To Protect Her Son

by Stella MacLean

  What would it be like to have a romantic relationship with someone like Nate? Someone caring and connected to a real family? Someone whose presence set frissons of awareness and light-headedness spiraling through her?

  She pursed her lips in denial. She couldn’t let herself think about the impossible. It wasn’t fair to her. Even the thought of such a relationship was doomed from the start. To have a real partnership based on trust and caring, she’d have to reveal her past. To admit to her past was to admit to lying.

  She returned to the kitchen to clean up the breakfast things, her mind still on Nate. He’d made it clear that the invitation was for her only. She was still mulling it over when the phone rang.

  “Hi, Gayle. It’s Anna Barker calling. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. And you?” Remember not to mention the lab report.

  “I’m great, really. I called to see if you’d like to come over for dinner this week.”

  Nate’s sister was asking her to dinner. That hadn’t happened before. Their friendship was through the single-parents group, the occasional coffee together after the meetings. Yet it would be wonderful to spend a quiet evening with a friend, to feel part of a family unit. “That would be nice.”

  An awful thought suddenly struck her. Was Anna calling about something going on in school? Her son Jeremy was in the same class as Adam... “Has Adam done something?”

  “What? No. Not at all. In fact, I’d invite him along, but I need to speak with you privately...if you don’t mind. And I thought having dinner together would be the easiest way. I’m sending the boys over to Mom’s house for the evening.”

  Would Nate be there? she wondered. “So just the two of us.”

  “Is that a problem?” Anna asked, hesitation weaving itself around her words.

  “No. Never. I...” What was she worrying about? She and Anna were friends, and it was about time they had dinner together. The last meeting of the single-parents group, they’d both been concerned about their boys. That was probably what had prompted the invitation. “Of course I’ll come to dinner. I’d love it. When would you like to have me?”

  “How about tomorrow evening?”

  “Sounds great. What can I bring?”

  “A salad, if you’d like.”

  “Absolutely.”

  As she put the phone down, Gayle remembered the report she’d filed concerning Anna’s possible diagnosis. What would she do if Anna wanted to talk about her health issues? And what if Anna wanted her advice on something related to her family?

  Nate. That had to be it. Sherri hadn’t convinced her to go out with Nate. Now it was Anna’s turn. She didn’t know which would be worse—trying to offer advice on health issues, or trying to take advice on dating Nate.

  Either way, she was about to find out.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE NEXT EVENING Adam stood with his hands on his hips, a scowl on his face. “Mom! I don’t need a babysitter,” he said, his lips drawn down. “You’re going out to dinner and you’ve gotten someone to babysit me. I don’t believe it.”

  “It’s a school night, and I may be at Anna’s for a few hours.”

  “So what? You don’t trust me to stay here by myself and do my homework?”

  Gayle’s friend Peggy Anderson had volunteered to stay at the house while she went to Anna’s. Peggy was the clinic phlebotomist, and she was always babysitting for friends, partly for the money, but mostly because she loved children of any size or age.

  “I do trust you, Adam. It’s the friends you’ve been hanging out with lately that worry me.”

  “Mom. What makes you think I’d have someone in while you were out of the house? I never have before.” His eyes radiated unhappiness.

  He was right. She should have trusted him, especially at this crucial time. To do otherwise might put an end to the good behavior she’d been seeing from him over the past couple of weeks. “You’re right. I should have trusted you. I’ll call Peggy and tell her I won’t need her this evening. I’m really sorry.”

  Adam patted her shoulder with one hand while he scooped up a handful of cookies cooling on the rack with the other. “It’s okay, Mom. You’ve been worried about me, and you were only doing what you thought was right.”

  “When did you get so grown up?” she asked in a teasing tone, but she was so proud of him she wanted to hug him.

  “You really want to know?” he asked around a mouthful of cookies.

  “Yes.”

  “Nate Garrison is a cool guy. We had a great time fishing, and he’s invited me to go out with him again next weekend.”

  Nate had to have other teenagers to mentor. Why was he giving Adam so much time? Could he be looking forward to their coffee date together as much as she was?

  Not likely. Stop fantasizing about the man! “I thought he was going to take you after school.”

  “He was, but we both love basketball, and there’s a game in Bangor we want to go to.”

  “I see,” she said, punching in Peggy’s number. Peggy didn’t answer her home line, and Gayle didn’t have a cell number for her. “She’s not answering. Should I go around to her place?”

  “Not unless you want to be late. And we both know how much you hate being late,” Adam said, his voice sounding so grown up.

  “So what am I going to do?”

  “When she arrives, I’ll tell her I convinced you I didn’t need a babysitter. She can call you at Anna’s house. You left the number on the fridge. No big deal.”

  “Clever and handsome, is that it?”

  His eyes sparkled. “Of course.”

  “By the way, speaking of handsome, a girl from your school called here the other day. She didn’t want to leave her name at first, but I convinced her. Are you and Morgan Brandon friends?”

  Bright pink traveled up Adam’s neck to his face. “Mom!”

  “Is she in your class?”

  Adam wouldn’t look at her. “I’m not answering any more questions about Morgan.”

