Page 10 of Summer Nights

"I can take care of this." Thankfully, they used the same account for field trips as their school lunches. I always ensured they had money in their account for lunches so they wouldn't need free lunches.

"My shoes are getting tight," Rae whined.

I smiled at her. "Of course they are. You're a growing girl. You want the same style. Next size up?"

She nodded.

I tucked Duncan's school paperwork in my purse. "You want to head to the park today? It's a beautiful day out."

"Duh," Duncan said, teetering so close to the teenage attitude that I dreaded.

"You're not supposed to say duh. It's not nice."

He sighed. "Can we go now?"

"Let's say goodbye to Mom, and then we'll go." I followed them to the kitchen where they hugged Mom, and then we headed out. It was important for me to maintain this relationship with my siblings. I grew up as an only child, and I was glad they had each other.

As long as I was here to keep an eye on them, their childhood would be different than mine. They wouldn't worry about having food in the fridge or shoes that fit. If Mom couldn't pay for the rent on the trailer or the kids were scared of one of her boyfriends, I'd petition the court for custody. I just hoped it wouldn't get to that point.

I drove them to the park in town next to the recreation center. There was a playground, a basketball court, and even a walking path through the woods. As an added bonus, it was across the street from Sanibel Bean, the coffee and ice-cream shop.

"Can I shoot hoops?" Duncan asked after he'd been on the playground for a while.

There was a group of men playing a game, but they'd taken a water break. "Just don't get in the way of the game."

He ran over to the court and asked one of the men if he could use their ball. When the man nodded, Duncan squared up to the hoop and shot. The man caught the rebound and passed it back to him.

When Rae ran up to me, I asked, "I'm going to check on Duncan, okay?"

"Sure," she said as she ran off again.

My pulse picked up when I realized the man he was talking to was Cooper, and he was shirtless.

He wore basketball shorts low on his hips, and sweat clung to his shoulders. His tan skin glowed in the afternoon sunlight.

He demonstrated the proper positioning of his hands on the ball and showed Duncan how to shoot. The ball whooshed through the net. "Now you do it."

Duncan mimicked his hand position and attempted to shoot it with the same form, but it bounced off the rim.

Cooper snagged the rebound and threw it at Duncan. "That was better. Try it again."

I stopped at the edge of the court, watching them together. The other men were gathering their things and heading out.

"You coming out with us?" Shep asked Cooper.

Cooper scanned the area, his gaze snagging on me, and paused. "I have some things to take care of."

My cheeks heated.

"What are you doing here?" Shep asked me.

I nodded toward Duncan. "Spending some time with my brother and sister."

Shep glanced at Duncan. "I forgot you have younger siblings."

I smiled. "Much younger."

He squeezed my shoulder. "You're a good sister."

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