“AH, YES, you lovely little creation. What would I do without you?” Nothing started Kate’s day off better than a cup of coffee. She held the mug under her nose and inhaled, letting the calming aroma work its magic on her nerves. Tomorrow was her last day of vacation, and she planned to enjoy every second until she headed back to work.
She sipped the savory brew, sighing as it slid down her throat, warming her insides. She stared out at the fluffy clouds, but the brilliant blue sky didn’t fool her. Oh, no. Heat and humidity lurked out there, just waiting to attack the second she opened her door.
The air conditioner hummed, and she snuggled into her comfy, white robe, knowing she should turn the temperature higher, but she just couldn’t stand the heat. Ever since the central air crapped out two years ago, she hadn’t been able to afford to fix it. This lone wall unit—a heavy duty hand-me-down from her brother Logan—was the only relief she got from the heat on the ground floor, holding her sanity in its control panel.
At least the gentle hum kept her company.
Her boys had already gone to play football—Drew swearing on his favorite video game he’d just sit and watch—so she had the morning to herself.
Taking another calming sip of coffee, she froze at a strange rattling noise. Her eyes moved in slow motion toward the family room wall.
No. Not the air conditioner!
With a cry, she jumped to her feet to inspect it. She had no idea what to do to make it stop rattling, but a few kind words wouldn’t hurt. “Please, don’t break. I can’t afford to fix you, and we’ve gotten too close over the years for me to replace you.”
Much to her delight, the noise stopped.
“Oh, I could kiss you. But I won’t.”
The doorbell rang, and she walked toward the foyer muttering to herself, “The boys thought I was crazy when I sweet-talked the refrigerator, and that works fine now.”
Reaching for the doorknob, she stopped, the familiar anxiety at the bell announcing an unexpected visitor overwhelmed her ever since she fell behind on her bills.
She attempted to get a glimpse of her caller through the panes of glass that bracketed the door, but all she could see was her front lawn.
Please don’t be a bill collector.
Determined to face whoever was on the other side of her door, she threw it open. And gasped. “Dr. Harris!”
He stared at her, his silver-gray eyes widening as they traveled over the length of her robe-clad body. “Kate!”
Her fingers gripped the lapels together. “Is something wrong?” Okay, she was in her robe, but she was still presentable. Plus, she had a nightgown underneath.
She squeezed the lapels tighter.
“I—um, no.” A deep flush crept up his neck into his face.
“Then why are you here?”
“I need sugar.” He held up a ceramic mug with the Ghostbusters’ symbol on it. “I just moved in next door.”
Kate’s eyes widened as she glanced toward the neighboring house. “You’re my new neighbor? You can’t be.”
“This isn’t your house?”
“It’s mine. But—” Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out. “You’re renting?”
“No, I bought it.”
Bought it. Meaning he would be there year-round.
Right next door.
And Gladys never said a word. Oh man, her friend was going to get an earful on Monday.
“Oh, gosh, where are my manners. Please come in.”
Dr. Harris stepped over the threshold like a mouse entering the home of a cat. He looked even younger than the first time she saw him, with his baseball cap worn backwards, jean shorts, and a T-shirt reading Just Because I Didn’t Laugh, Doesn’t Mean it Wasn’t Funny. Muscles on his chest and arms stretched the shirt to its limit. Evidenced by the thread-bare fabric, it had seen many washings.
“I needed some sugar for my coffee. Since I’d forgotten to buy some, I figured, what the hell? I could grub some off my new neighbor.”
Kate closed the door. “This is so strange.”
“You have a nice house.” He surveyed her foyer and living room.
“Thank you. My husband designed it.”
“Your husband is an architect?”
“He was, yes.”
Dr. Harris nodded, his eyes sympathetic. “Right.”
Kate glanced around, finding it hard to meet gaze. “I was just enjoying some coffee myself. Would you like some?”
Her guest shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, no thanks.”
“Okay.” She reached out her hand.
He stared at it with wide eyes and backed up.
“Dr. Harris?”
“Yes?” His voice held a slight crack.
“You said you needed sugar?”
He glanced down at the cup he held. “Oh, right. Yes, please.”
Kate took the cup and led him into the kitchen.
“Wow, this is amazing. I would love a kitchen like this.”
“Do you like to cook?” She walked over to the pantry and pulled out a bag of sugar.
“I love to cook.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You cook. You’re good with kids. If you clean, too, you get my vote for Bachelor of the Year.” Once the words left her mouth, Kate could’ve kicked herself. Hard. In the butt. With those ridiculously high stilettos she’d bought on sale for Eddie and Shirley’s upcoming wedding. That statement was way too familiar to say to her boss.
