Katie rolled her eyes and gave his chin a shake before releasing it. “Behave.”
Shawn opened the door, and they both stepped inside. The children were sitting at their desks, reading to themselves. Mrs. Morris, Shawn’s new teacher, came over to greet them. She directed Shawn to a table with three other children, and Katie stood back and watched him hesitate before sitting in an empty chair. Mrs. Morris introduced him to the group with whom he would sit and then knelt down beside him while she filled him in on the schedule.
A little boy with dark strawberry blond hair stuck his hand out for a formal handshake, and Katie giggled at the bemused look on her son’s face. He reached out and took the small boy’s hand, giving him a wide smile once his initial confusion wore off.
“That’s Anthony O’Donnell.”
Katie turned to face the woman who stood next to her. “Excuse me?”
“The little boy who shook your son’s hand is Anthony O’Donnell. His father’s a sexy surgeon up at the hospital. What I wouldn’t give to . . .” She trailed off, and her eyes rolled back into her head while she embraced her fantasy.
Katie took inventory of the woman beside her: tight Capri pants and a bright pink halter top that showed more cleavage than was appropriate in a third grade classroom, red hair nearly the color of a scarlet macaw, pouty lips that looked collagen enhanced, and acrylic fingernails so long they reminded Katie of bird claws. Katie doubted she was a teacher. She must have been the parent of a child in the class.
The shiny rock on the woman’s finger made Katie cringe. Why would she divulge, to a perfect stranger, her fantasy about a man who wasn’t her husband?
“It’ll be good to have your son be friends with him.”
She smiled at Katie as if she had done her a huge favor. Katie had a hard time not telling her off since she had little tolerance for women like that. Having had enough, Katie walked over to her son and kissed him on the cheek. He grimaced and wiped at the spot.
“Yuck, Mom.”
Anthony had an almost wistful look on his face while he watched their exchange. She gave him a conspiratorial wink, and he smiled before winking back.
“Have fun today, Shawn.” Katie tried to go in for another kiss, but he was faster, holding up his hands in defense.
“Okay, Mom, you can go now.”
Straightening up with a smirk, she headed for the door, chuckling to herself.
The day went by at a snail’s pace while she continued to unpack box after box. When she went back to the school to pick up Shawn, he ran to her and hugged her around the waist.
Smiling down at him, Katie felt grateful he’d forgotten for a moment that displays of affection weren’t cool. “How was your first day of school?”
“It was so great! I have a new best friend, and he plays baseball, and I want to play, too, and he has a sister, but she’s not very nice to him, but he’s really nice, and he shared a peanut butter cookie with me, and I liked it. Why don’t we ever have peanut butter cookies?” He spoke so fast that all his sentences ran together.
“We didn’t have peanut butter cookies because your father’s allergic to them,” she answered the last question. “So who’s this new friend?”
“His name’s Tony.”
Katie nodded. It looked like the cute little surgeon’s son had made an impression on Shawn. She hoped he wasn’t a mischief-maker, too—that could be a disaster waiting to happen. Shawn didn’t need any encouragement.
“So, Mom? Tony told me all about baseball, and I want to play. He said tryouts are this Saturday, and I really want to go. Please, please, please?” When Shawn looked up at his mother with puppy dog eyes, she couldn’t have refused even if she wanted to.
Her only worry was how she would get him to practices and games if she had to work. Being a single parent without friends in the area would prove to be more difficult if her son decided he wanted to engage in extracurricular activities. However, she couldn’t deny him when he looked so happy.
“Sure. If that’s what you want, we’ll make it work.”
Shawn talked nonstop on the way home. He recited baseball rules and filled her in on strategy. She was a bit shocked at the depth of his knowledge since they’d never been much into sports in their home.
“Where did you learn all that?” she asked after he told her, in detail, how to throw a curve ball.
He shrugged. “Tony. He’s a pitcher, and I want to pitch, too.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him that he needed someone to practice with to be a pitcher, and Katie was ashamed to admit she was not an athletic person. Times like these made her wish she hadn’t moved away from Victor. Even though he didn’t necessarily enjoy baseball, he had more experience than she did.
~*~
Gina showed up bright and early, even though Chase had told her he could handle getting his kids ready for school. He’d had to shove her out the door to spend time with Daniel the night before, accusing her of having so little faith in his ability to handle the simple task of caring for his own children.
It was rare that she spent the night away from the kids, which was another source of guilt for Chase. Of course, the one time she wasn’t there would be the day when no one could find Tony’s missing shoe. Chase was in the midst of searching the laundry room when Gina pranced in.
“What are you doing? You should have left five minutes ago.”
Chase tossed the empty laundry basket aside and rummaged through Tony’s dirty clothes. “We can’t find one of Tony’s shoes,” he said.
“Where was the one you found?”
“In the family room.”
“Then that’s where the other one is.”
“I’ve already looked everywhere in there,” he grumbled. She ignored him and made her way into the family room, mumbling to herself. He heard her moving things around while he continued to dig through the pile of laundry, hoping the shoe had been tossed in there when Tony brought down his dirty clothes.
