Mom shook her head. “She’s exhausted.”
“It doesn’t show.”
I filled a glass with water from the door of the fridge. “Is there a reason for this flattery?”
“I’m just telling you both the truth.” He went back over to the counter and picked up a cookie.
“How many of those have you had so far?” I tried to sound accusatory, but I ended up smiling.
“It’s only my second.”
I looked to my mom and she held her hand palm up toward him. “He’s telling the truth.”
“I have to keep my figure.” He gestured to his perfectly fit body.
I nudged Austen’s arm before placing my glass by the sink. It always bothered my mother when I left it there, but it seemed silly to put it in the dishwasher when I’d just want more water in an hour.
“What are you up to tonight, Em?” he asked innocently, but I had a feeling that the wrong answer would leave me with an invitation that Mom wouldn’t let me refuse. I just didn’t know what the right answer was.
Mom decided to butt in anyway. “I’m sure she’s free. She didn’t expect to get in this early.”
“I haven’t seen Noah in weeks.”
Mom wasn’t ready to drop it. “He goes to sleep at seven thirty. You might as well go out and have fun.”
“How about it?” Austen smiled. That smile used to make me weak.
“I don’t think I’m up for going out.”
“All right, I get that. How about I come back over tonight after Noah goes to sleep? I’d love to catch up, but I need to get going. I only stopped by when I noticed your car.”
“That sounds lovely. Do you want to join us for dinner?” Mom said in her ‘this isn’t really a question’ voice.
He glanced at me, and must have seen something there. “No. That’s all right. I’ll just come by around eight or so.”
“Great. I’ll walk you out.” Mom glanced at me over her shoulder. She really needed to stay out of things.
Mom returned to the kitchen. “Austen looks great, doesn’t he?”
“As compared to how bad he looked the last time I saw him?”
“All I’m saying is he’s a good looking man.”
“What’s your point, Mom?” I pulled out some coffee beans from the cabinet and poured them in the grinder.
“My point is that he’s good looking and clearly interested.”
“He’s not interested in me. He just wants to catch up.”
“I’d call you innocent, but I think that little boy in the other room makes that impossible.”
“What are you expecting? That Austen will decide he wants to marry a single mom and raise a kid that isn’t his?” I was shocked by the anger in my voice. I was even more shocked when I realized I wasn’t thinking about Austen when I said it.
“You didn’t choose this path, Emily.”
“No, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m a single mom.”
“Austen knows that and doesn’t seem to care. You can’t say that about all men.”
“I know.” I forced myself to push Jake out of my head.
I scooped Noah up again. He pushed a little turtle toy into my face. “Thanks, kiddo. It’s exactly what I wanted.”
Dad didn’t come down for dinner. I wasn’t sure if he’d been doing that since he got sick, or if it was because I was there. I didn’t ask. I helped Noah with his food and then settled down to enjoy mine. Between Jake cooking for me, and then my mom, I felt spoiled.
I played with Noah, read to him, and put him to sleep. I put him in the crib set up in my brother’s room, so I didn’t have to worry about waking him up when I went to bed. I was lucky he was such a good sleeper and rarely woke up at night.
Austen showed up at exactly eight, and my mom conveniently disappeared five minutes later.
“Do you want to sit out on the back porch?” I slipped on some flip flops.
“Yeah, that sounds great.”
“Want something to drink?” I had already pulled a diet Coke out for myself.
“Sure, I’ll have the same as you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Since when are you drinking diet?”
“First you accuse me of eating all the cookies, and now you don’t think I can drink diet soda? What kind of impression have I made on you all these years?”
I laughed, but it came out as more of a giggle. Austen was the only person who ever made me do that—and he knew it.
He held open the screen door and followed me out. I curled up on one of the worn, floral-pattern couches, pulling my sweatshirt around me. One of the best parts of being in the mountains was that it got cool on summer nights.
“What’s new with you?” He took a seat next to me, instead of on the chair.
“Nothing really.”
“Come on. I need something. How’s work?” Noticing I was cold, he covered my legs with the blanket my mom always left on the back of the couch.
“Busy. I like it, but I’m ready to slow down. It’s been great to make some extra money though.”
“I bet.” He popped open his soda.
“I’ll have the rest of your money back soon. I promise.”
“Em, don’t worry about it.”
“I know you said you didn’t want interest, but I think 4% is fair.”
“Stop it. I don’t need it back.”
“It was a loan, not a gift.”
“Only because you insisted on it.” His eyes pleaded with me to stop fighting him, but I couldn’t. I didn’t believe in taking handouts. “What Tim did to you sucks. I wish I could help more.”
“Please, don’t go there.” I didn’t want to think about the day those men showed up at my door demanding money. I’d had no idea my husband owed thousands in gambling debts.
Austen tapped his fingers on the side of the couch. “What? You think I’m going to lecture you or something?”
“No. I just don’t even want to think about him.”
He leaned back against the cushions. “You did the right thing. I know giving them the money was hard, but at least you could move on with your life. They haven’t been back, have they?”
“No, not a word. I paid them every cent.” I placed a hand on Austen’s arm. “Thank you.”
“I wish I could do more.”
“It’s not your job to. I’m the one who got messed up with Tim in the first place.”