I kept going until I sidled up next to her side, also facing Dash just in case I needed to tackle him to the ground to offset anything contradictory he might say. My mom leaned in, like she always did, lifting on her tiptoes to place a kiss on my cheek.
“I wanted to see where you work, and I wanted to meet your new friend.”
“That’s him,” I explained and pointed to Dash. “And that’s the charter’s office. I clean up after everyone. The boats are at the dock, I already went over them.” I absently hooked a thumbtoward the ocean as if the boats might be located somewhere else.
To her credit, she did glance in the directions I pointed, but Dash obviously held all her curiosity. “So you’re the one everyone’s talking about?” she asked, clearly paying attention to the local news.
“Sadly, I believe so.” Dash’s charming side roared to the forefront as his chin hit his chest. “The attention wasn’t anything I encouraged but the hype’s beginning to quiet down now. The girls aren’t following me all over the resort like they used to. I think my fifteen minutes has come to an end.”
“Well, that’s too bad. Beau needs to meet someone new.” She bumped her hip against the side of my body, happy with her tease. “Having a girlfriend…”
“Mom,” I cut her off and rolled my eyes. When I knew she was watching me, I exaggeratedly mouthed the words I’m sorry to Dash.
“No, it’s good,” Dash said assuredly, winking at my mom. Who did that? Who executed a perfect, playful wink at fifteen years old? “My mom says those same things to me.”
I doubted that.
“Where do you live when you’re not here putting the fear of God into the locals?” my mom asked.
“Mom,” I started only to have Dash shake me off again.
“In Southlake. It’s a suburb north of Fort Worth,” he answered, tucking his hands inside the front pockets of his walking shorts.
“I’m not as familiar with Texas as I should be. I need to get better.” My mom wrapped an arm around my waist, knocking mine to place around her shoulders. It took a second, but I finally followed through.
“Texas is so big, it’s hard to know what’s where.” Just like that, Dash had my mom eating out of his hand.
“There’s more to why I’m here.” She glanced up at me, finally, and lifted a hand to shade her sunglass-covered eyes from the bright angle of the sun. “I also come with news. I found a house and put in an offer. I wanted you to see it first, but I had to act fast. It’s close to my school. A pretty three-bedroom cottage-style home. A coworker’s grandmother is selling.”
“When would we move?” I didn’t care in the least about seeing it. My concern was the at least twenty-minute drive from the beach to her high school. I didn’t think Sea Springs had a transit system. It’d take forever to get back and forth on my bike.
“We have to wait until right before school starts. They need to move her into a facility then move her belongings out. The homes around there get snatched up quickly. I’ll take you to see it as soon as you have time off from your job,” she said excitedly.
Her happiness made me happy. Since I was currently in a day-by-day existence, I let the worry go. Let it work out like it’s supposed to. I’d figure it out.
“Who was the coworker?”
When she met me with silence, I gave her a funky side-eye. The expression she gave had me instantly knowing the deal. “Mom. That part of my life’s over. I don’t want to play football anymore. I’m out of shape. I haven’t conditioned…”
Dash sucked in a sudden breath, then began coughing and laughing at the same time.
“I am out of shape. And football’s all anyone talks about with me. It’s why I spend so much time over here.”
I was on a long-winded, rambling denial, and I just stopped speaking, shaking my headno.
“Son, it’s not about you.” At her statement, I gave her my best skeptical look. “He’s the varsity baseball coach. He’s invited me to dinner on Friday night, and I’d like you to be home to meet him.”
Wait. What? My mom had a date with a dude?
She was barely two weeks shy of being divorced.
“Mom. It’s gettin’ weirder.”
“Put thegon the end of your words, son.” Her brow lifted at me with her incessant reminder.
“Getting,” I repeated properly, trying my best to shake off the creepiness in the conversational turn. Of course, she wasn’t ready to date. She needed to concentrate on being my mom first before finding her way back into the world. Not dating some sex-crazed, ego-maniac coach. Heck, that was what got us to Sea Springs here in the first place. Her lousy taste in men.
I started walking backward toward the dock, waving her off. We’d certainly talk about this later. “I gotta finish up. We’ll talk later?”
