Page 16 of Hold

Damn.

Thankfully, Liam backed out of the space and put his arms in the cabinet instead. “This one,” he repeated.

When he seemed satisfied she knew what to turn to do whatever she wanted, they backed out of the cupboard to find two dark-haired figures squinting down at them.

Benji was holding his tablet. Jake had slouched down the stairs, his curiosity overcoming his apathy.

“You want to see?” Liam asked Benji. The boy happily climbed into the cabinet, and Liam finally laughed. “Not all of you, bud. Then you’ll have no room to swing the wrench.”

Liam patiently showed him what they’d been talking about, adjusting his explanation effortlessly so that Benji could understand but Jake wouldn’t feel patronized. Thea was surprised to see Jake asking questions that ended up with Liam taking them all down to the furnace in the basement. Benji, who usually insisted he was terrified of the basement, stood in silence for ten minutes while Liam and Jake talked. That boy was getting ice cream, no doubt about it.

When they’d exhausted the wonder that was the 1920s version of central heating, Liam packed up the tools he’d brought, still talking to Jake. “You got your summer job lined up yet?”

“Uh.” The easy mood they’d fallen into shuddered to a halt. Suddenly, Jake’s face showed that he’d remembered Liam was a teacher. And a teacher he didn’t like anymore. “Oh, well. I’ve got time.”

“My dad’s always looking for summer help, if you’re interested,” Liam said.

To give him some small credit, Jake quickly squashed the horror that came over his face. “Oh, uh. No, thanks. I’ll probably just work at the froyo place or something.”

“Then you’d better get over there. The college kids are home already, and they’re taking up those jobs. The ones that include air-conditioning.” Liam turned around at the foot of the basement stairs. “Think about it. You’d be learning a skill. And you could help out your mom more.”

That made Jake scowl. “Jake helps out a ton around here, don’t you, hon?” Thea said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “He babysits Benji most nights until I get back from work.”

Liam shrugged. “Good for you.” But he’d also lost his relaxed tone.

“Okay,” Thea said. Time to change the subject. “We’ve put it off long enough. Show me what you did to the toilet.”

The boys ran. Literally. She’d never seen them slither up the basement stairs so fast. “Homework!” Jake shouted over his shoulder.

“Homework!” Benji echoed, though he was five and didn’t have any. Jake almost certainly didn’t, either, with only a week left of school. Thea smiled at Liam, a smile probably full of indulgence and pride in her lazy, faithless sons.

“I’m not surprised,” Liam said. “The state of that thing when I first got here,Iwas afraid to go near it.”

“Hey! I clean every—”

“Oh, it was clean enough,” he said. “I was talking about the mechanics.”

“Show me.”

Thea led the way. The first step up from the basement floor to the staircase was higher than the rest, the floor having sunk over the years. “Watch your step,” she turned around to say, but he was already there, his hand out, as if he’d thrown his coat over a puddle and was waiting to escort her over it. Such chivalry made her want to laugh and also brought back that flash of fear. It was safest to ignore his hand, but the space was small and she brushed it as she walked past.

Liam took his hand back as if she’d slapped it, and now Thea had a new emotion to add to those that welled up when he was around: guilt.

“Thanks,” she said. “I got it.” Would that count as an apology? She didn’t want to apologize. She didn’t want to be wrong. She didn’t want to continue to feel the brush of his hand against her side as she preceded him up the stairs to the house.

“Finally!” a voice said as they came in through the back door. “We thought you’d fallen down a well. Hi, Liam.”

It was Chloe, followed by the rest of the group, which Thea had completely forgotten about. She hadn’t fed the kids, hadn’t fed Liam, and there were no snacks for her guests. She had spiderwebs in her hair and work clothes that were definitely not for public view.

Liam didn’t seem fazed. “The boys asked about the plumbing,” he said, for the first time initiating conversation while blocking the view to the kitchen. Behind him Thea threw everything back into the bathroom cabinet, took wine out of the fridge, and put the oven on. Then she was running upstairs, ripping her clothes off as she went and changing into something that fit and didn’t have holes in it.

In one minute she was back to greet everyone, and they sat down to go over their homework. Liam continued to be more animated than they’d ever seen him. He seemed to have given up on his standoffish routine and volunteered information from his experiences so fast, they had trouble writing it down. Thea popped in and out to check the chicken nuggets and feed the kids and put food out for Audrey. Benji, no longer content to be by himself, came and sat at her feet, intent on his tablet until he fell asleep, worn out with his exciting afternoon of plumbing, and allowed Thea to put him to bed.

She half hoped Liam would leave before the rest of them and half hoped he wouldn’t. He didn’t, but he was close behind Chloe, who winked at Thea, blew her a kiss, and let the screen door shut behind her.

Now they were alone, and she didn’t know how to handle him. It’d be better if he left first. Still, she could at least say thank you.

“Thank you,” she said.

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