Page 26 of Just a Heartbeat Away

Seb winced as Matty lost his grip on the monkey bars and plummeted to the ground. The kid bounced up half a second later.

“Ay caramba!”he shouted toward Joy, who laughed her head off at her goofy friend.

“It’s not your fault your dad didn’t tell them about you before he died. That’s on him, Ty. Him and him alone.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who’s dealing with it, while that bastard gets to rest peacefully.”

They both eyed each other for a second before they burst out laughing.

“Yeah, Ty, something tells me that Arthur Leshuski is not ‘resting peacefully’ wherever he is right now.”

“Fair enough.” Tyler grinned and carded a hand through his hair, like he was wiping away the thoughts of his dad. “Regardless, he gets to, I don’t know, shovel coal for an eternity while I’m here dealing with his grumpy teenage daughter and horny ex-wife.” He coughed into his elbow, an old tell that he’d had since childhood. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“I have a crush on a woman in her midtwenties.”

Tyler’s jaw dropped as he rotated around and gave Seb his full attention. “Do tell? You have my complete and undivided attention.”

Seb waved his hand through the air, embarrassed that he’d said anything. “It’s nothing. Really. This woman that works at Matty’s school. She’s cute. Too young. Has a boyfriend. The works. It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. It’s a crush! Your first since Cora. That’s big news, Seb. Big fuckin’ news.”

“She has a boyfriend,” he repeated.

“So?” Tyler shrugged and kicked some dirt off his shoe. “He’s probably her age, too, right?”

“Seems like it. He dresses in clothes two sizes too small and has a ponytail.”

“Hipster? Please. Seb, you’ve got this in the bag. You’re the mysterious older man.”

“Much older. I played softball yesterday and I woke up feeling like Father fucking Time. Trust me. She’s not interested in this. It just feels good to crush on somebody is all. It’s not a big deal.”

“Is she cute?”

“Sofuckingcute.” The words came out in a rush. Sebastian hadn’t even realized he’d been holding them in. “She has this squished nose, and she’s all tiny.”

“Blonde?”

“Brunette.”

“Really? That’s not your usual type.”

Cora had been five-ten and platinum blond. Yeah, Via was definitely not his usual cup of tea.

“Mr. Sebastian?”

No matter how many times he went over it with her, Seb hadn’t been able to convince Joy that it was okay to just call him Sebastian.

“What’s up, Joy?”

“Matty’s stuck in the tunnel.”

“What?” Sebastian was up like a shot. This was one of the better maintained playgrounds, but still, this was Brooklyn and he’d instructed Matty not to go in any of the structure tunnels. He had nightmares about syringes and used condoms, piles of dirty clothes that ended up having a person sleeping inside. “Show me where.”

Joy raced forward, her braided black hair bouncing along her back. “Just over here! In the red tunnel.”

Sebastian swung himself up onto the structure and ducked his head down to look in the red plastic tunnel that connected one end of the playground to another. There was his son, smiling sheepishly and trying to keep his chin from wobbling in front of Joy.

“Hey, Daddy.”

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