Page 9 of Holding You
“You were going to tell him no again, weren’t you?” Declan says next to me and bumps my shoulder as we watch our children fill a to-go plate with enough treats to keep them awake till midnight.
“No.”
“I think you were.”
“I wasn't.”
“Hmm, I still disagree.”
I side-eye him and walk off without a reply, but unfortunately, he follows.
“I’m thinking about grilling steaks for dinner tonight, if you and Max want to join us.”
“Nope.”
“I want a steak,” Max says, joining us with his plate of treats.
“I’ve already got dinner in the Crock-Pot.”
“Then you guys can eat with us!” Max cheers.
“No, no,” I say before he can get too excited.
“Why not, Mom? We never eat with them except on Sundays, and they live right next door.”
“That’s not a reason to eat with them, Max. Mr. Willis lives on the other side of us, and you don’t worry about eating with him.”
“Yeah, because he’s old and would just yell at me the whole time or tell me to keep my voice down.”
He’s not wrong. Mr. Willis is old, and time and time again, I have to tell him to turn his hearing aids down.
“Another time.”
“You always say that.”
I glance at Declan. He and Susie are still standing right near us, but he’s pointing to something and not paying any attention to us.
“Max.”
“Please, Mom.”
His pleading voice hits me right in the heart. For him, I can’t let my distaste for Declan get in the way of everything.
“Okay. We can all eat together.”
Both kids cheer because, of course, Susie was listening.
They hurriedly walk in the direction of our houses.
I start to walk behind them, and Declan falls into line with me.
I let out an annoyed sigh at the same time he lets out a low whistle.
“That one hurt, didn’t it?”
I ignore him.
He leans in to say, “Willingly agreeing to do something that includes hanging out with me pains you, doesn’t it?”
