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Merit gave a soft chuckle both for his words and his stance. “Hell if I know.”
The boy glanced up at him, his expression alarmed. “You can’t say that word. Mom will yell at you.”
“Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.” He offered him a side knuckle bump and Ian gave it right back. Merit grinned.
He’d liked this kid from the moment he’d met him at the bakery in January. Might have had something to do with finding out he was Mae’s son, not her boyfriend, but since then, he’d made sure to be extra friendly with him. If the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, the way to a single mom’s heart was through her kid.
God, that sounded calculating. The thing was, Mae was the first single mom he’d ever been interested in, and once he got to know Ian, he liked him for him, not only his mother.
“Sometimes Mom looks up videos on how to fix things.”
Merit shook off his thoughts and reached for his phone. “Then let’s start with that.”
It took him ten minutes to find the correct instructional video on replacing mower blades for her specific brand. Another half-hour later, he’d wrestled on a new belt that had been lying next to the replacement blade, and now he and the kid were showing that broken mulching blade who was boss.
Ian sat beside him on the cement floor, legs crossed, talking his ear off while handing him twice as many wrong tools as right. He heard about summer school, Scooby Doo, what they did on the Fourth of July, found out Mae and Ian shared a birthday that was coming up in eight days, and last, but not least, the kid had a friend whose baby brother hogged his parents.
He made a mental note of the birthday, then focused on the last part. “Babies require more care than strong, growing boys, Ian. They can’t dress themselves, or even feed themselves.”
“They poop their pants.” He wrinkled his nose.
“You used to poop your pants.” Merit held the new blade while securing the bolt with his other hand.
“Eww.”
“Everyone’s a baby once. It’s fine as long as you don’t continue being a baby when you get older.” A sideways glance caught the contemplative look on the kid’s face. Yeah, he was smart enough to catch his drift. Merit held out his hand. “Wrench.”
Ian handed him the tool, then sighed. “Mom’s getting a baby.”
Merit choked back a laugh. “You mean she’s having a baby?”
“Yeah.”
He snuck another glance at the boy’s forlorn expression. Had Mae told him Merit was the father? No, he didn’t think so. Judging by his face, he doubted Ian would be out here with him if she had. “You don’t like that she’s having a baby?”
“Cory said his brother ruined everything.”
“Nah, brothers don’t ruin everything,” he countered while tightening the bolt. His hadn’t always been the nicest to him when they were growing up, but he kept that to himself. Besides, Ian would be the big brother, so if anyone was going to do the picking, it would likely be him. “I have three brothers, and they can be pretty cool. They’re some of my best friends. We used to go camping, and swimming, and build forts, ride bikes, all kinds of stuff.”
“Mom said it could be a sister.” His little nose scrunched up as if he’d just smelled a dirty diaper.
He smiled and flipped the wrench in his hand. “I got two of them, too, and they’re just as cool. They did all that stuff with us, too.”
“They did?”
“Uh huh. The good thing is, babies don’t stay babies forever. And to make up for it when they’re little, they’re really cute.”
Ian shrugged.
Merit studied him for a second and took a stab at what might be bothering the kid. “Are you afraid your mom will love the baby more?”
“She said she wouldn’t,” he mumbled.
“But it’s still scary, isn’t it?”
The boy nodded, his blue eyes downcast.
“Things will be different, Ian, I won’t lie to you about that. But the good news is, moms love their kids the same, and you’re gonna be okay. Your mom will make sure of it.” He’d help make sure of it, if she let him.
