Page 36 of The Falcon and the Foe

“Isn’t it exhausting being this perfect dad?”

“Yeah. It is.” He exhaled quietly. “I’m trying to be two parents in one. I don’t want Quentin to feel like he’s missing anything by not having his other dad around.”

For the first time, I glimpsed the thin layer of flop sweat beneath the glowing sheen. He gathered himself and put back up his guard.

“You’re doing great,” I said. “You’ve put the rest of us to shame.”

“So are you. You are a good father, Cal.” His eyes studied mine, and my breath caught when he rubbed my shoulder. “A little unorthodox. But you care, and that’s the most important part.”

“Not according to Mrs. Flaherty.”

Russ hopped on the trunk of my car, ready to listen. “How so?”

“It’s…” I waved it off. He didn’t want the gritty details.

“Tell me.” Or maybe he did. “Every problem has a solution.”

I huffed out a laugh.

“Hey, we’re Falcons!” he said. “You can drop us in the middle of a forest with nothing but a toothpick and a juice box, and we can find our way out.”

“I think you’re confusing us with the Marines.”

He tipped his head to me, letting his full handsomeness shine through. I hopped on my trunk and shuffled in next to him.

“Josh is having trouble in math. I need to be better at checking his homework, which I thought Edith was doing.”

“Who’s Edith?”

“My neighbor who watches him after school. She’s the sweetest woman, but she’s getting up there. I think she just watches TV while Josh does his work in the kitchen. But as a solution, I’m going to check over Josh’s homework during dinner.”

“There you go.” Russ slapped his hand on my knee. “Consistency is key. Every dinner, check his homework. He’ll appreciate the routine. Quentin and I carve out time after dinner to go over what he learned in class that day and make sure he’s done all his homework. I check his planner, where he jots down his assignments. It’s easy for kids to not tell you, so make sure you have them write it down.”

I wondered how scheduled Quentin’s day was. Had Russ calculated it down to the minute? Possibly. I couldn’t be that strict, but I could stand to be a little more like Russ.

“Okay. That’s one problem down. What else?” he asked.

“His reading comprehension isn’t up to par.”

“You can read with him.”

“Yep. I’m going to read with him every night.”

“Think of a question to ask him when you’re done each night. Like a pop comprehension quiz on what you just read. That’ll get him thinking about the text in more challenging ways.”

“Damn, you’re good. Thank you for letting me in on all your secrets. Is that what the other parents in your circle do?”

“No. They hire an army of private tutors.” He threw his head back and laughed in complete abandon. I’d never seen Russ be this free. “I’m also happy to take Josh with me after school when needed. Just in case Edith needs a break.”

“Seriously?”

“Uh-huh.”

Uh-huh. That was his response to taking on another kid? Was he going for sainthood? What happened to the uptight pain in my ass?

“Uh, sure, yeah,” I said.

Russ glanced at the moon, hanging full in the sky. His strong nose and cut jawline were silhouetted in the light, and I had to pull myself back from the horny brink before I did something stupid.

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