“Aha!” Gina called. “I found it!”
He left the laundry on the floor and walked into the family room, yelling up the stairs for Liz and Tony to get in the car. “Where did you find it?” he asked, puzzled because he’d searched the room three times.
“Under the couch.”
“I looked under the couch.”
“Yes, but you were looking with your man eyes.” She smirked and shoved him out the door.
Chase drove quicker than he should have to the school and pulled up in front of the office. Still angry with him over their argument, Liz got out of the car without saying a word. Tony followed but stopped and gave Chase a cheery wave before he ran off to class.
“Aunt Gina will pick you up after school,” Chase called out the window before they disappeared around the corner of the building. He hoped that Liz would get over her hostility, but he wouldn’t hold his breath for it to happen anytime soon.
As the window slid closed, he caught a glimpse of the woman he had met on the beach a few days earlier. She was speaking with the office assistant. He grinned at the memory of their encounter until a honk from the car behind him pulled him back to the present. Chase waved in apology and pulled out of the drop off point, while he wondered if her dog had given her any more trouble after their meeting.
His stint in the ER went by with nothing more dramatic than a couple of sick children and a few broken bones. Chase rolled into the driveway a little after eight o’clock, just in time to participate in the evening ritual. Tony was already curled up in his bed reading a book when Chase walked in. He smiled at his father and patted the space next to him, inviting his dad to hang out.
“How was your day, slugger?”
“Great! I made a new friend.”
“Really? Tell me about him.”
“He’s so cool. His name’s Shawn. He didn’t know anything about baseball, but I filled him in. He’s excited about tryouts Saturday, so can you try to get him on our team?”
“I can’t
promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“He moved here from New Mexico and has a dog, and it’s just him and his mom. His parents got a divorce. I can tell he misses his dad. I shared my peanut butter cookie with him, and he said he never had a peanut butter cookie before. Can you believe that?”
The doctor side of Chase thought about all the problems that could have arisen from Tony sharing his cookie with his new friend, but since Tony didn’t go into a long explanation of anaphylactic shock, he figured it was fine.
“Well, it sounds like you had fun today.”
Chase often worried about Tony’s lack of assertiveness. He was shy when it came to making friends, and Liz said she always saw him wandering around the playground alone. He didn’t seem to mind his self-imposed isolation, but Chase had hoped he’d find a friend who would help pull him out of his shell.
“I did. He’s really nice and funny. He’s got frogs and snakes, too. Can I take two peanut butter cookies in my lunch tomorrow?”
Chase chuckled at the randomness of his son’s thoughts while he held Tony’s covers back.
“Sure thing, slugger.” Chase kissed his forehead, and Tony wrapped his hands around his dad’s neck, pulling him in for a hug.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Chase made his way to Liz’s room and stopped short when he heard crying on the other side of her door. She had been like this for a few days, and he reminded himself that this happened every year around the anniversary of Terri’s death. Knocking, he opened the door to find Liz sitting on her bed with her face in her hands, sobs racking her small body.
“Aunt Gina is leaving us, too.”
Chase sat down on her bed and pulled her into his arms, rocking her until she calmed down.
“She’s not leaving us. She’s just going to live with Daniel. You’ll still see her almost as much as you do now.” Liz’s crying turned into hiccups, and she clutched at the front of his shirt. “You still have six months to have her all to yourself, but then we need to let her be happy with Daniel. She mentioned letting you help her plan the wedding—would you like that?”
Liz smiled and nodded before wiping at her nose. Chase smoothed down her damp hair, then stood to pull back the covers. He laid her between the sheets, drawing them up to her chin.
“I’m sorry about the other night,” she whispered.
Chase ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead.
“I know, baby. But don’t ever think that I don’t miss your mother.”
She nodded, and a sound between a sob and hiccup came from her lips. Chase enfolded her in his arms again and held her until her tears stopped. After Terri’s death, he hadn’t known what to do when Liz broke down. He later learned that she just needed him to be there for her, to let her cry and not try to fix everything.
“I love you, pumpkin.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
Chase tucked her back into bed and made his way downstairs, shutting off lights as he went. Grabbing a beer, he decided to finish the paperwork he’d been putting off for days. When he reached his office, he plunked down in his chair and flipped on the radio, taking a long drink from his bottle. The husky voice of Tony Bennett made him pause, then set down his beer. The song reminded Chase of a day thirteen years before in a small reception hall filled with family and friends.
“Chase? What are you doing?” Terri laughed when he pulled her to the middle of the dance floor.
He signaled to his best man, and Carlos strolled to the piano and played the opening notes to “The Way You Look Tonight.” Chase took Terri’s hands in his and smiled at her bemused expression.
“I’m going to serenade my beautiful bride.”
Needing air, Chase shot out of his chair, almost knocking it over in his haste. He moved to the French doors and wrenched them open, walking onto the deck that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. His hands gripped the wooden railing while he sucked in the misty sea air, trying to calm the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. It had been months since he had one of his panic attacks, so he forced his mind to stay calm and took long, steady breaths until it receded.
