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I winced. This was dangerous territory. I didn’t want to say anything Hunter wouldn’t want his son to hear. “My parents are divorced too.”
Toby looked surprised. “Really?”
I nodded. “My nana raised me from age thirteen to eighteen.”
His eyes widened. “You didn’t have your mom or dad?”
“No. You see, they stayed married for so long past the point it was good for them that our whole family was really unhappy. By the time of the divorce, they couldn’t agree on anything. They fought over custody of me, just because they both wanted to win. Finally, Nana stepped in and told them she’d take me and they should both try to move on and find some happiness.”
“Did they?”
“I think so. Eventually,” I said. “It’s never easy to make that choice, but sometimes staying together does more harm than the pain of separating.”
“Did they get married again?” he asked, sounding afraid of the answer.
“My mother did, after a few years. My father didn’t, but he does have a girlfriend. The thing is, Toby, they needed time to heal. We all did. And you and your dad, you guys need the same, right? You need some time to figure out what your future will look like.”
“But my mom and dad could still make up, right?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to them. Whatever they do, I’m sure they’ll think about what’s best for all of you.”
“I guess.” He shifted restlessly. “I just hate the idea of my dad forgetting all about Mom. She’s lonely up in Minneapolis without me. She must be.”
I smoothed his hair. “Oh, I’m sure she misses you tons. Who wouldn’t?”
Toby laughed. “I’m pretty cool.”
“Cool enough to focus on your work?”
He heaved a sigh. “I guess.”
I smiled as he turned back to the screen, touched that he’d opened up to me, but torn about what to do with these two Rhodes boys, who both needed time to heal without half the town’s noses in their business.
I loved Granville. I really did. But boundaries were one thing that people around here didn’t know how to respect. If “dating” me gave Hunter a reprieve from attention he didn’t want, and gave Toby the space and time he needed to make peace with their new lives, could I really refuse?
* * *
HUNTER
I’d givenup on the porch and was shamelessly eavesdropping by the time Clark and Toby wrapped up the study session.
I stationed myself in the living room, within earshot of them, and went through the motions of preparing the wallpaper for stripping, mainly spraying down the walls with warm water, which didn’t take much focus. In between snatches of their conversation, my mind wandered back to that asinine suggestion I’d made for Clark and me to date.
I owed him an apology, and I hoped to hell he hadn’t gotten a lecture from his boss over it. Sometimes, I didn’t think things through enough. Like with this house. As cool as it was to a history teacher like Clark, just about every other person in my life had questioned my sanity. I wasn’t a DIY kind of guy, and I was trying to settle my son after a divorce, so what do I do? Impulsively buy a fixer-upper and invite more problems into my life.
“We’re done!” Clark said to Toby in his bright teacher voice that somehow made you feel as if you’d conquered Mt. Everest. “You’re doing great when you focus.”
“Yeah, sorry about being weird when we started,” Toby said.
I tensed, my attention sharpening. If Toby gave Clark too hard of a time, I wasn’t sure how long he’d want to volunteer his personal time to us. He was a nice guy, but there had to be a limit to his patience.
“That’s okay. I’m glad you talked to me about how you were feeling,” Clark replied. “It’s good to let it out.”
“I do feel better,” Toby said, then sighed. “We have to do this twice a week?”
Clark chuckled. “We do.”
“And when I go to the other school thing…what will I do? Everyone already has jobs.”
