At the end of the day, he still wanted to know that this person he’d idolized was good and nice and kind and cool. I wasn’t the only one who wanted to be wrong about Archer.
Which meant I had to tread carefully. It took constant vigilance not to let your kids carry your own baggage, and I did not need to give Gavin mine when it came to his idol.
“We haven’t talked a lot since he started, but Archer has done everything I’ve asked him to, and I’ve given him some pretty crappy jobs. He’s never complained.”
Gavin, as usual, saw absolutely everything I didn’t want him to see. “You don’t like him, do you?”
“I don’t know him very well.” Yanking at the hair tie holding my hair back allowed me to drop my gaze, and while I wrestled it into something a little bit neater, a little lesscrazy lady who’s rage-cleaning her house, I tried to think of how I’d want to prepare him to meet someonewho’d always been larger than life. “But you’ll be able to form your own opinion of him.”
Gavin’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s coming here? To our house?”
I nodded slowly, dropping my hands back in my lap. “He knows someone who loves babysitting. She’s seventeen, and he told me she’s first-aid certified and took CPR classes, all the really important stuff.”
“Great, so if I choke, she’ll know what to do.”
I laughed. “Yes. Let’s try to avoid that, though.”
He blinked rapidly, eyes locked on the floor. “He’s really going to be here?”
“Yeah, buddy. Any minute.” I glanced at the clock on the family room wall. “I need to get back to the shelter, so we won’t be able to hang out long. And Archer may not even come out of the car, so it’s possible he’ll just wave and be on his way.”
Gavin’s face fell. “Yeah, maybe he doesn’t like talking to little kids.”
Oh, my. Parenting was not for the faint of heart, that was for sure.
The sound of a truck came from the driveway, and I stood up quickly. Gavin did too. His breath came in short, excited pants when the driver’s-side door opened and Archer got out.
“Holy shit,” he whispered.
“Gavin Michael.”
“You can ground me. It’s totally worth it.”
His eyes hadn’t left the man walking around the front of the truck. Even from an adult’s perspective—a single-mom-variety adult—Archer was impressive enough. More than impressive, unfortunately. He was always wearing a solid-color T-shirt, and today’s option, white and simple, clung to his chest, highlighting the shift of his carved muscles in a way that made my mouth go dry. Everything about him was strong and solid and big.
Trying to imagine what he looked like to a ten-year-old boy who wanted nothing more than to be a professional athlete someday ...
I decided to let the swearing slide.
“I won’t ground you,” I told him. “But why don’t you wait here a second while I go meet your new babysitter.”
The teenager who hopped out of the truck had lighter hair than Archer, more of a true blonde. It was shiny and straight, hanging past her shoulders, and she wore pink-hued sunglasses and denim cutoffs over long, tanned legs.
She smiled at Archer, and the breath hitched in my throat when he smiled back.
Damn him. Damn him all the way back to the place he came from.
Who did he think he was? Showing up here andsmiling.
I’d swapped the cleavage-happy tank top for something with a bit more coverage, opting for a worn Buffalo Storm T-shirt that Pops got me for my birthday a few years ago. Archer’s eyes locked on the logo as soon as I walked out the front door, and I mentally cursed my choice.
“Hey.”
“Boss.”
I rolled my eyes.
The punch of his blue eyes out in the direct sunlight was awful. The girl next to him had the exact same eyes, and they were currently bouncing between Archer and me, a slow smile covering her pretty face.