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9
After lockingthe shop on Friday evening, Faith drove to Shane’s place. It was her first time watching the boys since Dylan’s outburst, and nerves gnawed at the lining of her stomach. Did he still resent her, or had he come around? She supposed she’d find out soon enough.
She parked, and headed inside, the box of pizza she’d purchased from Cafe Oasis tucked beneath her arm, because she wasn’t above bribery. She knocked once and waited on the doorstep. When Shane appeared, his tie askew and his shirt partially unbuttoned, she suppressed a sigh. It was a shame he had a T-shirt on beneath his button-up. She wouldn’t have minded seeing a flash of his chest. Would it be hairy or smooth? She liked to think he’d have a light dusting of hair. He was a manly kind of guy, but not over-the-top.
“Hey,” he said, cracking a grin when he saw her. “What have you got there?”
“Pizza. Is that all right?”
“All right?” he echoed. “It’s great. Dylan has been in a funk ever since we got home, and I can’t seem to shake him out of it. I think it’s something to do with his mum. They’ve been talking a lot lately, but when I tried to get him to talk to me, he immediately shut down. Maybe pizza will brighten him up.”
“Maybe.” But she didn’t think so. If Dylan hadn’t spoken to Shane about his worries, then she doubted her presence would help. It was probably just salt in the wound. She stepped inside, past Shane, and turned to face him. “Anything I need to know?”
He continued unbuttoning his shirt, then shrugged out of it. “Dylan needs to finish his homework, and I asked him to load the dishwasher before he goes to bed.”
“Okay, good to know.” She carried on through the living area and dropped the pizza off in the kitchen, then checked the time. “Go. Have fun. The guys must be ready to start playing by now.”
“Probably.” He grabbed a jacket that was slung over the back of a chair, slipped his arms into the sleeves, then ran a hand through his hair, unintentionally spiking it up. “The cat needs to be fed in half an hour. Hunter wants to do it, but make sure you supervise him, or he’ll end up feeding her the entire bag of kibble.”
“Homework, dishwasher, cat,” Faith repeated. “Got it. Now get out of here.” She waved her hand at him in a shooing motion.
He cast a glance around as though making sure everything was in its rightful place, then looked back at her. “Thanks a million. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye now.”
He left, and she went to check on the boys. Hunter was crashed in front of the TV, watching a cartoon show with robots. Meanwhile, Dylan was in his room with the door shut.
She knocked and called out, “Hey, Dylan, your dad has gone now. I brought pizza if you want to take a break for dinner.”
“I’ll do my homework first,” he yelled without opening the door. It seemed he wasn’t going to make the night easy on her.
“Okay, we’ll reheat it when you’re ready.” Returning to the living area, she dropped to the floor beside Hunter and sat cross-legged. “What are you watching?”
“Transformers.” He wriggled closer and rested his head in her lap.
Faith smoothed a hand over his soft hair. “When this finishes, do you want to have pizza and watch a movie?”
He beamed and scrunched his eyes up. “Can I choose the movie?”
“Absolutely, you can.”
They watched the rest of the episode together, although Faith paid scant attention to the TV, focused instead on the insanely cute boy dozing on her knee. Eventually, she roused him and popped the pizza into the microwave. Once they had food, they sat side by side on the sofa, and she scrolled through Netflix movies until Hunter found one he liked.
Five minutes in, Dylan emerged from his bedroom and padded down the hall.
“Hey there.” Faith smiled at him. “Pizza is in the box on the counter. Do you want to join us? It isn’t very far through.”
His shoulders hunched. “I need to write a speech for school.”
“But it’s past seven on a Friday night. Wouldn’t you rather do it over the weekend?”
“No.” He glared so fiercely that she took a mental step back. “I’d rather get it all done now. That’s what responsible people do, and I have enough going on without having to worry about it later.”
Okay, low blow. He was right, of course. Dylan was a responsible kid. He got good grades and played on a number of sports teams, but she got the impression he was trying to tell her to get lost, and it wasn’t only about his homework.
“Eat out here, though. You know your dad doesn’t like it when you eat in your room.”
“I know that. I know my dad better than anyone else because I’m his number two.”
