“Ditto with Bobby for his part in the fight,” Sam said. “I’ll be here before school, as well.”
The teacher beamed at them. “I knew we could work this out. I’ll see each of you before class starts tomorrow morning.”
Sam walked Patsy’s mother back to the parking lot. “I really am sorry you’re going through such a tough time.”
She shrugged. “No more than I deserve for not listening to a single soul who tried to tell me my husband-to-be was a jerk.” She managed a smile, though it seemed a bit forced. “I’m getting better every day. I’ve almost concluded that I’m not the terrible person he said I was, either.” She regarded Sam with a chagrined expression. “God help her, is it any wonder Patsy can’t get past his parting shot? I certainly haven’t and I’m supposed to be the mature grown-up.”
“But you will,” Sam said with confidence. “I saw your fighting spirit returning back in that classroom.”
She seemed surprised by his assessment. “You know, it is. Thanks for noticing. I’ll see you in the morning. And I truly regret that Patsy said something that cruel to Bobby, to say nothing of the split lip. I’d be happy to cover the medical bill.” The last was obviously added on impulse, one she clearly regretted the moment she’d spoken.
Recognizing that financial difficulties were weighing on her, Sam let her off the hook. “Not necessary. My insurance has it covered.”
“If you ever have time for a cup of coffee,” she began hesitantly.
Sam cut her off before she could complete the invitation. “Thanks, but I’m seeing someone.”
She flushed. “You’re single and good-looking. Of course you are. I was just thinking that our situations might give us a lot in common. Sometimes I’m afraid I’ll go crazy if I don’t have another adult around who gets it.”
Before he could think of what to say to smooth over the uncomfortable moment, she hurried away, clearly embarrassed.
“Well, that was something new,” he murmured as he headed for his car. He realized he’d recently joined the apparently desirable group of available single dads. Sure, he’d been hit on by plenty of women, but this was the first time the attraction had been based on the shared complexities of single parenthood.
Carrie agreed to meet her twin, Noah and Jackson for a tour of her new day-care center on Sunday morning before they all headed to Grandpa Mick’s for dinner. As proud as she was of the facility and as eager as she was to show it off, she was anticipating a lively cross-examination from Caitlyn as the main agenda for the get-together.
Sure enough, as soon as Noah wheeled Jackson’s stroller into the main activity room, Cait pulled Carrie into the kitchen, where they had a little privacy.
“What do you think of the place?” Carrie asked cheerfully, hoping to forestall the interrogation.
“It’s lovely. You’ll be a huge success. Yada-yada. I’m sure you’ve heard all that from every member of our family. Now tell me what’s going on with you and Sam. I thought I warned you to stay away from him.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve ignored your advice,” Carrie reminded her.
“Yes, I believe the last time was when I told you not to get involved with your boss,” Caitlyn reminded her. “Given how things worked out with Marc Reynolds, I’d think my credibility would be pretty good right now.”
“This is nothing like that,” Carrie insisted.
“At least Sam seems to be more substance than flash—I’ll give you that,” her sister said. “Everyone I’ve spoken to really likes him.”
“So the O’Brien hotline is working well,” Carrie commented dryly. “Good to know. What’s the method of choice? Still texting?”
“Mostly,” Cait admitted. “At least from Grandpa Mick. Our aunts prefer to talk on the phone. And, of course, Noah and I are on Skype almost daily so I can see how Jackson is growing.”
“How’s the long-distance thing working for you?” Carrie asked, seizing on a particularly delicate debate between husband and wife and the rest of the family. Cait and Noah usually claimed it was working just fine. No one else could quite believe it.
Cait sighed heavily. “I hate being separated from them, okay? I admit it. But this is the way it has to be. I’m just in Baltimore until I finish my internship and residency. Then Noah and I will be together. I can be here in a couple of hours, tops, if anything comes up. Noah comes up whenever I’m off on a weekend or I come down here. It’s stressful at times, but we’re making it work.”