And by the way he gulped, he concurred. “I appreciate your support.”
Kate’s face burned. God, she felt stupid. With her nerves on edge, she filled the cup with sugar and offered it to him. Their hands touched. They both jerked. The cup fell to the floor, shattering and spilling sugar.
“Oh, no, I’m so sorry,” they said in unison.
They bent down at the same time.
“Here, let me,” he said.
“I’ve got it.” Kate reached for the broken pieces of pottery.
“No, it was my fault.”
“Dr. Harris, it’s okay—”
He grabbed her hand. “Kate.”
Her heart pounded from him being so close, his cologne or soap or whatever that fragrance was made her brain go all gooey. For a moment, the innocent kid was gone, replaced by a sexy, virile male. “Yes?”
“Would you do me a favor?”
She studied his eyes, suddenly all serious and intense. She’d hadn’t noticed the long, dark lashes that framed them, adding to his youthful appearance. She cleared her throat. “Okay.”
“Will you please call me Jake? When you call me Dr. Harris, I think you’re talking to my father.”
Kate’s gaze lowered to their entwined hands, wondering why she didn’t pull away. “Your father is a doctor, too?”
“Yeah.”
Laughing nervously, she tugged free of his grip, scooping up some of the sugar into the largest piece of the broken cup. “My dad was a doctor, and my sister is a midwife. My other sister is a bartender, and my brother is an accountant.”
Jake stared at her as if she’d, just this second, lost her mind. “That’s fascinating.”
What was fascinating? Her family history or the fact that she was so obviously babbling? “I guess I’ll need a dustpan for the rest.” She got to her feet.
Jake rose as well. “I’m really sorry. All I wanted was sugar for my coffee.”
Kate grabbed a small cup from the cabinet and filled it with sugar. Placing it on the counter, she pushed it toward him with her index finger.
He grinned and picked it up. “Thanks. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
The front door slammed.
“Hey, Mom?” Drew shrieked. “Alex is kicking their—Coach!”
“Hey, sport.” A high-five.
Her son limped to the refrigerator. “Do you have to go to work, Mom?”
Kate dumped the last of the spilled sugar into the trash. “No, honey, why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering why the coach is here.” He unscrewed the cap to a bottle of water.
“Dr. Harris just bought the Goldbergs’ house.”
Drew took the bottle away from his mouth and swallowed quickly. “No way. You’re only staying for the summer?”
“I’ll be here year-round,” Jake said. “So maybe I can give you a few pointers on how to wow your football coach.”
“Like today? Now?”
Jake chuckled. “Sure. But give an old man time to drink his coffee, okay?”
“Awesome! I gotta go tell Alex.” Her son hobbled out.
“Old man?” Kate shook her head. “Please.”
“Well, to him, I’m ancient.”
“Uh huh.” She leaned against the counter, staring at the contents of her coffee pot. “Why don’t you have some coffee? Mine is already done, and if I know my son, he’ll be at your door every five minutes checking to see if you’re ready to play.”
Jake held up the cup in his hand. “Can I keep the sugar?”
She laughed. “Definitely.”
***
“You did awesome, bro!”
Alex turned to Drew, sitting alone at the edge of their lawn, his injured leg propped out in front of him, and gave him a thumb’s up. He and a few of the neighborhood kids had been playing football, but with the uneven teams, it hadn’t been a fair match. Leave it to Drew, though, to make him look like a god even when he’d gotten his ass handed to him.
Using his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, Alex turned to his buddy, Hugh McMahon, as they joined Jeremy Caruso and his cousins Eric and Bart. “That was the lamest game of touch I’ve ever played.”
“Yeah, because you lost.” Jeremy tossed him the ball.
“No, because it’s true.” He threw the ball back. “With Drew laid up—”
“We still would’ve beaten you,” Bart said with a snicker.
Alex caught the ball again, but held it this time, the hairs on the back of his neck rising like a cat about to pounce. “Watch it, man.”
Eric eased the ball from between Alex’s gripping fingers. “It’s cool, dude. It’s not like we don’t understand.”
Instead of his words calming him, Alex’s spine went more rigid. “What’s to understand?”
“Well, you know… our dad taught us how to play. And since Drew doesn’t have one—”
“Dude, shut the fuck up!” Jeremy slapped his cousin in the head.
“What? It’s not like I’m revealing some big secret.”
