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“Definitely old enough,” she replied.

Blaze was about to ask another question when Lynne honked the horn, startling all of them.

“Go ahead,” she said to Ryder, taking a step back toward the house.

“No,” he said, and took her hand, leading her to the car.

“I need to talk to you about something,” Lynne said after rolling down her window, glaring at Nita with disdain. “This is a private conversation,” Lynne said to her.

Again, Nita paused, but Ryder squeezed her hand.

“Lynne, this is my friend Nita,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “This is Blaze’s mom, Lynne.”

Nita nodded her head.

“Hello,” she said to the woman whose face had turned to stone.

“We need to talk about Christmas break,” Lynne said, glancing at Ryder. “It’s a family-only discussion.”

“You can say what you need to say in front of Nita,” he said. “She’s someone important in my life now.”

Blaze twisted in his arms to look at Nita, a bright smile on his face. “Yeah, she’s Dad’s friend,” he chimed in, oblivious to the tension. “And she does legal stuff besides roller skating.”

That wiped the haughty look off Lynne’s face. Nita held back a smile as the woman seemed to calculate what to say next.

“What kind of legal stuff?” Lynne asked stiffly.

Nita glanced over at Ryder. His eyebrows rose and a wicked gleam lit his eyes.

“Family law… I think that’s what you said you were going to practice?” he said to Nita, his expression smoothly moving to polite interest.

“That’s right,” she agreed, looking at Lynne with a smile. “Although I’m only licensed to practice in Washington State. For now.”

The look on Lynne’s face changed from wary to sickly.

“Here’s his stuff,” Lynne said, pulling a backpack off the floor and shoving it through the window. Ryder walked close enough so Blaze could lean out of his arms and grab the pack. Then he walked closer so Blaze could kiss Lynne’s cheek.

“Thanks, mom. See you next week,” Blaze said, needing a little help from Ryder to right himself.

“Yeah, have fun,” Lynne said grudgingly, rolling up her window. She gave Nita a considering look before backing down the driveway.

“I never considered my girlfriend could help me with some of my legal issues,” Ryder said, setting a squirming Blaze down.

Blaze dug into his father’s pocket and pulled out his keyring.

“Oh, so you think you can get the family and friend discount on my fees by making me your girlfriend?” she asked, holding up her hands.

“What, you’ll charge me full price?” Ryder asked, then looked at Blaze for back up. “Do you think that’s fair?”

“I think you need to ask her to be your girlfriend. That’s how it works in the movies,” Blaze said wisely.

“What kind of movies have you been watching?” Ryder asked, faking a shocked look.

Blaze giggled.

“The kissing kind! Mom loves those,” he said, then jingled the keychain at Nita. “See this? Dad let me make it in his forge. Do you know he makes knives? You should see some of the ones we made together.”

Nita looked at the odd shaped he held.

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