After we get back to my house, the first thing Shane wants to do is take a shower. When I give him the go-ahead, he makes a beeline for the upstairs bathroom, and then he’s in there for over half an hour. He comes out looking like he just spent the day at a spa.
“That was the best shower I’ve had in ten years,” he announces. “I got to make the water any temperature I wanted. I could spend as long as I wanted in there. And I wasn’t naked next to five other guys.”
“Sounds great,” I laugh.
He looks down at his watch. “So the bus should be here soon, right?” “Pretty soon.” I took the day off from work and I gave Margie the
afternoon off as well. “It probably will come in the next ten minutes.”
“Okay…” He rakes a shaky hand through his damp hair, then looks down at his blue jeans. “Do you think what I’m wearing is okay?”
He is so adorably nervous. I walk over to him and place my hands on his shoulders. It’s the first time I have touched him since he walked out of the prison, but it feels right. “Don’t be nervous. He’s going to like you. I promise.”
“How do you know?”
“Because.” I grin at him. “You’re a likable guy.”
Our eyes meet, and one corner of his lips quirks up. Now that he’s cleaned up and is out of his prison jumpsuit, he looks so different. I had forgotten quite how sexy Shane could be. And I have to admit, he has upped his game in the last ten years. Even the scar on his forehead that I stitched up myself is sexy.
It also occurs to me he has not been with a woman in over a decade.
And tonight, he’ll be sleeping in the bedroom right next to mine.
The quiet moment between us is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. It’s Josh. The school bus has arrived.
Shane leaps away from me, staring at the door while tugging at his shirt collar. I rush over and unlock the door, and there is Josh, standing at the entrance with his backpack slung over one shoulder like this is any ordinary day, and not the day he’s about to meet his father for the first time.
“Hi, Mom,” he says. “I’m hungry.”
“Josh.” I glance back at Shane, who is wringing his hands together. “We have a visitor here. This is Shane.”
“Hi, Josh,” Shane says. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
Josh ignores Shane and drops his backpack right in the center of the foyer. He’s supposed to put it on the side, but he always manages to put it in the exact right spot for somebody to trip over. “I didn’t even have lunch,” he whines. “They had ravioli for lunch, and they only gave me like five ravioli. Five, Mom!”
I look over at Shane again, worried he’s offended that Josh mostly just seems interested in having a snack, but he doesn’t look upset. He’s just smiling and staring at Josh like he can’t quite get over it.
“Fine,” I say. “What do you want for a snack?” “I don’t know. What do we have?”
“You know what we have!” Oh my God, this kid can try my patience sometimes.
“When I was a kid,” Shane speaks up, “I used to love peanut butter on Ritz crackers. My mom used to make that for me all the time.”
Josh looks up at Shane, considering his suggestion. The two of them look so much alike, it gives me chills. I wonder if Josh notices. I’m sure Shane does.
“Okay,” Josh says. “I’ll have that.”
Thankfully, we have both Ritz crackers and peanut butter in the pantry
—I think Margie uses them for snacks. Josh goes to play Nintendo, while Shane helps me construct the snack in the kitchen. I put the crackers on the plate, and he covers them in peanut butter. It’s not exactly a two-person job, but it gives us a chance to talk.
“I’m sorry he was kind of rude,” I say.
“No way.” Shane beams at me. “He liked my suggestion. That was great. Also…” He lowers his voice. “He reminds me a lot of myself at that age.”
“I know—he looks a lot like you.”
“Not just that.” He casts a glance over his shoulder. “There’s something about him. His personality. He just… it makes me think of what I used to be like at that age.”
I don’t want to disagree with Shane, but internally, I am shaking my head. Josh is not like Shane. I didn’t know Shane that well before we started dating, but everyone knew Shane Nelson was wild. Josh isn’t that way at all. He’s shy and sweet and has never once started trouble at school.
“Why don’t you go play Nintendo with him?” I suggest. Shane’s eyes light up. “Yeah?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“I used to play at friends’ houses when I was a kid…” Of course, the Nelsons could not afford Nintendo. They could barely afford to keep the lights on. “You think he would want me to?”
“He definitely would.”
I finish making the Ritz crackers snack myself while Shane goes into the living room to join Josh. I can just barely see them, and I can’t hear anything they’re saying, but it looks like it’s going well. Shane leans over Josh, talking to him. Then he settles down on the couch next to him.
After ten years, Josh is finally spending time with his father. I can’t wait to tell him the truth.