“What secret? That you’re a dick?” Alex fumed. Jeremy’s cousins always did this. They were cool enough guys, but they had a knack for making him and Drew seem beneath them somehow because they didn’t have a father.
“I don’t have a father, either, and I can wipe the pavement with your sorry ass any day of the week.”
Bart shrugged. “I guess you’re just a natural.”
Alex’s response was cut off when the shrill ring of Mrs. Caruso’s shout raced up the block.
“C’mon, guys, we gotta go.” Bart lightly punched Alex’s shoulder. “I’m sorry if I upset you. We’re cool, right?”
“Yeah, we’re cool.” Alex pounded his fist.
How could he stay mad? Everyone treated him and his brother different since Dad died. Mom, too. Eric and Bart were just too stupid to keep quiet about it.
Life used to be normal. Now they were no longer Alex and Andrew Henderson. They were those boys whose dad died.
Alex watched his buddies hurry up the block, but his eyes drifted over to Drew, staring at the ground in front of him. On the sidelines. Again.
When it came to video games, Drew could run with the best ofthem. And damned if he didn’t know how to chat up girls. But sports? Wow, he just sucked. And Alex couldn’t help but feel that if Dad were here Drew would be good at them, too.
“Hey, bro, think fast!” Alex sailed the football through the air.
Drew’s eyes never left the ball as it came toward him. Even though Alex had thrown a perfect pass, it hit his brother’s chest and bounced onto the grass next to him.
“Oh, man.” Drew rubbed the center of his T-shirt.
Alex jogged over and patted his back. “It’s okay. It’s hard to catch a ball when you’re sitting.”
“I’ll never be as good as you.” He flopped back onto the lawn.
Alex plopped down next to him. “Dad taught me how to catch. He was the best at football.”
“I wish he was here. Maybe Dr. Harris can show me.”
Hmm, now that was an idea. Uncle Rob and Uncle Logan helped when they could, but they didn’t come around all that much. Dr. Harris lived right next door. He was good with kids if Drew’s obvious devotion was anything to go by, and he used to be a coach.
Double-hmm.
“So you like Dr. Harris, huh?” Alex asked.
“He’s real cool.” Drew sat up on his elbows, his eyes rounded in excitement. “When I asked him to play with us, all I could think was ‘I bet he says no. Grown-ups always say no,’ but he didn’t! He was like totally into the idea.”
Alex warmed at the happiness on his brother’s face. Drew had missed out on so much time with Dad. Alex sometimes felt a little guilty that he remembered their father better and had him almost three years longer.
Guilty. Sad. Worried. When did he get to be happy? What about Drew? Mom?
Alex hated hearing her cry at night.
Thankfully, his brother didn’t know about it. If he did, it would freak him out for sure. But Drew’s bedroom was on the first floor behind the dining room while his was across from the master bedroom on the second floor.
Alex had tried to take his dad’s place with Mom, too, but some things he couldn’t do. Like take her out on a date or make her smile in that special way whenever Dad told her how beautiful she was.
His thoughts were interrupted when their front door opened and Dr. Harris stepped out. Drew shrieked as he leapt up, hopping on his uninjured leg.
The doctor jogged over, but before he even reached them, Drew was talking his ear off.
Alex went over to greet their neighbor. Dr. Harris shook his hand, making Alex feel like an equal, not just some teenager who happened to live next door. And the way he treated Drew? Awesome—like they’d been buddies forever. Dr. Harris listened to every word, never once trying to shut Drew up like most people did.
Yeah, he liked this guy.
Even with Drew’s limited movement, Dr. Harris showed him how to catch and the proper way to throw. By the time lunch rolled around, sweat dotted their T-shirts and their stomachs raged a battle over whose could growl the loudest.
“Come on, Coach, Mom won’t mind if you eat lunch with us,” Drew persisted as he dragged him toward their front path.
“It’s her day off. She doesn’t need extra work.”
“Aw, she won’t care. She told me moms never get a day off.”
“That doesn’t mean we have to make more work for her.”
If Alex knew his brother at all, Dr. Harris wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. “Come on, dude, leave him alone. Besides, Mom’s at the door, so lunch is already made.”
At the mention of their mother, Dr. Harris turned toward the house, studied her for a second, and then quickly turned away. “You’d better go. I don’t want her getting mad at me.”
Alex’s mouth dropped open. He’d seen that look before—on his Dad’s face whenever Mom wore something dressy. Or sexy. Blech!
