Connor looked down at Luke and something passed between them. Connor gave a slight nod, and her son stepped forward.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I screwed up bad.”
Her heart pounded. At least he was going to confess. His beautiful dark eyes looked sad behind his glasses, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Swallowing back the need to go comfort him, Ella dropped her bags and sat down on the leather recliner facing him. “Go ahead.”
He took a shaky breath. “I slashed Connor’s tire. With a group of boys from the neighborhood. I didn’t want to, but I—I got mad. I got tired of being on the outside and not having any friends, and they dared me and called me a pussy, so I did it.”
Emotion choked her throat. God, it was so hard to be a kid these days. But life was going to get harder, and more difficult choices had to be made. If she didn’t do her job and teach him how important every decision was, she wouldn’t be giving him the right tools. She kept her face impassive, letting him see her disappointment. “Connor came to me this morning and told me,” she said. “He found your glasses. Are you admitting this because you got caught?”
He shook his head. “No. I felt sick all morning. I didn’t know he saw me. When I got home from school, I went next door and told him what happened.”
Connor spoke up. “He’s telling the truth. He apologized and offered to make it right. So we came back here to wait for you, so he could tell you himself.” Connor placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder and squeezed in reassurance. “I told him my day was shot because I had to get a new tire, but I respected him being man enough to own up to it.”
Stupid tears burned her eyes. To see the flash of satisfaction in her son’s eyes for being called a man broke her heart. Yes, he’d made a big mistake, but he made it right. It was the most she could ask for, and she ached to hug him tight and not let go for a long time.
Instead, she cleared her throat and nodded. “I agree with Connor. I’m proud you took it upon yourself to tell the truth. Can you tell me who these boys are? What do you think we should do about them?”
“They’re not in my school, Mom. They’re older. I don’t see them every day. At first, they gave me a hard time, but then they said if I proved myself, I could be part of their group.”
“Do you know their names so I can contact their parents?”
“I’ve seen them before, Ella,” Connor interrupted. “They drift in and out of the neighborhood, looking for trouble, but I haven’t been able to track down where they actually live yet.”
“They said Connor needed a lesson because he’s always interfering with them.”
“Are they dangerous?” she asked. What if they began stalking Luke? Or tried to physically assault him? “Should I call the police?”
“They’ve never done anything before,” Connor said. “I think this was more about Luke than me. But I’ve ordered some security cameras for outside my house. I picked up some for you, too, with a monitor. I’ll install them tomorrow.”
“You don’t have too, I’ll––”
“I want to.” His tone warned her not to argue. “I talked to Luke about working off the tire and wanted to see if it was acceptable to you. We decided he’d help me out with shoveling on my jobs. When the weather clears, I’ll also need a hand building a shed for my brother. He’s agreed to both.”
“I think that sounds fair,” she said softly. “When do you want to start?”
“Tonight,” Luke piped up. “I did my homework. Connor said he needs to go out for a few hours and I told him I could start right away. Is that okay, Mom?”
She studied her son’s face, surprised he didn’t look gloomy or despondent about his fate. He actually seemed like he was looking forward to it. Was he lonely? Or did he just crave some company other than hers?
“Of course. I can make dinner for you both, if you’d like. Then you can head out.”
Connor grinned. “Would love to jump on that, but I need an hour to work on my paper. I have this teacher I’m having a hard time impressing. I’ll pick you up at six, Luke.”
“Thanks.”
Connor headed to the door, then swung back to motion to her son. “Don’t forget to give your mom her present.”
“Present?”
“Oh, right. Wait here!” He rushed out of the room.
Connor grinned. “Was your day as bad as mine? Hey, where are your glasses?”
She reached up and touched her naked nose. “Sat on them. My spare is upstairs.”
“Damn, you did have a bad day.”