Page 28 of Don't Date A DILF

I groaned. “Seriously, what is it with this town?”

Tucker smirked. “Well, that question is a bit too broad. There are a lot of things aboutthistown.”

“Everyone and their dog wants me to find a date. I can’t go fucking anywhere without being asked about my dating life, or flirted with, or freaking felt up.”

I shut down my computer with a couple of overly emphatic clicks of the mouse and pushed away from my desk so hard my chair rolled an extra foot and a half.

Tucker’s brow creased in concern. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. I was just kidding around.”

I exhaled noisily. “No, yeah, I’m overreacting.” I dragged my hands down my face, then smiled at him sheepishly. “Can I blame it on sleep deprivation?”

Tucker nodded. “Sure, man. No worries. Being a single parent is hard work. I don’t blame you for being frustrated. Granville is full of well-meaning people, but they’re nosy and pushy. It’s part of the town’s charm, but it’s a double-edged sword. Sometimes it protects you and sometimes it makes you bleed.”

“Damn,” I said. “That’s…accurate.”

“Yeah. We’ve all seen both sides. Only you can decide if one is worth the other.” He gave my shoulder a nudge. “Now, get out of here and get some rest, all right?”

“Thanks.” I stood and gently pushed in my chair as if it could make up for my dramatics of a few minutes ago. “And, uh…maybe don’t tell Garrett how frazzled I am? I’d rather not have the news getting back to my brother.”

Tucker smirked. “Yeah, no problem.”

I finished packing up and headed out to the car, still feeling bad about my reaction. It wasn’t Tucker’s fault that my mother and her friends were intent on encouraging me to date. Or that Loretta had been handsy the night before.

But thinking about last night also made me think of Clark. He’d joked that I could show up early to pick up Toby. If I hurried, I could grab a coffee and then swing by in time to catch a glimpse of him in action.

Well, not Clark. The program.

I wanted to see the program in action to be sure it was helping Toby.

* * *

CLARK

“Okay,let’s see how you’ve been doing today.”

My phone buzzed with another missed call as I crouched down beside Toby’s desk to check on his progress. I didn’t have to look to know who was blowing up my phone. Nana had obviously heard about the disastrous date with Percy. Nothing stayed secret in a small town, especially at a packed bar. But I was in no hurry to discuss it, so I focused on Toby instead.

“I’m fine,” he said. “You can help the other kids.”

I shook my head and peered at his screen, dismay hitting as I realized he was in the same place he’d been when I’d walked away fifteen minutes ago.

“This is all you’ve gotten done?”

He ducked his head. “Sorry. I guess I zoned out.”

“I guess so!” I said brightly, despite my frustration.

Toby was admitted into this program because he needed help.

In his first week, I’d been able to devote more time to him. The kids had been reading about historical figures and places in Granville in the lead-up to choosing where to focus their efforts. But now that they’d selected their assignments, they were full of questions about the best way to proceed. Consequently, I’d spent my day running from one group of kids to the next. The high school mentors could help their younger counterparts in some things, but they were all students in need of guidance.

Unfortunately, Toby didn’t even have the benefit of a teenage mentor. I’d put out a call for more volunteers and managed to find someone to pair with Phoenix, thank goodness, but Toby only had me to rely on and I couldn’t be in two places at once.

My phone buzzed again, and this time Toby noticed. “Is someone calling you?”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “You need to look up this next word.”

I would have to take Nana’s call soon or she’d worry, but it could wait until the end of our session at least. Bad enough that I’d already had to endure Augustus’s teasing when he gave me a ride home the night before.

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