“I should ground you for lying.”  Bailey stated, watching as her son dropped his back pack onto the floor.  He sent her a sheepish grin, ducking his head.

“Technically, I didn’t lie.  He wanted to come over for dinner, he just didn’t know it until I asked him.  And you wanted him over for dinner, you just didn’t know it until he showed up here.”  He was satisfied with his logic, but the look on his mother’s face told him otherwise. 

“Carter…”  Bailey let out a sigh.  She was torn.  “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

“Did something happen?  Was he an asshole or something?”  Carter could feel his temper rising, sure that Mr. Timberlake had done something to upset his mother.

Bailey’s mouth turned up in a small smile.  “Watch your language, young man.”  Slowly, Carter sat down at the kitchen table across from his mother.  He apologized meekly, suddenly not so sure that his plan was a good idea.  “Everything is fine, but that’s not my point.”

“But…”  He started to defend his meddling, but Bailey held up a hand to stop him. 

“Carter, I understand why you did what you did.  I know you we’re trying to help and you’re first concern is my happiness.  You can’t do things like that, though.”  She gave him a comforting smile, seeing his disappointment.  “I’m a big girl, Carter.  I can handle my own love life.  Yes, I like Justin, but whatever is going to happen between us is going to happen in our time.  Do you understand me?”

“Yes ma’am.”  Carter felt the heat in his cheeks.  “I just hate seeing you so lonely, Ma.  I hate knowing you’re here by yourself…and Mr. T is a really good guy.  I like him a lot, and I know he likes you, too.”  His head dropped again as he confessed his next secret.  “I overheard him talking to one of the other teachers.  That’s why I told him to come for dinner.”

“Carter!  You really shouldn’t have done that.  And even if you’re hearing his conversation was an accident, you shouldn’t have used that information against him!”  Bailey was shocked that her son would do something so devious.  He was an honest, intelligent boy.  This wasn’t his normal behavior.

“I’m sorry, Ma.  I really am.”   His embarrassment was palpable, and he truly felt badly for upsetting his mother.  He just wanted her to be happy.

“I’m going to have to punish you, you know.”  She watched her son’s eyes widen.  This was the first time he’d been in enough trouble to warrant a grounding.  “I’ve talked with Miss Lynn.  You’re going to help her at the garden center after school and the first week of summer vacation.  They need help harvesting the vegetables for their farm stand.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“And you need to promise me that you’re not going to meddle in my love life again, okay Bub?”

“Yes ma’am.”  For the first time in a long time, Carter felt like a little boy.  He chanced a glance at his mother, relieved to see a small smile on her face.

“Now, tell me all about the baseball game.  Was it amazing?”

Happily, Carter let his mother change the subject.  He launched into a detailed description of his trip with Billy, excitedly sharing every moment.

~*~

Carter was sweating and miserable.  His back hurt, his hands were sore, and his pride was currently curled into a ball, licking the wounds of punishment.  He’d never been grounded before.  He’d never even gotten a “go to your room” from his mother, and now he was Miss Lynn’s indentured servant for the first week of summer.  The worst part was that he could hear the boys in the vacant lot next door, laughing, playing ball, and enjoying the freedom he’d been denied.

Needless to say, he was grumpy.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d been grounded, either.  His mother and Mr. T had been spending at least three nights a week together, and they were happy.  So, what exactly had he done wrong?  Nothing, at least in his mind.

“If you’re almost done with those peas, there’s a crop of green beans that need to be picked next.”  Miss Lynn’s voice floated over on the Tennessee Heat, causing Carter to roll his eyes and curse under his breath.  “I heard that!”

He cringed.  “Sorry, Miss Lynn.”  The woman had ears and eyes all over the place.  She seemed to know things without anyone having to tell her.  It scared Carter, to be honest.  He didn’t want to do anything to upset her, because that might mean another week of this torture.

He stood for a moment, stretching his back and arms.  Bending over for hours on end was the most uncomfortable Carter had ever been.  Even compared to pitching one hundred plus pitches, this took the cake.  Glancing out over the fields, he was happy to see that his was almost finished with the peas, purposely avoiding looking at the rows and rows of green beans that needed his attention next.

Holding in a groan, Carter bent back down and got back to work, steadily picking peas and dropping them into the basket next to him.  When he finished, he stood again, picking up the large basket and slowly making his way toward the garden center and farm stand.

“Good job, Carter.”  Miss Lynn gave him an encouraging smile.

“Miss Lynn, I think I need a break.”  His voice was timid, and he was happy that his buddies couldn’t hear him from their vacant lot.  He’d never live it down.

