The sun was starting to move higher in the sky, warming the air to a slightly less than bearable temperature. Carter used the rag in his back pocket to wipe at the sweat sliding into his eyes. He and Justin had been outside all morning trying to clean up the yard and do some repairs on the house. It wasn’t his first choice of places to be, but it meant a lot to his Mom, and he liked getting to spend some time with Justin.
Since finding out that Travis wasn’t really a threat anymore, Carter had been thinking a lot about his father. Really, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to get to know the man at all. Part of him knew that giving Travis a second chance was the mature thing to do, but, then again, he was a thirteen-year-old that didn’t like the man and didn’t want to waste his time. Travis had caused his mother a lot of problems over the years. He had been absent for the entirety of Carter’s life. There wasn’t much going for the man, and the more Carter thought about it, the more he knew that he didn’t have room for Travis in his life. Not now, anyway.
“Hey, space cadet, where are you?” Justin’s amused voice broke through Carter’s thoughts just as a paint spattered rag hit his shoulder.
Carter grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Just thinking.” He picked up the tossed rag and joined Justin by the porch that the man had been painting. Carter had been scraping off the old paint while Justin moved behind him, adding a fresh coat to the sad looking wood. The work allowed for thoughts to roam.
“Anything good happening in that head?”
The boy shrugged, picking up his scraper and starting to attack the porch with renewed vigor. “Just Travis. I’m just…I don’t really want him around anymore.” Justin stayed silent, so Carter just kept talking. “I mean, I know what he did to my Mom, and he spent my entire life in jail. So…why would I want to have a part of that? He came down here and almost ruined everything. I guess I just don’t know how to tell him.”
He glanced over at Justin, who was slowly adding a coat of pain to the railing, thinking over what had just been shared. “Well…I don’t know if that’s something you can tell him. At least, if you’re trying not to hurt his feelings.” Justin carefully set the brush down. “Maybe you just tell him what you love about you life here, and you let him decide if there’s room for him in it.”
Carter scratched at his head, frustration sitting hard between his shoulders. “But what if I don’t think he fits and I don’t want him around?” He looked over at Justin. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“You’re the main person who gets a say in this, Carter. This is your life. Travis is trying to make up for a lot of wrongs he’s committed in the past, but it’s completely up to you whether or not you forgive him. If you don’t want him to be a part of your life, that’s your choice, too.”
The two were silent for some time after that, working and thinking. Carter’s mind kept revolving around how to tell Travis to go away without seeming like a complete ass. Justin’s thoughts were on Bailey, and how Travis’s presence complicated her life as well as her son’s.
It was a lot to think about, and it occupied the two workers as the finished up the porch and started to clean up their mess. “Carter,” Justin finally broke the silence between them. The young boy looked up at him, curious. “If you want me to help you talk to Travis, I will. I want you to know that I’m here for you, too, any time you need me, for whatever reason.” An easy grin light Carter’s face as he picked up the paint cans and followed Justin to the storage shed.
“Thanks.” He paused, his grin stretching farther across his face. “Justin,” he waited for the man to turn and look at him. “If you want me to help you ask my mom to marry you, I will.”
Justin’s loud guffaw echoed through the yard. “Thanks, Carter.”
“Anytime.”
~*~
The rest of the afternoon was much more leisurely than the morning. The rising sun had made it much too hot to keep working outside, so the boys busied themselves with indoor projects, happy to escape into the cooler, air conditioned house. The sink in the bathroom had been leaking, so together they fixed that. Then, Bailey had needed some furniture moved around in her bedroom to make space for a new dresser she’d purchased. Carter had thoroughly enjoyed being around Justin and helping him around the house. It made for a nice surprise for his mother when she got home later than evening. She was so pleased with the work they’d done, that she released them to go play ball in the front yard while she made dinner.
This was the life Carter had yearned for. Justin fit so easily into this role, and Carter trusted him. He was good to his mother, respectful to Carter’s space, but he was so reliable and dependable. Even though he’d been joking earlier, Carter would not be upset at all if his mom wanted to get married to Justin. He thoroughly approved.
“Slow down your release. It’s putting the ball off-speed more than you want it to.” Justin’s instructions pulled Carter to the present. They were on the front lawn, Carter pitching as Justin caught for him.
“I know. I’m not really paying attention.” The boy confessed, putting his focus back onto the curve ball he was throwing. The next pitch was near perfect.
“Much better.” Justin grinned, tossing the ball back and crouching back down toward the ground. “Try the sinking fast ball this time.”
Carter adjusted the ball in his hands, picturing the pitch and how he wanted it to move. With little effort, he urged the ball into Justin’s glove and cursed as it went high. “Damn. That’s my worst pitch.”
Justin stood, letting his legs stretch for a minute. “It’s okay. You’ll get there. This time, try to take some speed off and see if that helps.”
Their practice went on a while longer, Justin coaching Carter through as Bailey watched through the kitchen window. Their serene little bubble shrank a little, though, as Travis pulled into the driveway. He looked at Justin with a barely suppressed frustration as he got out of the car, feigning politeness as he said hello. Carter nodded in his direction, but continued to pitch the ball to Justin, seemingly ignoring the other man. He didn’t want to talk to Travis. He wanted to spend the evening with his mom and Justin and not think about trying to navigate around his father’s awkwardness.
