Page 86 of Protecting Love

Insulting, but still nice.

Another laughing emoji came up and that was it.

Which was fine with him because he wasn’t one for lengthy text conversations. Nor flirting on the phone.

He did some work, then shut down his laptop, changed into workout gear the same time that Ian came out of his room.

Nope, the kid hadn’t showered yet, he didn’t even comb his hair, but was wrapping a bandana around his head.

With his sleeveless shirt and the start of some muscles, he supposed his son was feeling some confidence. Or maybe it was being next to his father that did it.

It was a nice feeling.

No, he couldn’t make up the time he lost. Never that.

But he could start new experiences. New times. New laughs.

“Ready?”

“Yeah. Do you think my arms will get as big as yours someday?”

“If you keep working hard they will. But don’t compare. Everyone just needs to be happy with what they’ve got and where they are.”

“I guess.”

“Is there someone you want to impress?” he asked. “You brought up dating earlier. We don’t talk about those things much.”

His son flushed and that told him exactly what might be going on.

He supposed it was better to be that than his kid getting bullied in school.

That had happened in the past, but seemed to stop at this new school.

“Nothing to talk about,” Ian said quickly. Too quickly. As if there was, but he was embarrassed.

His son didn’t have a job.

Didn’t really have money other than an allowance.

The kid did a lot of chores around the house. Was now cooking on top of it. Spending his money getting food that he didn’t need to so he could keep practicing.

“I got thinking that I’m going to give you a credit card.”

“Seriously?”

“With a limit. But you’re cooking more. You’re doing things around the house. If you really enjoy cooking and want to try new things, you shouldn’t be using your money on food.”

They left their condo. “Thanks, Dad.”

“No problem. And if you want to buy some chocolate... or flowers now and again, I’m not going to care.”

Ian flushed. “Thanks.”

And that one word lifted a lot of guilt that he’d been carrying for years.

21

RIGHT DIRECTION