Love and Sorrow (Small Town Secrets Book 5), стр. 49

“Are you kidding?  No woman is going to stop me from seeing you, Rascal.  We’ve got too much history together.”

Goddamn, that was true.  With everything from pulling an all-nighter to help him pound out a final essay to being by his side at his father’s funeral in Kansas earlier in the year, we’d been through a lot together.

Huh.

“So,” he said, “consider it taken care of.”

“I don’t want to ruin—”

“Not another word, Rascal.  Okay?”

Giving him a quick nod, I lit another cigarette.  “Anyway, I also thought you’d find it interesting that the psychologist told me today that Sarah misses you.”

“Misses me?  No shit.”

“No shit.  So I guess you don’t have to stay away anymore.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.  So the door’s open, my friend.”

“Then I’ll have to make a point of stopping by.”

“She’d like that.”

“But you wouldn’t.”

He could see right through me.  “I didn’t say that, you pain in the ass.”

“Rascal.  Get on home.”

“Later.”  When I started the van and waved, I realized I felt better at that moment about my friendship with Justin than I had in ages.  We had too much history to just piss it away, and I was relieved that sentiment had come from him, not me.

* * *

That said, I hadn’t expected to see Justin the very next evening.

My date night.

The entire evening had been a comedy of errors—or fate, depending on how you look at it.  First, I had to work later than scheduled and then Kevin showed up a little early.  Not a big deal, because the spaghetti sauce (homemade, mind you) was cooking, but I’d wanted to jump in the shower.  Sarah and Devon were intrigued and curious about this new man in my life—Sarah especially, since she already knew him from school.

But in he came, early or not, arms full not just with a salad and bread but also wine and sodas.  After the introductions, we all made our way into the kitchen.  Devon asked, “Mom, can I have a soda now?  Mr. Campbell said I could.”

As I mopped perspiration off my brow, I said, “Fine.”  While I wouldn’t be able to take a shower now, I could still be a little more presentable.  “I’m so sorry, Kevin, but would you excuse me for a minute?  I need to change clothes.”

“Sure.”  Glancing at my son, he added, “That’ll give Devon and me a chance to get to know each other.”  My son’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July.

“Thanks.  I’ll be right back.”  I scanned the house as I made my way toward my bedroom and felt grateful that the house wasn’t too sloppy aside from a few of Devon’s toys he’d left on the living room floor.  My house had definitely seen worse days.

I pulled clothes out of drawers and was getting ready to change when Devon yelled through my door.  “Mom, some man is calling for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“On your phone.”

I popped the door open to find my youngster holding my cell phone and the screen told me he’d answered it, but it wasn’t someone I already knew.  I was tempted to hang up, but since Devon had already talked to the person on the other end, I felt obliged.

Please don’t be a telemarketer.

The voice didn’t sound like a salesman.  “Is this Randi?”

“Yeah.  Who’s this?” I asked as I pulled up the leg of my jeans.

“Josh Dunham.  Do you remember me?”

Should I?  The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it.  “Would you mind refreshing my memory?”

“You know—from the bar.  A few weeks ago.”

Oh, shit.  Yes, I remembered.  I sat on the edge of the bed.  “How’d you get my number?”

“You don’t remember giving it to me?”

“No.”  I decided there was no harm in being honest.  “I was pretty wasted that night.”  Not to mention falling in love with someone else.  This kid had been a distraction, nothing more—but apparently I’d made him feel differently.

“I was calling because…I can’t stop thinking about you.  I’d like to take you out sometime.”

Now I felt like a total asshole—but it would be better to rip the bandage off quickly.  “Josh, I’m flattered—but I’m a lot older than you.”  Almost a cougar.

“I don’t have a problem with that.”

“And I have two kids who demand a lot of my attention.”

After a pause, he added, “I like kids.”  In theory, no doubt.

This guy was gonna make me pull out the big guns.  Aside from saying I flat-out wasn’t interested, I had one other card to play.  “And I’m seeing someone.”

“That guy you were with?”

Rather than banter, I cut to the chase.  “I’m really sorry that I gave you the impression—”

“Just do me a favor, okay?  Save my number in your contacts—and call me if you change your mind.  That’s all I ask.”

“I want you to know, if I were five years younger, I would be making plans with you right this second.  Unfortunately, the timing’s not right.”  I didn’t want to crush his ego and, while it inflated mine that someone lots younger had found me appealing, my heart belonged to someone else.

And, no, it wasn’t the guy in my kitchen.

“Cool.  Well, you have my number.  Call me if the guy you’re seeing doesn’t work out.”

Strange.  After I finished dressing, I ran to the kitchen so I could get the pasta cooking.  Fortunately, the water was boiling rapidly, and I was able to drop the spaghetti in.

“Everything all right?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah.  Just a weird phone call.  I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“What can I do to help?”

His offer was so thoughtful, I couldn’t say no.  So, while I put the finishing touches on dinner, he set the table—with Devon’s help—and then the four of us enjoyed a wonderful meal.  We even did the dishes together before cleaning off the table to play a board game and, while Sarah didn’t seem cheerful about it, she participated—which was far more than she’d done in a long while.  Maybe Kevin’s presence brought that out in her.

But the oddness of the evening