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The more Chloe talked, the more he wondered why she and Joel thought they were good together. They were both great people, but he didn't think they matched up that well. But that wasn't his business.
After they finished eating, Leo asked him to play, and he agreed, happy to postpone looking at the stack of boxes in the corner of Chloe's living room.
"You don't have to play," Chloe told him. "You can look through the boxes. I can play with Leo."
"I want Decker to play, too," Leo interrupted, his usually smiling gaze filling with concern.
"I'm going to play," he said quickly. "As long as I can play with the gray horse, because I used to ride a gray horse named Thunder."
"You did?" Leo asked in awe. "Was he fast?"
"Really fast," he replied.
"Where did you ride?" Chloe asked curiously.
"It was outside of London, the summer I was twelve. Have you ever gone riding?"
"Not in a very long time. But I want to take Leo when he's older. There are a bunch of good stables around town." She paused, turning back to Leo. "Why don't you put your jammies on? Then you can play before story time."
"Okay." Leo took his plate to the sink and then dashed down the hall.
"Wow, he's already taking his plate into the kitchen," he said, impressed. "You are doing a good job, Chloe."
Her eyes got teary at his words. "Thanks for saying that."
"It's true. Don't doubt that."
"I'll try not to. It is nice to talk to someone who grew up with a single parent. It makes me feel a little better. I know there will still be some difficult moments ahead for Leo, and I wish I could protect him from those times, but I know I can't. I just have to surround him with as much love as I can and hope it's enough."
"It will be enough. How does Leo like Joel?" he asked curiously.
An odd gleam flickered through her eyes. "Leo doesn't know Joel very well. I haven't wanted to make a big deal about our relationship before I was sure it was serious."
He shouldn't like that there was uncertainty in her voice, but he did. "That makes sense."
"Does it? Maybe I should have gotten them together sooner. Sometimes, it doesn't feel like they connect at all. Joel is always nice to Leo, but Leo doesn't really engage with him. And Leo and I are a package deal. Whoever comes into our lives gets both of us."
"There's time for them to connect. You don't have to rush anything."
"That's what I've been telling myself, but as Joel's trip goes on and on, I wonder about a lot of things."
"Have you spoken to him recently?"
"Not since Wednesday. He apologized again for missing my birthday, but nothing since then. What about you?"
He shook his head. "Nothing."
"Well, he's busy, and the sooner he takes care of his problems, the sooner he'll return," she said, pushing back her chair. "I'm going to put the pizza away."
He got to his feet to help, but then Leo came sprinting into the room and immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall.
"What are we going to play?" he asked, sitting down on the floor by the horse farm.
"Some of the horses are sick, so we have to take them to the doctor in the trailer," Leo said, pointing to the trailer.
"Got it." He grabbed the trailer and pulled it around. "Load 'em up." He glanced up as Chloe came into the room. "Why don't you take a break?" he suggested. "I've got this."
She hesitated. "Are you sure, Decker?"
