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By the timeI rolled up to Granville High to pick up Toby, I was damp, sticky from sweat, and mud-streaked.
“Sorry!” I opened the car door and lunged out as if hellhounds were chasing me. “I was doing a thing, and it didn’t go to plan, and I—”
I broke off, panting, my need for oxygen overcoming my need to explain.
My afternoon spent transporting and wrestling the heavy-ass water heater down the basement stairs had been one frustration after another. I was pretty sure I’d pulled something in my shoulder when unloading it, then I’d managed to break the water turn-off valve.
As a result, I’d gotten an impromptu shower and turned our grimy basement into a swamp. By the time I finished with damage control, I’d been late to pick up Toby.
So here I was, damp and filthy, too frazzled to even remember a coat, while Clark Fletcher looked tidy and stylish in a wool coat and colorful green-and-yellow scarf. Toby was beside him, looking unhappy.
Damn. First day of the program, and I was making a great impression.
“Is everything all right?” Clark asked. “Toby was getting a little worried.”
“I’m so sorry. I would have been on time, but—” I paused. “Teachers hate excuses, don’t they?”
Clark’s gaze traveled over my messy hair, damp, clinging hoodie, and dirt-streaked jeans and shoes.
His lips quirked. “Depends on the excuse. You look like you’ve had a day, so I might be willing to let it slide.”
“It all started when my dog ate my homework,” I joked, relieved that Clark wasn’t going to read me the riot act. I don’t know why I expected anything else. His style had seemed more compassionate than stern when we’d met last night. But first impressions didn’t always hold true. After all, I’d once been the guy in Granville everyone expected to see going places in the world and now I was just trying to tread water.
Clark laughed at my dumb joke, his face lighting up with a boyish delight, and I smiled for the first time in two hours. Or maybe two days. Who the hell knew? It felt good to make someone happy, even for a second.
Toby was a tough audience, though, muttering, “We don’t have a dog. Why are you so late?”
“Sorry, kid. I was working on the house. Things sort of got away from me.”
Of course, I might have had time to get it done—even with my ineptness—if not for the fact that Mom had called me at the last minute to tell me Dad had a doctor’s appointment no one had mentioned. I’d had to delay my project start to take him across town and back.
“Did you get the hot water fixed?” Toby asked, his tone hopeful.
“Uh, well, about that…”
“Dad! We had a deal!”
“I’m trying, Toby!” I waved a hand to my messy state. “Do you not see that? Things don’t always go as planned.”
He blinked as if seeing me for the first time. “What happened to you?”
“Long story,” I said with a grimace. “How about I tell you about it in the car.”
“Okay, but I want ice cream if I don’t get hot water!”
He jogged past me and slammed the car door behind him. I rubbed the back of my hot neck, feeling sheepish.
“How bad is it that I let my son blackmail me into sugary treats?”
Clark grinned. “You’re not the first parent to be led down the ugly path to extortion,” he said.
I snorted. “I bet.”
Clark hesitated. “I don’t want to overstep.”
“Oh, go ahead,” I said, grimacing. “You’ve earned the right.”
“You just seem a little overwhelmed,” he said tentatively. “I just want you to know I’m here to help. If you’re running late just call and I’ll wait. Or I could even drop Toby home if needed. He says you live in the old Ball neighborhood?”
