Page 11 of Peaks and Promises

It was one of the reasons I’d been hoping he could stay with Mindy and her kids. But there was no way I could afford camp. I could barely afford rent.

The roar of an engine outside made my back tighten. I hurried to the window and peeked out. It was just the guy with a loud car who lived one building over.

“What’s wrong?” Nate asked.

“Nothing. Just wondering what was making all that noise.”

He glanced at me, his big eyes lingering on my face for a moment before he went back to his dragon. I could already see the outline of the young man he’d be in a few years, when his round cheeks changed shape and a defined jaw took over. He wouldn’t be a little boy much longer.

Not that he was little. He was almost as tall as me.

I went back to the kitchen and stirred the soup. The toast popped up. One of the slices was a little burnt, so I put that one on my plate and buttered them both.

“Can you move your dragon so we can have dinner?”

“Sure.” He pushed it to the side, clearing a space.

I brought our meager meal to the table and sat down.

“Are you going to make me go to day camp?” he asked out of the blue.

“I didn’t think you were listening to that.”

“Are you?”

I sighed. “I don’t know.”

“We can’t afford it,” he said decisively.

My heart sank. I didn’t want him to worry about those kinds of things. “How do you know?”

He shrugged but didn’t answer. He was probably hoping I couldn’t afford it.

“I’m not sure what else to do about summer break. You can’t stay with Ms. Mindy all day if her kids are at camp. I wonder if day care would cost less than that.”

He stirred his soup and grumbled, “I hate day care.”

“Well, you’re too young to get a job, so I’m not sure what else you want me to do.”

“I could work at the diner with you. I’m tall enough to wash dishes.”

I smiled at him. “You are, but I think there are laws against child labor.”

“That sucks.”

“We’ll figure something out, okay?”

He met my eyes again and the trust in his expression almost broke me. “Okay, Mom.”

I ate my soup and toast feeling like crap. Mayhem was in town, and I had no idea what to do about summer break. The weight of being a single mom was heavy, and not for the first time, I wished I didn’t have to carry it alone.

CHAPTER 4

Reese

The sun glared down from the sky as if it were angry, baking the desert in an act of revenge as I walked out of the hardware store. I got in my SUV, turned on the engine, and cranked the AC.

The cold air brought to mind a different landscape. Snowcapped mountains. Evergreen forests. Glacier-fed rivers. I could almost smell the pine trees surrounding my parents’ log home. See the town lights twinkling through the trees.