She gave him a once over, noting his dirty face, tired eyes, and defeated look.  “You do, do ya?”  She watched as he wearily nodded his head.  “Well, I was just about ready to stop for lunch.  You’re timing is great.”  She motioned for him to follow her, and they made their way out to a picnic table set in the shade behind the farm stand.  “Here, I brought some sandwiches and salads.”

Carter’s eyes widened as Miss Lynn opened a small cooler and started setting out wrapped sandwiches, tubs of potato salads, macaroni salads, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies.  Suddenly, he wasn’t feeling so grumpy.

“This looks great, ma’am, thank you.”  Eagerly, he tucked into a grilled chicken sandwich.  He had to force himself not to inhale the food, he was that hungry and it was that good.

“I want to thank you for helping me out, Carter.”  Miss Lynn took a bite of her own sandwich, watching the boy carefully.  “I know you’re here on punishment, but I do appreciate the extra hands.”  She was quiet for a second, chewing thoughtfully.  “I will say, though, that I don’t know why you’re here.  I mean, the two of them needed to be pushed together.  You were just helping.”  There was a gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

Carter’s eyebrows rose in shock.  “Uh…thank you?”  He had no idea what to say, but he was starting to like this woman more and more.

Her laughter filled the air around him, and Carter was suddenly happy to be here.  “You finish up this food.  And then I think those boys over there need a pitcher for their game.”  She motioned to the vacant lot, and Carter gave her a questioning look.

“But…what about my Ma?”

She grinned.  “I won’t tell if you don’t.” 

That was all the encouragement Carter needed.  He savored the food she’d brought, sipping on some fresh lemonade.  He didn’t linger too long, though, because the call of friends and baseball beat even a chocolate chip cookie.

As soon as he’d eaten his fill and made sure to eat as many cookies as he thought he could without puking, Carter waved to Miss Lynn and trotted over to the lot, grinning at the reception he received from his friends.  He grabbed an extra mitt, gladly stepping up to the pitchers mound to get warmed up.  He had to work through the kinks in his back from picking, but the feeling of the ball in his hands put the aches and pains out of his mind.

It was good to be with his friends, and even better to be playing baseball.  There were enough boys there to make teams, which suited Carter just fine.  Pitching was his passion, but sometimes he wanted to take a swing and contribute in other ways, too.  And, of course, he loved retiring a side and watching as the other team struggled to get runs while his team wracked them up.  Cocky, he knew, but he could afford a little of that.

“Yo, C, there’s a guy over there that’s been watching you for a while now.”  Billy, Carter’s friend, pointed out a man standing by the fence of the lot, obviously focused on the boys playing.  Particularly, he was watching Carter.  “Do you know him?”

Carter stared a little, feeling as if he should know the man, but he couldn’t place a name to the face.  “Nah, I don’t think so.”

“He seems to know you.”  Billy’s comment sent a chill down Carter’s back, but he ignored it and went back to the game, waiting his turn to bat.  For the rest of the afternoon, though, he could feel the eyes of that man on his back.  It was unnerving, and he couldn’t shake the chills.

~*~

Travis couldn’t help but stare at the boy as he played, pitching a perfect game and having fun with his friends.  He wasn’t trying to be creepy, but seeing his own flesh and blood for the first time in twelve years…he couldn’t stop staring.  He saw a lot of Sarah in the boy, her laughter, her eyes, her mannerisms.  But there was a lot of Travis there, too.  The sandy blond hair, the tall, lanky frame.  Even his gawky stride was reminiscent of Travis.

It was the strangest feeling he’d ever known.

That was his son.  That was his little boy, and he wasn’t so little anymore.  It hurt to know he hadn’t been a part of the boy’s life at all.  Of course, his choices had made that decision for him, but he swore to himself he was going to make it up to both his son and Sarah.

It had taken him all of his resources and efforts to find the two of the, and he had no idea how they ended up in this shithole southern town, but here they were.  His boy looked happy, and he was glad for that.  He hadn’t seen Sarah yet, but she was his next stop.  He’d asked around, finding out that she worked at a lawyer’s office, which surprised him.  He’d kept tabs on her while he was in jail, knowing that she’d gotten her degree in journalism.  Why she was wasting her talents as a secretary, he had no idea, but he would find out.

Of course, the happy bubble he was starting to create in his mind popped as soon as the car drove up, revealing a slightly different version of his Sarah, along with a man that was way too comfortable in his touches and glances.  The air deflated faster when his son ran up to the both of them, talking and laughing in their own little version of a happy family.

Travis didn’t like this at all, and he was damned sure going to do something about it.