Frank left the room. Cal heard the bathroom door click quietly closed a minute later. Cal wanted to go after him. His dad was acting more strangely than usual.
He shouldn’t have pushed this.
“Mom? Can I have the shoes?”
“I can’t afford them, Sammie.” Morgan’s words were softly spoken.
“Uh, I thought maybe Sammie could work them off,” Cal said. “We’ve been overrun with weeds this summer and I could sure use some help digging them all up.”
“Can I, Mom? Please?”
Morgan glanced at Cal, and the look in her eye, promising a long talk as soon as they were alone, gave him a weird thrill inside. But when she told her son he could keep the shoes if he worked them off, Cal allowed himself to be distracted by the boy’s enthusiasm as he dug into the box.
“You going to stick around forever, Mom?” Sammie asked as he carefully laced up his new shoes.
Morgan glanced at Cal. He wasn’t sure what to do. Or say.
“You said you wanted me to have some man time, Mom. We can’t very well do that with you sitting there.”
“Sammie, please be more careful with your word choices.”
“Sorry.” Sammie’s big brown eyes lowered for a second and then, with a curious glint in them, he glanced over at Cal. “Did you ask my mom to bring me here?”
“Yes.”
“Because of her? Am I an excuse for you to spend time with her? I mean, the shoes are cool and all, and I’ll still work them off, but if this is just so you can get closer to her I’d like to know.”
He could see why Morgan had challenges with this kid. But he liked him. “No, this isn’t so I can spend more time with your mom.”
“You swear?” The kid’s gaze hadn’t wavered.
“Yes.”
His father’s bedroom door closed.
Morgan looked at Cal. And then down the hall where Frank had disappeared. “What would you like me to do?”
“How about you give us an hour?” he said to Morgan. “We can shoot some hoops and maybe get some ice cream.” He’d get the kid out of the house, out of his father’s space. He could deal with his father later. Cal pulled some bills out of his pocket. “Maybe you could pick up some curtains while you’re out?”
Morgan stood, nodding, but didn’t smile as she took his money. “Okay. Call me if you need anything… .”
“Sammie, why don’t you grab the ball over there and head out to warm up the hoop?”
With a serious face, Sammie nodded, looking from Cal to Morgan. “You’re coming out, too, aren’t you?” he asked Cal.
“Yes. I’ll be right out.”
With a glance toward the hall leading to the bedrooms, Sammie walked out the door.
“I’m really sorry about the shoes,” Cal said the second the door shut behind Sammie.
“You should have asked me first.”
“I figured if I did you’d just say no.”
“So you manipulated me instead?” She didn’t sound mad. Just bewildered.
“I guess I did.” He looked right at her. “But not purposely. I remembered what you said about his shoes with the hole in the toe…”