Riley called heads, but DJ won the coin toss. DJ was supposed to give up the leash to him on the way back, but being a good big brother, he did it before he had to. With his dark hair, DJ might not have been the spitting image of his father, but he reminded Wyatt of Lloyd so much.
They were back from Barney's walk and out in front so Wyatt could water the garden. Aunt Deb had left strict instructions about that. As they all lingered in front enjoying the sunny day, a little redheaded girl ran into their yard. A redheaded woman came in behind her.
"Don't run ahead, Gloria!" the woman yelled.
"I found them, Momma," the little girl announced on seeing the boys. Then she saw Barney and yelled even louder. "And they have a dog. A little, white dog, Momma!" Apparently Wyatt didn't deserve a mention.
"I guess we have visitors," Wyatt said.
"That's Gloria and that's our neighbor lady," DJ said helpfully.
"I bet the neighbor lady has a name," Wyatt teased him while Gloria went over to play with Barney and the boys.
"I'm Lara," the neighbor lady said while extending her hand. She was about Wyatt's age and built like every straight guy's dream.
"I'm Wyatt, nice to meet you," he said while shaking her hand.
"Uncle Wyatt," Riley corrected him.
"To grown-ups, I'm just Wyatt," he informed Riley.
"Nice to meet you, Wyatt. I thought I should come by and introduce myself, and Gloria wanted to see the boys. She was worried about them being sad," Lara explained.
As if just now remembering her mission, Gloria stopped playing with Barney and jumped up. "I'm gonna give 'em hugs," she announced then rushed at DJ and Riley and gave them bear hugs. DJ blushed through his, and Riley hugged her back while they both giggled.
After that was done, Wyatt offered Lara a drink. "No, thanks. I'm good. And how are you holding up? I know it must be hard," she said sympathetically.
"OK, I guess. The boys keep me busy. I don't have time to dwell on things," he told her.
"If you need anything, just let me know. We're just down the road from you," she told him.
"I think my aunt wanted to introduce us, but you weren't home." They exchanged phone numbers and Wyatt told Lara that she and Gloria were welcome to drop by any time.
"She'll want to do that all the time. I don't know how I'll drag her out of here and away from that cute dog," she said.
"I have that problem too. None of us want to leave Barney all alone here," Wyatt told her.
"Any time you want to swap babysitting or dog sitting duties, I'm up for that. Now that I'm a single mom, I need all the babysitting favors I can get," she told him with a sigh.
"Sounds good and it looks like the kids get along," Wyatt told her seeing how they all played together.
"When my ex left, he took his dog with him. Now Gloria only sees Bess when she stays with her dad."
"That's too bad," Wyatt said.
"We'll end up with another dog one of these days, I'm sure," Lara said.
"I meant it was too bad about the ex, but I guess a dog is more important," Wyatt said and made Lara laugh.
When she was ready to leave, Lara had a hard time prying Gloria away from Barney. Wyatt decided they might as well take another walk, and that way everyone could show him where Lara and Gloria lived.
Since the boys hadn't had their snack yet, Wyatt was thinking that they should go into town for a late lunch. He was really dying to see Sam, but he had another reason too. He was expecting some reference materials for work and wanted to visit the post office. It wasn't like the boys or Barney would object to a walk into town.
Once they left Lara and Gloria at their house, Wyatt found his thoughts turning more and more to Sam. What if he didn't get to see him? What if Sam didn't want to see him? Spending time with him had just felt too good. He had to have more of that man.
Wyatt felt like he was living through his first crush. To him, Sam wasn't just an enticing possibility. The urge to seem him was too breathless and strong, coursing all through his body, but centered in his heart.
Chapter 8
