“Did Jackie take your order?”
His son shrugged his shoulders, eyes glued to his video game. Derrick fought the urge to lean forward and bang his head against the Formica tabletop. Ian had barely uttered a word the entire drive from Austin. Shiloh Springs wasn’t his favorite spot; Derrick got it. Maneuvering the rapidly changing mindset of a nine-year-old reminded him of tiptoeing through a minefield. The past few months served to emphasize the vast divide between him and his son, and his mother’s decision to sign away all rights to her only child and head out for parts unknown hadn’t helped.
“Ian.”
Silence was the only answer he got.
“Ian.” This time his voice brooked no disobedience.
“Yeah?”
“Are you ever going to talk to me?”
“About what?” The petulant expression on his son’s face made it clear to Derrick Ian knew exactly what he wanted to discuss.
“Your mother, your move to Austin, living with me. Take your pick.”
“Dad, it is what it is. It’s no big deal.”
“It is a big deal. I’m sorry things have been crazy since your mother left, but she was unhappy.”
“She wasn’t the only one.” Ian’s words were whispered so soft Derrick wondered if he’d actually heard them.
When Jackie stopped beside their booth with their order, he smiled, noting his son’s lunch order. A huge bowl of chicken and dumplings and a couple of pieces of cornbread. Comfort food at its finest, and Daisy’s Diner made some of the best he’d ever tasted, outside his grandmother’s. His own plate held a bacon cheeseburger and a mound of fries, hot, crispy, and golden. His mouth watered when the scent of grilled meat hit his system. The only thing that would make this better was Daisy sticking around.
Since it didn’t look like Ian wanted to talk about his issues, Derrick decided a change of topic might work.
“Ms. Patti is taking us house shopping this afternoon. Anything special you want in our weekend home?”
Ian looked up, a spoonful of food halfway to his mouth. “You’re asking me?”
“Sure. You’ll be living there too, so you get some say in what you want.”
He watched his son digest his words, a contemplative expression crossing his face. Mentally crossing his fingers, he hoped his son didn’t come up with some outlandish request like a moat filled with crocodiles or a pit filled with rattlesnakes. He wouldn’t put it past him, because living with a nine-year-old had proved they had vivid imaginations and could come up with the craziest ideas from one breath to the next.
“Can I have my own bedroom?”
“Of course. You’ll be getting your own bathroom too, which you’ll have to keep clean because I’m tired of your stinky underwear and socks all over mine. Plus, leaving all that toothpaste in the sink after you spit it out? Son, you don’t live in a barn.”
“Oh, that would be cool.”
Derrick shook his head, the corners of his lips tugging up. “We are not living in a barn.”
“But, I saw this thing on TV the other night…”
“No barn. We can look at apartments, maybe a condo, or a house. And no underground bunkers either.”
Ian laughed and the sound was like music to Derrick. There hadn’t been nearly as much laughter from the past few months, and he hated that his son was unhappy. He was too young to have his life upended, turned upside down.
“If we got a house, it would have a yard, right?”
“We could talk to Ms. Patti, make sure we looked at ones that have a yard.”
“What about a pool?”
Derrick drew in a deep breath. He knew Ian hadn’t been around water a lot growing up. His ex had an obsessive fear of the water and never learned to swim. Ever since he’d moved into Derrick’s Austin condo, he’d caught him eyeing the pool more than once, an expression of longing in his gaze, which he quickly disguised whenever he spotted Derrick watching him.
“Let’s add that to the list.”
After a few seconds, Ian nodded and shoved another spoonful of chicken and dumplings into his mouth. When his stomach growled, Derrick picked up his burger and took a big bite. An explosion of flavor followed each chew, and he mentally thanked Ike for such a great burger. Dipping one of his fries into the ketchup container, he popped it into his mouth, before he caught sight of Ian eyeing his fries hungrily.
He waved a hand toward his plate. “Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” Almost faster than his eye could follow, two fries disappeared from his plate, shoved into his son’s gaping maw. The kid was a bottomless pit, and he was fairly sure he’d have to take out a loan just to keep him in tacos and sodas.
When the bell above the front door jangled, he automatically looked up and spotted Patricia Boudreau entering. The diminutive woman glanced around the diner, seeing him almost immediately. A warm smile graced her face. Having gotten to know her over the past year, Derrick knew that she was a beautiful woman inside and out. A loving, generous, kind spirit, she’d made him feel welcome in Shiloh Springs and an honorary part of their family. Their clan, as she called them.
Heading toward them like a whirlwind, he heard the gentle clackety-clack of her heels on the black-and-white tile floor. The sound triggered a sense of peace deep within, almost a sense of homecoming.
