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Blake wanted to keep it cool, and he remembered Lauren’s palm against his chest. He wanted his son to talk to him. “Talk about what?”
“Her mom, sometimes,” Tommy said. “Her dad was killed in the military a couple of years ago, and they’ve had a hard time.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Yeah,” Tommy said. He fell into silence then, and if Blake wanted more from him, he’d have to prompt him. He let the conversation fade, because Tommy hadn’t turned bright red, and they’d talked about girls before.
“Do you want to invite her to the beach?”
“No,” Tommy said. “If she’s there, she’s there. I have her number.”
“Oh, you do?” Blake grinned at his son then.
Tommy grinned back, his face remaining perfectly happy as he asked, “Are you going to invite Lauren?”
Surprise filled Blake. “Should I?”
“Dad, I told you to have her over while I’m here on the weekends. You don’t need to hide her from me.”
“I’m not hiding her from you.”
“I mean, Cason lives with us,” he said. “Mom doesn’t seem to care at all.” He carried something strange in his tone, and Blake studied the side of his face, trying to figure out what he meant by that.
“Son,” he said. “I’m not hiding Lauren from you, or you from her.” They reached his SUV, and he clicked the key fob to get the back open. “I value my time with you, and I don’t get to see you much. Even less now that school’s about to start. I didn’t want you to feel like you have to compete with her for my attention.” He put the bags he carried inside, then stepped out of the way so Tommy could load in all he held in his hands.
Their eyes met once the purchases had been placed inside, and Blake raised his eyebrows. He’d let the other conversation end on his son’s terms, but this one needed to continue. “I need a response here.”
“Dad, I know you love me,” he said.
“Your mother loves you too,” he said quickly.
“Cason’s moved a lot of his stuff into Mom’s bath bomb studio,” he said. “So she started storing some of her bins in my room.” He mumbled the last few words and started around the car to the passenger side.
Blake blinked for a couple of seconds, then reached to close the back and went to get behind the wheel. He couldn’t believe Jacinda would displace their son from his bedroom. They’d lived in that house for a decade, and yes, it was small. Most houses on Carter’s Cove were. Cason had only moved in, oh, Blake couldn’t remember. Within the last year, he knew that.
He got behind the wheel and glanced over to Tommy, who now had his arms folded, his gaze stuck out the side window. Blake started the car, his mind spinning. “Son, this is one of those times you’re going to have to tell me everything,” he said slowly and carefully, trying not to scare away the frightened teen.
“I just feel…I feel like he’s taking over the house,” Tommy said. “And Mom doesn’t have anywhere to expand but my room, and I’m not always there, so why not store a few bins in my room, you know?”
“But it’s your room.” Blake backed out of the parking spot, and since they’d already eaten, they only needed to drive south to Hilton Head. “She has a studio in her shop. She shouldn’t need to store anything in there.”
He’d talk to her about getting a shed if she really needed it. She had a little backyard with a nice deck that stayed shaded in the hottest parts of the afternoon and evening.
“I feel like maybe I’m a nuisance to her,” Tommy muttered.
Blake swallowed. He had an open relationship with Jacinda, and she’d likely be horrified to know her son felt this way. He didn’t want to tell her, but he couldn’t keep it to himself either. “Do I make you feel like that?”
“That’s my point,” Tommy said. “No, you don’t. I know you like Lauren, and I actually like her too. So if you want to invite her, don’t not do it because of me.” He frowned and looked over to Blake. “Does that even make sense. Don’t not do it…?” He sighed. “I’m saying, invite her. You don’t have to think you can’t because I’m around. That’s the last thing I want, actually.”
“Great,” Blake said coolly. “I’ll call her right now and see if she can meet us at the beach.”
“She told me about her new house,” Tommy said. “Has she moved in yet?”
Blake’s eyebrows shot up. “She told you about her new house? When?” Lauren had only gotten the house about a week and a half ago. As far as he knew, she hadn’t seen Tommy in person since then.
“She has my number, Dad,” he said. “She texts me sometimes.”
“She does?” This was news to him, and Blake honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about it. “Can I see the texts?”