  The idea that her son might have a crush on one of the girls in his class appealed to her very much. She wanted him to experience all the nice, normal things of being a teenager, and having a girlfriend was one of them. “I won’t grill you any further, but you will keep me in the loop.”

  “Can’t promise,” Adam said, making his escape to the den.

  “You’ll do your homework, right?” she called as she pulled on her jacket.

  “Yep,” he said over the blare of a football game.

  It was too bad she hadn’t been able to reach Peggy before leaving the house, but she’d see her at work in the morning and would apologize then.

  * * *

  ADAM WAITED TO hear his mother’s car pull out of the driveway. He’d seen Eddie after school today, and had promised his friend that they’d get together here for a bit while his mom was out. Adam wanted to ask Morgan Brandon to the junior dance the school was having in two weeks, and he didn’t know how to do it. He couldn’t ask Nate. He was way too old to understand. Nate could fish and he was great to go to games with, but it ended there as far as Adam was concerned.

  What he needed was someone who was cool with the girls. Eddie was the coolest guy he knew. He would help him.

  He felt really bad that he couldn’t tell his mom about Eddie coming here. She would have freaked out if he’d mentioned the name of one of the kids involved in the incident with the police. But Eddie had been as surprised about the fight as he had. Eddie had stopped him the other day at school, wanting to know what happened when the police took him home. Adam had told him about the mentoring thing, and he’d been cool with it. Eddie was cool about a lot of things.

  Still, he was feeling seriously annoyed over his mom’s decision to leave him with a babysitter. He didn’t need one. N
o way. What he needed was to talk to Eddie about Morgan. Of course, his mom’s friend Peggy was due here shortly. He’d have to make sure she was gone before Eddie arrived.

  He watched the game some more, waiting for Peggy. When the doorbell rang he jumped up. Opening the door, he was surprised to see Eddie standing there with a couple of the guys from the pool hall. “What are you doing here?”

  “Don’t you remember? You invited me over,” Eddie said.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  He couldn’t tell them his mom had hired someone to stay with him, and that she was due here any minute. They’d make fun of him and never speak to him again. He couldn’t risk Peggy finding them in the house, either. She’d be sure to tell his mom, which would mean that he’d be in trouble and Nate would be told what had happened.

  “What are you waiting for?” Sam Mason pushed past Eddie and strolled into the hall, his heavy boots grating on the hardwood floors his mom had spent hours polishing.

  “Wait!” Adam called out.

  “What for? Do you have any beer?” Peter Porter said as he sauntered past Adam.

  “No. Nothing like that here,” he said, pulling Eddie aside. “Sorry, but your friends can’t stay. My mom’s friend is coming to the house in a few minutes. If they’re still here, she’ll tell Mom.”

  “You’re worried what your mom will think?” Eddie asked, his voice filled with surprise. “Be cool. Nothing’s going to happen. A couple of the guys arrived as I was leaving the house. We’re going to play pool. I just stopped by to see what you wanted. What did you want?”

  He couldn’t tell Eddie that he needed advice on asking a girl to a dance, not with the other guys listening in. He had made a terrible mistake inviting Eddie here, not realizing that he might bring some of his friends from the pool hall. And he would never live it down if Peggy showed up at the door and announced she was there to babysit him. He’d look like a sissy, a mama’s boy in front of the only friends he had in Eden Harbor.

  “Let’s have some music,” someone yelled out.

  The house began to throb with sound, and Adam started to panic. How was he going to get them to leave?

  * * *

  THE DRIVE TO Anna’s house took only a few minutes. As she got her salad out of the backseat and walked up to the modest bungalow with its array of ceramic pots filled with herbs and nasturtiums, Gayle felt a little anxious. She had to put what she knew about Anna’s health situation out of her mind. If Anna brought the subject up herself she’d deal with it then. In the meantime, she wanted to relax and enjoy the evening.

  She knocked on the door, which was immediately opened by a teenage boy. “You must be Jeremy,” Gayle said, noting that he had his uncle’s clear-eyed gaze and easy smile.

  “I am. Come in, please,” he said, leading the way down the hall to the kitchen where Anna was working at the stove.

  If Gayle could choose a new hairstyle, it would be Anna’s. Her straight brown hair framed her face in a pageboy cut that enhanced the clear blue of her eyes. “So glad you could make it,” she said, looking up from the pot she was stirring. “I don’t have a slow cooker, so I’m doing my Moroccan chicken on the stove, and it’s about to burn.”

  “Smells delicious.”

  “Thanks. The boys don’t really like this dish so I made a stir-fry for them. They’re going to finish their homework and go with Mom for an hour or so.” She raised her eyebrows at her son.

  “Right,” Jeremy said, ducking his head as he took off toward the other end of the house.

  “Have a seat.” Anna beckoned with her spoon to the table set for two. “This masterpiece is nearly ready. Kevin and I loved to eat dishes that came from countries around the Mediterranean. Kevin believed the diet there was much healthier, and I enjoy trying out new dishes.” She slid into the chair across from Gayle. “I don’t have much opportunity anymore without Kevin. Did you find it difficult to cook dishes you and Harry enjoyed after he was gone?”

