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“Well, you’re a single guy in oil country.I don’t want to interrupt…stuff.”
He chuckled, and his voice lowered.“And whatstuffwould that be?Specifically.”
Fire raged along my cheeks as images of Liam’s strong body entwined with some faceless woman’s blazed through my mind.I sputtered before I managed to grit out his full name.“William Robert Barron, if you make me describe anything,specifically, we’re both going to regret it.”
His deep laughter anchored me in the comfort zone.His unrepentant personality and those two little boys of his had been my light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
“There are a lot more eligible guys here than women,” he said.“And I’m a lot choosier than I used to be about who I’ll mess around with.Payton taught me that lesson.”
Something like relief rushed through me.Was I afraid I was bugging him when he was with a woman?Or was I afraid he was with a woman?I didn’t want to be a selfish friend.Liam didn’t have the support network I did.Maybe I was just protective of him.
Derek and I had been there through the Payton debacle.Nothing but drama from the beginning.Payton wanted a sugar daddy.Liam hadn’t admitted it, but he’d wanted someone of his own.His grandpa had been sick, in and out of the hospital.Grandma Gin had been at her husband’s bedside.Liam worked a new job, away from a town that acted like it didn’t want him, and he’d been lonely.Ripe pickings for someone like Payton.
Liam wasn’t in a much different situation now.I’d hate for him to get used again.
I shamelessly turned the conversation to safer ground.“I wanted to talk to you about Eli.I really think he’d benefit from speech therapy.”
“But he’s five.Isn’t the way he talks normal?”
“To some extent, but some kids can improve a lot with early intervention.”
He was quiet for a moment.Had I overstepped?
“You really think it’s something?”
“Yes, I really do.”I had noticed Eli’s inability to say several consonants correctly, but I hadn’t been in the headspace to mention anything.I was doing little more than surviving.But now, for the first time since I’d gotten the Lyme disease diagnosis in high school, I thought I could flourish.Help people instead of always needing it.
“Would he get teased when he goes to school in the fall?”
“I mean, some kids would never notice, much less tease him.Other kids could be brutal.You never know.For his own ability to communicate, though, I think he should at least get a screening.Then we’ll know if he falls below standards before he starts school in the fall.You’ll be able to communicate with his teacher from the get-go.”
“Is it something Grandma Gin can do, or that I can do when I’m home?”
I knew exactly what he was worried about.His limited time had so many demands on it already.“So, I’ve been thinking—”
“Nothing good ever came from a woman saying that.”
“Do I have to use your full name again?You did not just go there.”His laughter made my lips twitch.He was a shit, and it was one of my favorite things about him.Always had been.“Anyway, insurance often pays for therapy.Maybe you can try to get him screened in Bismarck before you move the kids to Williston.I’m sure they have services too, but if you start in Bismarck, I can help take him to appointments or entertain Owen while you or Grandma Gin take him.”
Liam snorted.“That might be more critical.”He let out a breath.“You’d do that?”
“Of course.”
“But you have your own job.”
“By the time he gets screened and evaluated, it’ll be summer.I applied to teach summer school, but those classes are in the mornings.”And they were a hot job opening for those who didn’t stay home with their kids or work a second job in the summer.There would be a lot of applicants.
Liam and the kids had helped me wander back into life, but a large motivator had been the finances.Bruce had mentioned moving me in with them when the life insurance money ran out and I couldn’t cover mortgage payments.I was an independent adult and it’d been time to start acting like it.The paraprofessional job helped cover the cost of living, but it didn’t pay as much as a full-time teacher, and it didn’t pay over the summer.I needed the money.
“Thank you, Kenny,” he said quietly.
“We’re kind of a team,” I said lightly to cover how his appreciation nearly brought tears to my eyes.This guy.He did so much for the ones he loved.I wanted to return the favor.
“So, I’ve been thinking…”
“Uh-oh,” I mimicked.“Nothing good ever came from a guy saying that.”
“Ha ha, smart-ass,” he said in a tone that widened my smile.“The farmers market.If I did it, I’d want to have more items to sell, to make it look like I’m serious.”
