"That's good news," Rico said and admired the bulge in Mitch's biceps as he pushed up on one arm.
"It means I didn't really need to send Sammy away," Mitch said.
"Do you know how much fun she's having right now?" Rico said, but he could tell Mitch worried about her out there by the water. "I promise you everyone is taking good care of her."
"I know. Worrying about Sammy whenever she's out of my sight is an old habit," Mitch said.
"From the custody fight?" Rico guessed.
Mitch nodded and Rico could tell that what happened back then still haunted him. Rico went to the cooler and got them drinks. He handed the water to Mitch and a lime seltzer for himself. Mitch sat against the wall where it was still intact and tipped back his bottle of water.
Rico wanted to tell Mitch to talk to him and get some of it off his chest, but he didn't want to push him or pry. For once, Rico restrained himself. He just sat down next to him as they rested for a bit.
On his own, Mitch started telling him about it. "Back then, I lived in constant fear that I would lose Sammy, that Linda would run off with her."
Rico turned sideways to look at him. "Run off with her, really?"
Mitch's voice was tight as he continued. "She tried it once but didn't get far. I told you Ellie's mother was ill. Well, highway patrol found her on the side of the interstate slumped over the wheel, barely breathing. She was on her way to Canada with Sammy. Linda claimed she got disoriented and drove the wrong way. But the car was packed for her to never come back, and she had emptied her bank account. After that she only got supervised visits, but I was still terrified she might try it again."
"She didn't end up in jail?" Rico asked.
"She got a lot of sympathy because she was so ill," Mitch said. "She died a few months later, calling for Sammy and Ellie. It was heartbreaking."
"I'm sorry. Why did she have it in for you?" It seemed so crazy to Rico that she tried to take Sammy away from her dad.
"It was a difficult situation. I think her cancer and losing her daughter made her desperate to have Sammy for herself. I kept trying to come to a compromise, but Linda wouldn't hear it. She did love Sammy, but she couldn't see past her hatred of me," Mitch said sadly.
"But you did your best."
"She blamed me for getting Ellie pregnant and for her dying, for not marrying her. Those were things I couldn't change."
"But you offered to marry Sammy's mom. She's the one who said no," Rico pointed out.
"Linda didn't care about that," Mitch said and he shook his head.
"Do you think you would have been happy together if Ellie lived and you got married?" Rico asked and tried to keep a lid on his jealousy.
Mitch took a deep breath and frowned as he considered it. "I don't know, but I don't think Ellie would have been happy with me. I was willing to settle for someone I liked but didn't love, but she never was. I would have bored her, anyway."
"You. No way," Rico said. How could he even think that?
"Thanks," Mitch said and raised an eyebrow at him.
Rico got flustered. "I just mean... Whatever... Don't let it go to your head." He then got more serious. "Sorry about everything you had to go through."
Rico reached out and squeezed his shoulder. He wanted to do more but didn't. At a moment like this, he didn't want Mitch to think he was hitting on him.
Maybe Mitch knew that because he smiled at him as he said, "Let's get back to work."
Mitch fixed the leak around the window and then they worked on getting the wall and the floor back in order. As he helped him out, Rico admired Mitch's focus and his sure movements but tried not to be obvious about it.
Once Mitch was nailing down the last of the new boards, Rico started on cleanup. He already had some of the debris downstairs. Coming back in, he started to gather up the rest when he backed up without looking and stepped on a piece of wood Mitch had trimmed off.
As he lost the battle to regain his balance, Rico was sure that he was about to land on his ass when he felt strong hands grip his waist and his arm. With Mitch's help, Rico righted himself and looked over his shoulder at his savior. "You're my hero."
"You need to be more careful," Mitch told him as he let him go.
"Maybe I was faking so you would catch me," Rico claimed with a wiggle of his eyebrows, but Mitch wasn't buying it.