  “I...I’m afraid we ate out mostly. I wasn’t a very good cook back then. In fact, I’m still learning,” Gayle said. At least the comment about her cooking was true. But how she wished she didn’t have to keep her past a secret, that she could share the whole truth about her life the way others did. She’d always felt separate and apart, and had hoped that the feeling might change once she moved here. She hadn’t considered that not being able to tell the truth to her new friends when she really wanted to would be more lonely and isolating than when she lived in a city of strangers and casual acquaintances.

  “You and I have a lot in common, both losing our husbands when our children were young,” Anna said.

  Gayle had to get Anna off this subject. There was simply no way she was discussing anything to do with Harry Young. She’d told Anna about Harry back when they first met. She felt obligated to give some explanation as to why Adam didn’t have a father. Funnily enough, she’d talked about Harry more times since she’d moved here than she had during her life in Anaheim. Proof that the curiosity of caring friends had its drawbacks. “It was a long time ago, and I’ve had to move on.”

  Her expression tense, Anna got up from the table and picked up a basket of rolls from the counter. When the doorbell rang, she called to her sons, who promptly appeared, kissed their mother and left.

  Bringing the basket to the table, Anna said, “I doubt they eat rolls in Mediterranean countries, more likely a flatbread, but rolls are all I have.”

  “That’s fine by me.”

  Searching for a neutral topic, Gayle asked, “What’s in the dish you’re making?”

  Anna smiled in pleasure as she described the ingredients and filled plates for each of them. They talked about work, the upcoming wedding and the parent-teacher meeting being held at the school the following week. Gayle hadn’t spent a more pleasant evening in a long time. She reached for a roll, tearing a piece off and dipping it in the sauce. “I’ll have to get this recipe from you,” she said, noting that Anna seemed very much on edge.

  Suddenly the front door burst open, and Anna’s boys were home. “Gran said she would stop by tomorrow, Mom, and for you to call her when you’re free,” Jeremy said.

  “Aren’t you guys home early?” Anna asked.

  “I left part of my science project back here at the house, and she drove us home so I could work on it.”

  “Okay. Then why don’t you both go to your rooms and finish any homework you have. I’ll be in when Gayle and I are finished having our dinner. Okay?”

  The boys grabbed their books and headed down the hall toward the bedrooms.

  “I don’t know what I would have done without them,” Anna said, a wistful look on her face.

  “I know what you mean. I can’t imagine my life without Adam.”

  As they continued to eat the stew, Anna said, “I hear you’ve met my brother, Nate.”

  “I... That’s right. I haven’t seen you since Adam was assigned Nate as his mentor.” She explained the circumstances of Adam being brought home by the police.

  “Do you spend much time with Nate now that he’s working with Adam?”

  “No, but Adam really likes him. You’re lucky to have a brother living so close.”

  “Yes. And he has been so good to my two boys since Kevin was killed.”

  There was a long silence as they looked at each other. Gayle knew her friend wanted to talk about Kevin, but she couldn’t go there. She had no idea what it would be like to lose someone you loved, and she knew by the grief in Anna’s eyes she couldn’t fake the kind of feelings this woman had experienced.

  The safer subject was Nate. “Your brother is so kind. The agency spoke very highly of him.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without him where the boys are concerned, and he’s always been so supportive of me.” She moved the food around her plate. “But th
at’s not what I really wanted to talk about.” Anna pushed her plate aside and went to close the door leading to the bedrooms.

  Returning to sit across from Gayle, she said, “I haven’t been feeling well.” She placed her hands out of sight in her lap. “I’ve been to my doctor, and now I’ve been referred to a neurologist.” Her gaze was steady as she looked at Gayle. “I might have Parkinson’s.”

  Instinctively Gayle reached across the table. “Anna, I’m sorry to hear this.” She didn’t know what to say next. “Does anyone in your family know?”

  Tears shone in Anna’s eyes. “No. I haven’t mentioned it to them, and I don’t want to until I know for sure.”

  “Anna, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but I saw the report from your doctor and the referral request to a neurologist. I filed it before anyone else could see it.”

  Anna let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank you so much. I don’t want to worry Nate or Sherri or any of my family. They worry enough about me as it is. Besides, Neill and Sherri’s wedding is coming up, and nothing can be allowed to interfere with their happiness.”

  How Gayle wished she had a family like Anna’s. People whose lives were intertwined both by blood and love for one another. She fought the tears forming, tears for her friend and tears for the life she would never experience. “Anna, I’ll do anything I can to help you. In the meantime, let’s hope that it’s a false alarm.”

  “Wouldn’t that be great? I can’t imagine how Nate will feel if it isn’t. He doesn’t need this worry after what he’s been through.” Anna’s shoulders slumped. Her jaw trembled. She lowered her head and held it in her hands, the tears dripping onto the shiny surface of the table.

  Gayle awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. “Neither do you.” She couldn’t say the usual consoling words about how Anna would be fine, and things would work out. She really didn’t believe in that sort of blind trust that life would work out for the best.

  Anna lifted her head, a smile wedging the corners of her mouth as she blotted the tears with her fingers. “Do you like him?”