Page 25 of Ebbing Tides
“Fuck,” I muttered, wiping my sweaty palms against my jacket. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
With a deep breath and a hearty exhale, I lifted my fist to finally strike the door when it opened to reveal a boy. He was dark-haired, dark-eyed, and couldn't have been much older than maybe eight or nine. But he had a familiar wisdom in his eyes, and I knew he must've been Melanie's son.
He was quickly joined by another boy, a few years younger.
“Who the hell are you?” the younger of the two asked, and startled, I laughed before pressing a fist to my mouth.
“Daniel!” a familiar voice shouted, and I looked into the house to watch Melanie hurrying over, the prettiest scowl I'd ever seen on her face. “And what are you guys doing, answering Uncle Charlie's door?”
She turned her attention on me, clearly exasperated as she mouthed,I'm sorry,before taking them both by the shoulder and turning to usher them back into the living room.
“But he was just standing there like a weirdo!” the older of the two—not Daniel—reasoned.
I bit back another laugh and leaned against the doorframe. “In his defense, he's not wrong.”
Melanie glanced over her shoulder with the hardened glare of a mother who'd dealt with enough shit for one day before looking back at her sons. “Even more reason to not open the door. We don't open the door for weirdos.”
“Uncle Charlie's a weirdo,” the older boy argued beneath his breath.
“Lucas James,” Melanie gritted out from between clenched teeth.
“Mommy, a stranger.”
Another little voice joined the mix, and I remembered Melanie and Charlie mentioning she had three boys, not two, and I turned to look down at a little guy wearing nothing but a diaper.
Melanie clapped her hands over her face and took a deep, loud breath. Inhaling, then exhaling until her shoulders sagged and her head fell forward just a bit. I watched from the doorway, my chest aching with the most urgent need to walk over there and give her a hug. She looked like she needed it. Or maybe what she needed was one of the cigarettes she'd left at my office.
“Okay,” she uttered quietly, dropping her arms to her sides. Then she turned and addressed me. “I wasn't sure if I should do this, but I guess I don't have much of a choice, so …” She walked over to stand beside me, gesturing with her hands like she was Vanna White ofWheel of Fortunefame. “Guys, thisis Max, and he's not a stranger. He's a friend of Uncle Charlie's, and now, he's a friend of ours.”
The older two boys stood back as they eyed me with the utmost skepticism, as if I were a puzzle meant to be put together. The littlest one though looked at me with curiosity, his head tipping.
Melanie pointed at each boy, starting with the youngest standing only a foot or two away from me. “Max, this is CJ. Danny is over there in the Spider-Man shirt, and the bigger one, looking at me like I'm the worst mom to ever live, is LJ.”
I smiled, and, damn, it felt good. “Nice to meet—”
“It'sLuke,” he corrected, crossing his arms over his chest.
Melanie lifted her hands in mock surrender. “Oh, that's right. Excuse me. As of today, he's decided he wants to be calledLuke.”
“You called him Lucas James,” Danny pointed out, coming to his brother's defense.
“Yes, because that's also his name,” Melanie replied exhaustedly. “And that’s the name I call him when—”
“You have kids?” CJ asked, still staring at me.
I shook my head while thinking of Lizzie, Jane, and the little boy I never had the chance to hold. “Nah. I just have a dog.”
His round little face lit up as he peered around me to look outside. “Where?”
“At his house, stupid,” Luke fired at his youngest brother.
With a groan I felt deep in my soul, Melanie cupped her hands around her mouth. Then, clenching them into fists, she looked at the oldest boy and said, “I am on my last nerve, Lucas,and you are dangerously close to being on it. If Uncle Charlie or Aunt Stormy tells me anything about—” Then she stopped herself, worked her jaw from side to side, and shook her head. “You know what? I thought I could do this. I thought—”
“What's going on?” Charlie seemed to appear out of nowhere and wandered into the living room with a loaded laundry basket in his hands. He noticed me in the open doorway and nodded with his chin in my direction. “Hey, Max.”
I lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave, wondering more about what Melanie was about to say than where he'd been. “Hey, brother.”
Charlie looked between Melanie and me. “You guys heading out now?”