“Hey, Carter. How are you?” Travis stood on the lawn, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, and Carter couldn’t help but think that he looked pathetic. Giving up on trying to ignore him, Carter removed his glove and stuck the ball inside.
“Hey, Travis.” He moved toward the porch, careful not to touch any of the places they’d painted earlier. “Thanks for letting me pitch to you, Justin.”
“Anytime. I’m going to check and see if Bailey needs any help.” He touched Carter lightly on the shoulder and dropped his voice as he walked by. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be right here.”
Carter nodded, following Justin inside with his eyes, then sighing and turning to look back and Travis. The man was still standing in the middle of the lawn. “You can sit.”
“Do you want to keep pitching? I’ll catch for you. You know, I used to be able to throw a little when I was your age.”
“No, thanks. I should let my arm rest.” Carter plopped himself down in a rocking chair and watched his father carefully. The man seemed to deflate a little at Carter’s brush-off, leaving Carter feeling slightly guilty for being so unfriendly. His mother would be appalled at his manners. “Can I get you something to drink? Water, tea?”
Travis finally budged from his spot on the lawn, shuffling over to the porch and climbing the stairs to sit next to Carter. “I’m all set, thanks.” He sat gingerly, like he was afraid he’d be told to go away if he made himself too comfortable. “I just came over to see if you might want to go to a Memphis Grizzlies’ game with me next weekend. They’re playing a scrimmage, but I hear it’ll be a good game.”
Carter squirmed in his seat, unsure of how to speak to this man. Honesty, he’d been taught, was always the best policy. So, he would start with that. “I don’t know, Travis. I mean…it’s really nice of you and everything, but I was going to go fishing with my Mom and Justin next weekend.”
“Oh…well, it’s okay. Another time, maybe.”
A strange tension filled the air around them, and Carter was extremely thankful when his mother came outside and told him to go wash up for dinner.
Bailey ruffled her son’s hair as he raced by. She turned to look at Travis, noting how incredibly uncomfortable he seemed. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” The words tasted terribly in her mouth and she didn’t want to ask, but she also didn’t want to be rude. “I’ve made chicken.”
“Will Justin be staying?” The question was laced in venom that had Bailey taking a step back.
“As a matter of fact, he will be. Do you have a problem with that?”
Travis lifted his hands and ran them over his face, letting out a sigh. “I can’t seem to make any headway with him, Sarah. He’s…he hates me.”
“My name is Bailey.” She was trying to contain her temper, but it was difficult. It was made harder when Travis let out a derisive laugh.
“Right, I almost forgot. You’ve made quite the life down here, haven’t you? You and your little boyfriend, who’s probably poisoning my own son’s mind against me every chance he gets.”
“Excuse me?” Now it was Bailey’s turn to spit venom. “Do you know why we’re here, Travis? Have you forgotten what you put me through? What you put Carter through? It’s not Justin’s fault that Carter doesn’t want to be around you; it’s yours. Maybe if you hadn’t had your head up your ass and been in jail for the boy’s entire life, he might feel a little differently.” She reached for the screen door and opened it with a jerk. “You can go now. I don’t want you here anymore.”
She made to step inside, but Travis’s hand shot out and held the door open. His grip was strong. “Is that it? You’re just kicking me out? I’m trying like hell to make up for what I did. Doesn’t that make any difference at all?” He was angry and desperate and Bailey felt like she was eighteen all over again. It scared her.
“Let go of the door, Travis.”
His grip held tightly. “No, I’m not leaving. I want to spend time with my son and you can’t stop me.” He yanked on the screen door as if to make his way inside.
Justin’s voice stopped him. “She told you to let go. I suggest you do what she asks.”
Travis sneered. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll call the police. Go somewhere and cool off, Travis.” Justin gently guided Bailey through the door and behind him, putting his body in the way if Travis decided to do anything stupid.
The fire in his eyes was dying down, but Travis wasn’t quite ready to give up yet. “I’m not leaving until I speak with my son again. I’m his father, you know.”
“Carter doesn’t want to speak to you, Travis, and I’m this damn close to calling the cops. Get off this porch, back into your car, and leave. Don’t do something you’re going to regret.” Justin’s voice was firm and he stepped a little closer to Travis. For a second, he thought the other man was going to haul off and punch him, but the moment passed and Travis let go of the door, deflated.
“Whatever. Tell Carter I love him,” he mumbled, shuffling back to his car and peeling out of the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust.
Bailey and Justin stood there a moment longer, watching as Travis’s tail lights faded into nothing. “Does Amelia still have the number to that cop in Boston?” He asked, finally turning to look at Bailey, who was white as a sheet. She nodded. “Keep it handy. Okay?”
A second later, Carter bounded down the hallway. He noticed first the absence of his father, then the rigid stance of Justin and the paleness of his mother. “Is everything okay?” He asked, looking back and forth between the two adults.
Bailey let out a breath and plastered on a smile she didn’t really feel at the moment. “Absolutely. Let’s eat.” She ushered them all into the house, stopping to turn and shut the front door behind her, hearing the lock catch with a click.