Night fell over the landscape, casting shadows across the beach. The moon set a glowing road across the water, lighting a path as far as he could see. A cool breeze coming off the ocean sent a small shiver through him, but he ignored it. Chase sank down onto the lounge chair and raked his fingers through his hair.
Would it always be like this? Would he have to live with this grief for the rest of his life?
Chapter 4
I really don’t want to get out.
Katie shut off the warm stream of water. The small moment of peace and quiet she’d experienced while indulging in a hot shower would end the minute she stepped out of the steam-filled room and Shawn reminded her, yet again, what the day would bring. The cooler air caused goose bumps to form when she moved the shower curtain and left her sanctuary. She grabbed the oversized towel and shivered while she wrapped it around herself.
She heard Shawn outside the bathroom door.
“Sandy! Where are you?”
What on earth could he be up to? Who the heck is Sandy?
“Sandy?” he called again. “I have to find you before Buddy does, you big stupid head.”
Katie snorted at Shawn’s obvious frustration. Since they lived in a rural area, there were all sorts of critters Katie hoped would stay hidden. No such luck when she had a child who was obsessed with anything that crept, crawled, or slithered.
She dried off, then hung her towel back on the rack. Grabbing her underwear, she slipped them on before latching her bra. When she turned to grab her shirt, she was greeted with her worst nightmare in the large opening between the floor and the bathroom door, and she froze. Slithering under the door, like it knew where it would cause the most havoc, was a small, brown snake. With a curse, Katie jumped on top of the toilet lid and ranted at herself for renting an old house with two-inch gaps under all the interior doors.
“Shawn!” Katie screamed, feeling her anxiety spike.
The snake made its way farther into the bathroom. She tried to shoo it out by squeaking and flapping her arms, but it crept closer to her safe haven while she danced on the toilet.
“Shaaawwwnnn!”
“I’m looking for Sandy, Mom.”
“Sandy’s in here!” she said, hoping her nine-year-old moved his little fanny fast.
Her pajama-clad son burst through the door as Sandy reached the base of the toilet. Shawn’s stunned expression would have been comical under any other circumstances. However, Katie couldn’t find anything funny about the current situation. All she could do was point at the offending reptile.
“Get it out of here!” Katie shrieked. Her frantic plea had the desired effect, and Shawn snapped out of his shocked stupor. He scooped up his temporarily adopted pet and disappeared out the bathroom door.
Katie sank down onto the toilet lid and took a shuddering breath.
Once the adrenaline began to ebb, she finished dressing with lightning speed, then poked her head out the door to be sure there weren’t any more surprises waiting for her. Although she could handle anything that lived beneath the sea, if it slithered across the land, she turned into an overwrought bundle of nerves.
Katie scanned the floor while she darted to the kitchen. When she moved to the window above the sink, she saw Shawn holding the menace only a few inches from his face. He carried on a conversation with it as if it were his best friend, making Katie shudder once more. Tapping on the window to get Shawn’s attention, she motioned for him to leave the snake outside and come in the house.
Shawn approached the French doors, and Katie crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look as threatening as possible. When he saw her stance, he lowered his eyes and moved closer.
“Why on earth would you bring a snake in the house?”
He flinched at her tone and looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes, obviously trying to charm his
way out of trouble. “It was just a garter snake, Mom. Dad said they aren’t poisonous.”
“I don’t care if they’re poisonous or not.” She thought about that comment for a split second before she backtracked. “Well . . . yes I do, but that’s beside the point. Why did you bring it in the house?”
He shrugged and looked down at his feet. “I dunno. It was just really interesting.”
Katie sighed as the innocence of his words sank in. She didn’t want him to think he couldn’t be interested in wildlife. Then again, she didn’t want a repeat of the snake incident, so she pulled his chin up until he looked into her eyes.
“No more snakes in the house. I’m good with the frogs and the lizards, but I draw the line at snakes.” Shawn nodded. “Good. Now get dressed for tryouts.”
He scurried back into his room, and she started breakfast. When she called out to let him know his food was on the table, he ran in with a grin on his face and slid into his seat.
“Yum, pancakes and bacon.” Shawn smiled up at her as he dug in.
Katie sat down next to him while he shoveled his breakfast into his mouth like a human garbage disposal. At the rate he was going, she was going to have to take a second job by the time he was a teenager just to feed him.
“So are you excited about tryouts?” she asked.
His face lit up, and he nodded. “Yep! I can’t wait to be on a team. Tony said his dad is going to try to get us on the same team. His dad’s a coach, and Tony says they won All-Stars last year.” Shawn’s spoon stopped midway to his mouth, and he looked as though he’d remembered something important.
“What?”
“I need a baseball glove,” he said with a quiver in his voice.
She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought about buying him a glove before that moment. Although she didn’t know a lot about the sport, she did know a glove was an important component in baseball. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, she realized they didn’t have time before tryouts to stop at the sporting goods store.
“We’ll have to get it after tryouts. Maybe you could borrow Tony’s?”
A relieved sigh escaped Shawn’s small body, and he nodded. “Yeah, Tony will share. We’re going to need some balls and a Thunderstick, too.”
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