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I still wasn’t sure. She’d made it clear she didn’t want me in her house or around her boys.
Evan dipped his head, brushing his nose along my jaw. “Becca, she can be difficult, I know that, but I’ve set her straight about you. About us. She doesn’t have to like it, but I won’t hide you away either. I’m done hiding you.”
Maybe it was the intensity of his words or the way he looked at me like I was the air he breathed, but I found myself saying, “Okay.”
CHAPTER20
EVAN
“Becca!”Eli squealed, running toward us with a huge smile on his face. It was a good thing he was only a little kid and not older, or I might have been jealous. As it was, I could only smile along with him.
“Hey, buddy.” She bent down, and he threw his arms wide. Becca laughed, catching him. “I missed you too.”
Why did those four words make my heart quicken?
“I’m glad you’re back in the club.” Eli shoved his lunch bag into my hand, insisting on holding Becca’s hand as we walked to the Impala.
“Me too.” Becca glanced at me, and I shook my head with laughter, mouthing, “I think someone has a crush.”
“Can we get ice cream?”
“Not today, E. Becca’s going to come back to the house with us though.”
His cheers filled the air, and a couple of parents looked in our direction. In a town like Credence, people talked. I knew it was likely the staff had put two and two together given that Mellie and I dropped off and picked Eli up more than Mom. They didn’t ask though. Eli was a happy kid, had a smile for everyone, and that was all that mattered. He arrived for pre-K on time, and someone was always around to pick him up. Which was far more than some of the kids in his class.
“How was pre-K today?” Becca buckled him in his safety seat and climbed in the passenger seat.
“Okay. Tobin’s dad came to talk to us. He’s a fireman.”
“Wow, and how was that?”
I eyed Eli in the rearview mirror. Something wasn’t right. His eyes were downcast as he chewed his lip.
“E? Everything okay, buddy?”
“Why don’t I have a dad, Ev?”
My hands tightened on the wheel, and I felt Becca’s eyes burning into the side of my face. It wasn’t the first time he’d asked, but it had been a while. When he was younger, it was easier to twist the truth. I didn’t want to lie, but how did you tell a three-year-old his father left because he didn’t want him?
Becca shifted beside me, twisting her body so she could see Eli between the front seats. “I bet Tobin’s dad was pretty cool huh?”
Eli nodded.
“I bet he does lots of cool things like rescue cats from trees and save people from fires. I bet he works really hard and is out of the house a lot.”
“I guess.” He shrugged, refusing to make eye contact. It twisted something in me.
“Tobin’s dad probably doesn’t have much time to play. I bet he doesn’t take Tobin to the park every week to play ball or get ice cream.”
I kept one eye on the mirror. The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth.
“I bet Tobin doesn’t have a big brother around to keep him company.”
Please let there be no brother.
“He has a sister. He said she’s annoying.”
Becca laughed, and I smiled. I couldn’t help it. She was so good at this. It wasn’t her job—she didn’t owe the kid anything—yet here she was, mending his little broken heart.
