I'm Not Your Enemy (Enemies 2)

“Got it,” I replied tightly.

Five

The longer I stayed in the RV, the more I enjoyed it. I could suddenly understand why some people sold off all their belongings and hit the road in one of these when they retired.

My most recent hobby was a new favorite. While Soph did laundry and prepared for Teddy’s return to Seattle on Sundays, he spent that day with me in the RV. We sprawled out across my bed, a soda for him, a beer for me, a bag of chips between us, the boys nearby, and Wicked Tuna filled the little flat-screen attached to the cabinet in front of us.

“I wish my bed had a cupholder, Uncle Blake.” Teddy returned his soda to the armrest.

“It’s cool, innit?” I threw a handful of chips into my mouth and watched one of the fishermen on the show haul in a big-ass tuna. “We should go fishing in the spring, champ.”

“Yes!” He made sure to mirror my pose. Feet crossed at the ankles, one arm behind his head, and pillow propped up just so underneath. It was cute. “We’ll let the fishes go back in the water after, right?”

I side-eyed him. “Food’s meant to be eaten, not played with.”

He squinted at me. “I like fried fish. Bastian brings it home when he works at the restaurant. It’s yummy with ketchup.”

“There you go. If we catch fish, we can fry it.”

“But Momma said I can’t eat fried food a lot. It’s not good for me.” He stuck out his tongue at nothing, clearly not a fan of health talk.

“Unfortunately, your mama’s right. But now that I’m in town, I’mma introduce you to so much amazing food that’s not too unhealthy, you won’t believe it. Did you know I’m the best cook in the family?”

He grinned. “Are you?”

“Damn right. I’ll show you.” Another thing to look forward to. I knew the struggles Teddy faced, as did others with Down syndrome, and I was itching to pull my weight. Sebastian already did a lot that focused on exercise and staying active.

I hadn’t been active in sports since I’d played football in high school, so that wasn’t where I shone. I was blessed with good genes and had always taken jobs that gave me a good workout. Food, on the other hand, had become an involuntary passion over the years because of the different places I’d traveled to and the various jobs I’d tried. Not to mention the people I’d met along the way.

“You excited to go back to Seattle?” I asked.

“I miss Momma and Dad and Isabella and Bastian and you, but yeah.” He nodded and welcomed Oppy to sprawl out on his stomach. “I like all my friends. And Ms. Nora gives me gold stars in my sticker book. I have so many.”

That approach was definitely a winner with Teddy.

“I’m not surprised. You’re my champ for a reason.”

He smirked, showing the first signs of the future teenager in him. Only a year to go. He was coming home earlier next week, on Wednesday, since he turned twelve the day after.

Just as the episode ended on the screen, I heard the telltale sound of a vehicle pulling in nearby. The problem was, it didn’t sound like Soph and Dylan’s car.

Soph had warned me earlier when I picked up Teddy that Dylan might work overtime today, on a damn Sunday, in which case Sebastian would pick up the boy and drive him down to Seattle.

“I reckon we have a visitor, buddy.” I got off the bed and picked up Percy, keeping him on my shoulder, and the bag of chips. A glance out the window revealed Sebastian climbing off his four-wheeler.

Goddammit.

I’d seen him almost every day lately, and it hadn’t gotten easier. He’d worked in construction a lot too, so the man knew what he was doing. We could work on the guesthouse side by side for hours and only exchange brief strings of conversation—strictly related to what we were doing.

The man could hold a grudge.

I opened the door and stuck my hand into the chips, retrieving a handful. I was mildly obsessed with Ruffles. “I take it Dylan’s workin’ late.”

Sebastian eyed me, or mainly Percy, and nodded with a dip of his chin. “Mind if I borrow your truck? Their car is acting up.”

I made a mental note to head over there tomorrow and take a look at it. “Just don’t wreck it.” I grabbed the key from the kitchen counter and tossed it to him. “Teddy, Shrek is here to see you.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

Teddy already knew who it was, so he bounded over and hollered, “Bastian! I see you!”

Funny how quickly that put a gorgeous smile on Sebastian’s mug. Man, I loathed how fucking sexy he was. Especially when he smiled like that.

“I see you too, little man.” Sebastian stepped closer and told the boy to get his things. It was time to get on the road. While Teddy returned to the bed to put his coloring book and farm animal play set into his backpack, Sebastian addressed me again. “My boss at the restaurant is out of town, so I’ll be working there most nights this week and the next. If you want, I can come over tomorrow morning and help you finish the exterior.”