.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
They returned to Archer’s room, she made sure the TV was off and hoped he got some rest. She knew she needed it.
Between her feelings watching Jayce with her son, to the conversation with her ex just now, she was mentally exhausted.
33
LOVED THAT MOVE
“Idon’t know how I let you talk me into this. Both of you,” Farrah said three days later.
“You didn’t need much talking,” he said. “It’s going to be fun. It’s only three kids.”
“And Archer. That is four boys, ages eight and nine. I’m nuts. Completely nuts to do this. But thankfully the other two couldn’t make it on short notice.”
He didn’t think four friends spending the night was that much work. He’d done it a lot as a kid.
“You’re not alone,” he argued. “I’m a pro at this.”
“That’s right. If I have to do this, so do you. He got the idea from you and then with you both begging me at dinner the other night, I couldn’t be the bad guy and say no.”
“I don’t believe there was any begging from me,” he argued.
Maybe he laughed when Archer put his hands up in prayer, then stuck his lower lip out.
Could have appeared as encouragement, but the kid was a riot.
He saw a lot of himself at that age.
And Farrah had just laughed right along with them.
“You two are a pair now so it means I can blame you both.”
He liked when she said things like that.
The next day when she’d called to tell him how many kids were coming to the sleepover and that she expected him to stay also, he knew right away there was more going on.
With Archer up and running around the house he hadn’t been able to get much out of her other than they’d talk later.
Later didn’t come because Friday, rather than him going over and hanging out with them, she was running errands and getting everything needed for this sleepover with Archer.
It was the first he’d really had a chance for them to talk.
“How long before they get here?” he asked. “I know you, you’ve got to have a ton of activities lined up.”
“I do. They are going to play outside for as long as they want. Basketball, cornhole, other lawn games I grabbed when we were out. Prizes for winners, gift bags. We are ordering pizza and there are cupcakes I made this morning.”
“Sounds likeyou’rethe pro at this.”
“Keeping them entertained is the key. Wearing them out so they aren’t up all night is important.”
