The One and Only (Heart of Hope 7)

Caitlyn came back inside while I was still checking Drew’s math homework. “Hey, you’re back. Another successful day?”

“I had that big client meeting.”

“Sweet.” Caitlyn picked up Drew’s history homework and looked it over for me. After a few minutes of checking it, she leaned over to me and whispered, “He’s a smart kid, I feel like we’re barely keeping up with him.”

“Tell me about it. What’s all this ‘new math’ stuff? They’re teaching it completely differently than they did when we were growing up,” I replied in exasperation.

When we finally finished checking the homework, I got started on making dinner. A home-cooked meal was vital, in my opinion, for health and to have the precious family time with your kid. All I could say was that having your own business makes you lucky because I made my own hours and could make sure that I had evenings free, most of the time.

“Drew, will you come help make dinner?”

He looked up at me from his tablet and gave me a puppy-dog-eyes look. Obviously, kids these days were exposed to a lot of technology, and I was no Luddite, but I wanted to limit Drew’s screen time and make sure that he spent enough time reading, playing outside, and using his toys. He was allowed 30 minutes of video game time after homework and play time, before dinner.

“But Mama! I’m in the middle of something!”

“What are you in the middle of?” I asked. If he really was in the middle of a battle or quest, I could let him have a few more minutes.

Drew looked guiltily at the screen. “Farming.”

I laughed. “Well, you can do some actual farming with me, then. Help me peel these potatoes, please. You remember how I showed you, so that you don’t cut yourself?”

Drew nodded and walked over, and I brought out his little stool. He was growing like a weed and I knew he’d be taller than me one day, but for now, he was still small enough to need a stool to reach the counter.

Caitlyn eyed Drew as he grabbed the potato peeler and the bowl of potatoes. “Is he old enough to be doing that?”

“I’m mature for my age,” Drew informed her. “My teachers say so.”

“They also say he’s incorrigible,” I murmured to Caitlyn, who laughed out loud.

Drew made a face. “I know you’re talking about me.”

“I was explaining to Caitlyn that you’re someone who likes to be taken seriously,” I explained. I’d always talked to Drew like he was an adult and explained things to him, so that he was aware of things around him. I wanted him to feel respected and to express himself well. Just that sometimes, he got…frustrated when he felt that people were treating like a little kid. That’s because I knew how much I’d wanted to be taken seriously when I was a kid. I just wanted to give my child the respect he deserved.

“Speaking of your teachers,” I said, “Anything interesting happen at school today? Give me the gossip.”

Drew launched into a story about the events at recess—the arguments regarding the kickball teams and who was dating whom now. Of course, at eight years, nobody was actually ‘dating’ anybody, but kids would just declare themselves to be the boyfriends and girlfriends of their classmate and then they’d hold hands while walking. It was adorable.

Part of me wished I could go back to being an eight year old kid. I wanted to have that simple life, where love wasn’t so complicated, and any sadness was forgotten with a good dinner and hugs from a parent. Not that my mother ever gave me hugs.

During dinner, I kept the conversation light and focused on Drew’s school and Caitlyn’s work, avoiding the topic of my “big meeting”. Drew didn’t kno

w anything about his father. I’d told him that it was my love for him that had resulted in Drew being gifted to me by the universe. I hadn’t had the heart to tell him that he had a father who didn’t know about him. How could I? I knew the hurt it caused me when I realized that there was a man out there who knew I was his child and didn’t care, didn’t ever come home. I had never met my father, and at this point I didn’t want to. I didn’t need that deadbeat in my life.

When Drew would get older, I would explain things to him. For now, all he knew about babies was that when two people loved each other, they gave each other a big hug and the baby would start to grow inside the mother. I couldn’t explain the rest of it when he didn’t even understand how adult relationships worked. So, when he’d become a teenager, and would think about dating someone, I would tell him about his father. All that mattered right now was that he was loved and happy.

But I would never, ever tell him his father’s identity. Cade wasn’t going to hurt my son.

“Mama, I’m done eating,” Drew indicated his empty plate. “May I finish my video game now?”

I looked at the clock. “You can have twenty minutes. Then you can play with your toys if you want, okay?”

“Okay.” Drew scampered off, happy to finish his farming game, while Caitlyn and I took care of the dishes.

Once we’d washed everything, I suggested to Caitlyn, “Want to go out on the porch?” That way, we could keep an eye on Drew as he played, but he couldn’t eavesdrop on us.

Caitlyn nodded and we settled ourselves outside on the wicker chairs. She started by telling me about the tree she was photographing—I didn’t know anything about composition or lighting, but I was happy to let Caitlyn prattle on. She was so passionate about photography that I loved listening to her explain the various angles and lighting tricks and all.

Not today, though, because I was completely distracted.