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“It’s too cold to sit there and not too comfortable for your arm.” I didn’t answer his question yet and walked over, pulling a folding chair from a nearby shelf. Popping it open, I gestured to the kid. “Sit here closer to the heater. You can use this when you come over. Then you won’t freeze your ass or dangle that arm in the air.”
Noah sat in the chair and kicked his legs back and forth as they dangled. “This is comfy.”
I leaned against my workbench and tried to come up with something that wouldn’t sound harsh. “I haven’t set foot in a tattoo parlor in a long time.”
“Why not?”
“Someone I cared about,” I nearly choked, “They died a long time ago and loved tattoos too.”
Noah tilted his head. “Is that why you get sad?”
Was there anything that escaped this kid’s notice? “Yeah.” Didn’t hurt to admit the truth.
“Then I won’t ask you again. I don’t want to make you sad.”
“Thanks.”
Silence stretched between us, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. This kid had an old soul. Something about him was special. He could read people easily and seemed in tune with their emotions in a way I rarely saw with anyone, including adults.
“You hungry? Thirsty?”
“Nope. Mama made a big pot of chili mac.”
Damn. That sounded good. It was growing colder over the last few days. Probably snow soon. The last storm blew over without too much precipitation, but this felt different. My bones nearly ached with the change I could feel coming.
“Mama said we had a lot, and she was going to give you some. She told me to tell you not to be late.”
Fuck. She was so perfect. Not a thing I learned about Bess that I didn’t like. That included her son.
Super weird. Most women annoyed the hell out of me after only a few minutes. In bed, I didn’t mind the noise or chatter. The louder, the better. Cry my name to the fuckin’ rooftops ’cause I knew what the fuck I was doing with a woman’s body.
With Bess, it was unlike anything I’d ever known. Even with Colter’s mother.
“Got something I need you to do for me, son.”
Noah perked up. “Sure!”
“My dog Savage is getting lonely lately. I’ve been busy. You think if I gave you a spare key you could pop in the house and play with him for a few minutes and make sure he’s got food and water for me? I’ll give you $10 a day.”
His eyes widened. “Wow! Yeah, I can check on Savage. Can I meet him now?”
I opened the door to the house and Savage came barreling through, practically knocking the little squeaker over. Noah was laughing hard as Savage covered him in saliva. Dog was completely worthless as any kind of guard.
“He’s friendly.”
“Sure is.” I grabbed the spare key off the hook in my kitchen and handed it over to Noah. “Keep is safe. Don’t lose it.”
“I won’t,” he promised.
“It’s to the back door which lets you in through the kitchen. Dogfood is in the pantry there.”
“I won’t forget.”
Didn’t think he would.
We walked back outside after a few minutes. That was when I noticed Bess’s voice carried in the wind as she called out for Noah.
“Better get home, son.”
