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I press my lips together to keep from laughing. “Do you need help opening it, buddy?”

“No, I’ve got a letter opener in my room,” he says, racing back upstairs.

“Sabre, what did you do?”

I take a strategic sip of coffee and try to look innocent. “Just bought him a new outfit. You’ll see when he comes back downstairs. It’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”

When she doesn’t immediately respond, I talk about the math test from yesterday that he aced and how it was on compound fractions, which are technically his weakness, so this is a huge win for him.

About the time that I’m winding up that monologue, Noah comes downstairs, looking much more like a mini-me than I anticipated when I bought the outfit. He’s got his backpack and his helmet stuffed under his arm.

Linsey looks over his new outfit, taking in his jeans, T-shirt, and lace-up boots, all black. I even bought him a kid-sized leather vest. On the front right-hand side is a patch bearing his name. He looks real nice, in my opinion.

Noah stands at attention, practically vibrating with excitement. So, I step up for him. Walking over, I tug the vest to make sure it sits evenly across his shoulders, check that the snaps are working properly, and dust off the patch. “This vest is perfect for you. It’s made of real leather, just like the brothers wear. It’s loose enough for you to wear for a couple of years but not so loose it hangs off your body right now,” I tell him.

“I love it,” he says happily.

I hand him the second part of the present, a patch that reads, Level One Knife Throwing Expert. He takes it and holds it between his fingers like it’s made of gold.

“You earned that patch, Noah. It ain’t no participation award. You’ve had three lessons, logged forty-one throws, and have a clean safety record. You should be proud. Wear that patch like it means somethin’.”

“Yes, sir,” he says proudly.

“Go find your practice blades and your canteen. We’re wheels up in ten.”

He shoots off again, happy to have something interesting to do today. I know that feeling. When I turn back to Linsey, she’s standing with her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. She’s staring at me, and I’m hoping it’s because of the amazing night we shared a few days ago, but something tells me it’s because Noah and I are getting along so well.

“Thank you,” she says in an emotional tone. “For this and everything else you’ve done for him.”

“Look, it’s no big deal. I enjoy spendin’ time with Noah doing guy stuff. It brings back memories of spendin’ time with Gus all those years ago.”

“Sabre, you’re making a huge difference in the quality of Noah’s life.” She wraps her arms around me and adds, “Mine too.”

My arms come up to hug her back. “You’re welcome. It’s a privilege getting to know you both. You’re good people. Spending time with you and Noah ain’t no hardship, darlin’.”

“He’s a good boy. Sometimes I wondered if I did the right thing leaving my family. I mean, I know it was for the best. But for the past ten years it’s just been us and I always worried I wasn’t enough.”

“Noah might be a little kid, but he’s real smart for his age. He’s curious about the world, works hard, and is learnin’ to deal with his bully. Your son’s a lot braver than he realizes. Bein’ the one who gets to show him things is the best part of my week. Him and the woman who’s doin’ a fantastic job raisin’ him.”

She looks at me for a long, hard minute and then lowers her head to rest against my chest. We stand like that for about two minutes before Noah comes back into the room. Then we break apart, and Linsey walks us out to my bike.

“Come out to my place next weekend,” I say before she turns to leave. Glancing at Noah, I add, “Both of you are invited. We can have a cookout. There’s a good fishing hole on my property, if we decide to give that a try. I have three spare bedrooms. You can pick whichever ones you want. We can set up the target board and get some more knife throwin’ in. Maybe after dark we can have a campfire and roast marshmallows. We can even make breakfast together the morning after. I know you’ve been eyein’ my Griswold.”

Linsey gives me a warm smile. “That sounds like a nice, relaxing evening, Sabre.”

Something tight loosens in my chest. Asking Linsey to come to my house for the night is one thing. Asking her and her son to spend the night is entirely different, and we both understand that this is a step forward in our relationship.

“So, you’ll come?” I ask.

“Yes. We’d like that.”

After saying our goodbyes, we ease out onto the road, leaving Linsey standing in her driveway, staring after us.

***

The event area is crawling with people by ten thirty. It’s almost exclusively dads and sons. Smoke is already rolling off the grill as men line up to load it up with hot dogs, hamburgers, and some other odds and ends. There are camp chairs and picnic tables scattered around. Some kids are playing football in a field. Others are playing horseshoes, cornhole, and other outdoor games. Several fold-up tables are pushed together, and someone is teaching a class on tying fly fishing lures. There’s even an old guy making rope. That’s just what I can see from where we’re standing.

I just put my hand on his shoulder and say, “Let’s take a look around.”