“So I gotta make her a shell Christmas tree. Will you ask her if I can stay with you?”
“Sure. For now, since we have a little time left, why don’t we gather some shells off the beach? If we hurry, I bet we can find some.”
“Yeah!”
He was up and on his way before Hendrix said, “You have to wait for me, bud. No way will your mom approve of us hanging out if we aren’t being careful.”
Ryder ran back, grabbed Hendrix’s hand and hauled him along. Together, they found clam shells, along with some limpet and whelk shells. They also gathered a few pretty stones and some agate that Ryder claimed would look like ornaments. By the time they deposited their haul at Hendrix’s back deck, they were running late and far too sandy.
But Hendrix wouldn’t have changed a thing. Hell, he could almost picture the Christmas tree that Ryder would create. He also had an idea on the type of glue they could use, and he was pretty sure he could find a decent base for the tree.
Suddenly, making a Christmas tree – with Ryder, for Joey – didn’t seem like an awful thing at all.
Wondering what was going on, Joey looked from her son to Hendrix and back again. They each had wind-tossed hair now, and sand clung to the bottoms of their pants. Thankfully, they’d each left their shoes outside. “You two had a nice talk?”
“Just man stuff,” Hendrix said, giving her a wink.
Puffing up his chest, Ryder agreed. “Man stuff, Mom.” With a definite swagger, he headed off for the bathroom.
Lifting her brows, Joey waited, but no further explanation was forthcoming, so she crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
Showing his amusement, Hendrix strolled closer, touched her cheek, then bent and put a soft kiss to her mouth.
Her arms fell to her sides. “What –”
Again he kissed her, not so quickly this time, but definitely with the awareness that her son was nearby. “It’s nothing for youto worry about,” he said quietly. “You’ll find out what he wanted on Christmas morning. But don’t say anything to ruin his fun.”
Oh. Of course, Ryder wanted to make a gift for her. He did so every year, but this year... “I usually give him a set amount to use... but with everything else, I hadn’t thought...” Giving up, she leaned back against the counter and closed her eyes.
“Hey. It’s covered, okay? No dollars required, so get that look off your face.”
If anything, she looked more tortured.
Hendrix put his hands to her waist. She was such a petite woman, slim but shapely, small but with an inner strength. “You can’t do everything, and you shouldn’t expect that of yourself.” When she started to object, he kissed her once more.
And Ryder said, “Hey!”
Joey jumped with guilt.
Hendrix, however, slipped his arm around her and turned them both to face him. “Hands all clean, bud?”
Suspicious, Ryder looked from her to Hendrix. “You were kissing my mom.”
“Because I’m fond of her. Both of you, actually.”
The suspicion remained. Joey knew why. The last few times Ted had dropped in unannounced, he’d also tried to kiss her. They were already divorced and she’d resisted, but Ted had used his size to press the matter. Shaken, she’d fought him off the best she could, but it wasn’t until Ryder had walked in that Ted had given up and stormed out.
She’d done everything she could to convince Ryder she was fine, but he’d become extra clingy after that.
To show Ryder that this was different, she went on tiptoes to kiss Hendrix’s cheek, then told him, “Your turn to wash your hands.”
As Hendrix started past Ryder, he put a hand to his shoulder. “Man to man, Ryder, I like your mom a lot, and I like you a lot. Is that okay?”
Slowly, a little uncertain, Ryder said, “I guess.” He eyed Joey again. “You like him, Mom?”
“I do, very much.”
Finally, Ryder nodded. “Okay then.”