Maybe Dr. Harris had the hots for Mom—ew, ew, ewwwwaahhh!
Drew laughed. “She can’t get mad at you. You’re her boss.”
“Not at home. Now, go.”
His younger brother hopped up the front steps past their mother without saying a word. She focused on Alex, her brow raised.
“He’s upset because Dr. Harris won’t have lunch with us. He said it would be too much work for you.”
Kate shifted her gaze to the doctor. “There’s plenty, if you want to stay.”
He studied his feet. “I already hit you up for coffee—”
A booming “Please!” echoed from inside the house, making Mom jump and clutch her chest.
A grin formed on Dr. Harris’s face. “Okay.”
“Cool!” Alex entered the foyer and stood behind his mother. Observing her reaction, the doctor’s reaction, anything that would prove his thoughts were on the right track.
Coach walked up to the door, running his hand over his sweaty shirt. “I’m not exactly dressed for lunch.”
“Oh, please,” she protested with a wave of her hand. “Do my sons look any better? We’re pretty informal here.”
“Thanks.” He brushed past her.
Mom closed her eyes, breathing in deeply before turning to the doctor again. “It’s really no big deal, Dr. Harris. It’s just tuna salad.”
“Didn’t I ask you to call me Jake?”
She smiled, her eyes focused on her fingers twisting her wedding ring. “Sorry.”
“Sorry...?”
Her smile broadened, and she met his eyes. “Sorry, Jake.”
“Much better.”
And just like that, a plan formed in Alex’s head. Dr. Harris obviously liked Mom. He was single. Drew liked him.
All through lunch Alex made a mental list of things Mom and Dr. Harris had in common. The medical field. Check. Their love of plants. Check. Both liked to cook. Check. They hated reality shows. Check. Both Mets fans. Mega check. They both thought Billy Joel was the voice of Long Island. Super, mega, double-dog-flip check.
The list grew, but one thing stood out above all the others.
Dr. Harris made Mom blush.
His mother was what his friends called a badass. She was cool, but didn’t take any shit from anyone. And here she was blushing, like the shy girls did whenever he talked to them.
Interesting.
After bidding Dr. Harris goodbye, Alex helped clean up the dishes, then hurried to his brother’s room.
“Hey, dude, can I come in?”
Drew nodded without taking his eyes off his game.
Alex entered, avoiding the slew of Game Informer magazines, clothes, and papers littering the floor. In contrast to the disarray of the rest of the room, the video game center was pristine. Not a bit of dust or a case out of place. The games were sorted into categories and alphabetized.
“Pause that a sec?”
His brother pushed a button before turning to him. “You wanna play?”
“No, I want to talk to you about something.” Alex straightened the unmade sheets, then sat down on the bed. “Today was epic, huh?”
“More like super epic.”
“Dr. Harris is awesome.”
“Totally.”
“Do you think he likes Mom?”
“Of course he does. Everyone likes Mom.”
Alex cleared his throat and turned on the bed, looking his brother full in the face. “But do you think he likes her enough to kiss her?”
Drew’s mouth twisted and spit out a disgusted blech.
“What if he did kiss her?” Alex went on. “What if they fell in love and got married?”
“We’d have a stepdad.” His brother’s face brightened. “Do you think that might happen?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Maybe we could make them fall in love."
Alex shook his head. “Don’t be dense. You can’t make people fall in love, but we could try to get them together.”
“How?”
“Remember when I was stuck in the waiting room the other day watching soap operas? Within forty-five minutes, two couples got together. I bet if I watched them, they would give us some ideas on how to get Mom and Coach together.”
“Yeah,” Drew said with enthusiasm. “People are having sex all the time on those shows.”
Alex jumped off the bed. “Okay, first of all, ew! Second, let’s just focus on getting them to like each other.” He opened the door and turned to his brother. “But don’t blab to anyone. If Mom and Dr. Harris know what we’re doing, they’ll get all adult and stuff and tell us to butt out or something.”
“Okay.” Drew went back to his game.
Alex had given up thinking his mom would find someone on her own, although he suspected there’d been many offers. Even though it grossed him out, older guys might find her attractive. Enough to want to take her out and—what was the term?—‘sweep her off her feet.’
He missed Dad so bad, but he knew Dad would want Mom to move on. Would want her to find happiness with someone.
A lump formed in his throat at the thought of his father, but he swallowed it. Men didn’t cry. They took action.
Yes. The time had come for an intervention. Time for him and Drew to help her find someone.
Alex smiled. It’s what Dad would want him to do.