The more he found out about her, the more he liked her. Underneath that drab exterior beat the heart of a very mighty woman. She’d looked different without her glasses. More touchable. More...vulnerable. If she only took more care with her appearance, she could probably meet a nice man who would be good for her and Luke. A conservative type, maybe. A man who was stable and employed, and appreciated all of her qualities.
Nate’s girlfriend, Kennedy, owned a matchmaking agency called Kinnections. She’d teased him mercilessly about not setting him up until he went through social training to be more sensitive to women. Connor had just laughed it off. One thing he didn’t need help with was finding dates. Women had always come easy to him, though he’d only fallen in love once. The memory still stung but it had been his own stupidity thinking he was good enough for more than great sex. He’d been thinking long-term future. She’d been thinking short-term orgasms. Eventually, she’d cheated on him and moved onward, not pausing to look back and see how she trampled his damn heart.
His fault.
But Ella could use some help and Kennedy had a magic touch when it came to makeovers. She’d completely transformed Nate and promptly fell in love with him. Could she do the same magic for Ella?
Connor pulled up to the house and parked. “Okay, dude, you’re up. I’ll plow the driveway and you work on the steps. Last call.”
“Got it.”
Luke slid out, grabbed his shovel from the back, and trudged through the growing mounds of snow. They both worked quickly and thoroughly and finally headed back home.
“Luke?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you decided what you’re going to do when the Little Rascals show up?”
His statement had the desired effect. Luke grinned. “I like that. The Little Rascals.”
“Thought you would.”
Luke gave a long sigh. “I don’t know. I just want them to leave me alone. I was stupid. I’m just sick of not having someone to hang with at school.”
“Are there any guys you’d like to hang with?”
He nodded. “Yeah, there are two that seem tight and they’re cool. But they kind of keep to themselves.”
“I hear you. You’re not going to want to hear this, but I’m going to say it anyway. They’re not going to approach you. You need to man up and ask if you can hang with them. Either at lunch or recess.”
The boy gnawed at his thumbnail. “I don’t know. I’ll look like an idiot if they say no.”
“If they say no, it’s really not a big deal. It’s not like you’re asking them on a date, dude. You just want to have a few conversations.”
He laughed again. “Maybe. I’ll see.”
“What are they into?”
“Pokémon cards. Basketball, too, but we can’t play outside until it gets nicer.”
“You got any Pokémon cards?”
Luke snorted. “Of course. Got a whole binder full.”
“That’s your in. When you approach them, talk Pokémon. Usually you just need something to break the ice a bit.” Connor mentally winced. Another cliché. Damn Ella and her crazy tyrannical English.
Luke tilted his head, obviously thinking over his suggestion. “Good idea.”
“The weather’s not going to be pretty the next couple of days. I’ll talk to your mom, but are you up for helping me out?”
“Yeah, no problem. I’m alone every day until Mom comes home anyway. I do my homework and stuff but sometimes it gets boring.”
“Same as me. My shifts start early. Other than Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I have your mom’s class, I’m home in the afternoon. If you ever want to do homework together, just come over. And if you’ve ever read Virginia Woolf, come by with your notes.”
Luke laughed. “Okay.”
They drove back in comfortable silence, and Connor dropped him back off at the house. He watched him disappear inside and he parked the truck, his spirits light. Luke was just like his mother. After a while spent in his presence, it became easier to find ways to like him.
He settled in for the rest of the night with a smile on his face.
Chapter Nine
“Love is like the wild rose-briar; Friendship like the holly-tree. The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms, but which will bloom most constantly?”—Emily Brontë
The next couple of weeks, Connor settled in to a comfortable rhythm.
Luke accompanied him when he needed to plow, and they got into a habit of stopping at the diner afterward for cheeseburgers. On Monday and Wednesdays, he showed up with his homework and hung out until Ella got home.
Connor was used to being solitary, so it surprised him how easily he fell into a new routine and began to look forward to spending time with Luke. Through him, Ella had softened and often invited him over to the house for dinner. As the grueling winter hurled its fury in various ice and snowstorms, they huddled inside for warm food, hot cocoa, and sometimes the occasional board game.