Ian leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “Sounds like Ms. Patti’s coming.”
Funny, guess his son recognized the older woman’s footsteps. He wondered if Ian got the same sense of contentment in her presence. Derrick stood when she approached their booth.
“Hello, Derrick. Ian. My goodness, that looks delicious. Ike makes the best cornbread, but I haven’t been able to get him to share his recipe.” She winked at Ian. “I’m not giving up yet. I’ll get that recipe, one way or another.”
“It’s really good. Would you like some, ma’am?” Ian slid the half-empty plate closer to Ms. Patti.
“That’s very sweet, Ian. Thank you, but I’ve already eaten. I thought I’d join you, maybe take a few notes while y’all finish your meal if that’s okay?”
Ian scooted over on the booth seat, and Ms. Patti slid in beside him. Derrick resumed his seat, catching the sparkle in the other woman’s gaze. She had a way of making everyone around her at ease. It was a gift, Derrick knew, because most people rarely bothered, especially with kids. Most of the time, the children got ignored, especially when the grownups had business to discuss.
“I brought a list of local places we can look at, but I need some input from you both. Mind if I ask a few questions, so I can get a feel for what would suit you both?”
“Dad says we can get a pool.” Ian kept chewing as he spoke, and a few cornbread crumbs flew onto the tabletop.
“Buddy, don’t talk with your mouth full. Ms. Patti will wait for your answer. Besides, I don’t want you to choke.”
Derrick watched Ms. Patti try to hide her smile. She was used to having to remind boys about their manners, having raised eleven of them herself. How in the world she’d managed that, he hadn’t a clue. He was having enough trouble dealing with one and he hadn’t even hit puberty yet.
“Let’s add a pool to the top of the list. I wish I’d have thought of having one when we first moved to the Big House. Sometimes, with these hot Texas summers, the best I could manage was squirting my boys with a hose. Of course, that ended when they discovered swimming in the creek was almost as much fun as having a pool.”
“A creek? Isn’t that dangerous?” Ian had stopped eating, his attention locked on Ms. Patti, his eyes round and eager.
“It can be if you’re not careful. Douglas and I laid down the law right away when we found out they’d been swimming in the creek that runs across our property. No swimming alone, ever. It’s too dangerous. No swimming if the weather is bad. Flash floods can happen within minutes, and rushing water is nothing to joke about. I’ve seen creek water rise and carry away a whole car. The water is stronger than you think, and you can get washed away before somebody can rescue you.”
“You’ll stick to pools, at least until I know you can swim.” Derrick swallowed down his fear at the thought of losing Ian.
“Dad…”
Ms. Patti simply smiled and made a note on her pad. “What else are you looking for? Two bedrooms, maybe an office?”
“I think we can get by with two bedrooms. I’m not planning on bringing work with me when we’re in Shiloh Springs. I’ll set up a desk in my bedroom if I need that option.”
He watched Ian’s shoulders unclench as he relaxed on hearing his words. How bad were things, that he hadn’t even realized his son was worried about his dad working on their long weekends and time off?
“What else? Tell me honestly,” she looked directly at Ian, “do you want an apartment or a house? Maybe a condo?”
“That’s up to my dad.” Ian shrugged and shoveled a spoonful of chicken and dumplings into his mouth.
“Oh, I know what your dad wants.” Ms. Patti glanced at Derrick and gave him a subtle wink. “I want to know what you want, Ian. You’re going to be living there, too. You should be comfortable in your own home.”
“I…I guess I’d like a house. Before, when I lived with—”
Though he broke off, Derrick knew he’d been going to talk about living with his mother. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d gotten up in the middle of the night, and found Ian huddled on the couch, the TV volume low, because he couldn’t sleep. Although he hated to admit it, he knew his son still wasn’t sure Derrick wasn’t going to abandon him too.
“Our first choice would be houses, Ms. Patti. Something with a yard. Nothing too big, because I don’t want to have to deal with lots of upkeep, but we,” he gestured with his thumb between him and Ian, “can handle a lawnmower.”
“Gotcha. I have a couple of rental places to show you. Move-in ready, no handyman specials. They’re amenable to small changes, such as painting bedrooms and things. Next question, do you want them furnished, or will you be wanting to bring your own stuff?”
“I’m thinking we should probably do furnished. Once we’re settled, we might want to get a few things of our own, but to start out…”
“I understand, and I think that’s a good idea. I’m heading over to my office to print out a few listings. Y’all finish your lunch and you can meet me over there when you’re finished. And don’t forget to have some of the chocolate chip cake. Jill made some earlier this morning, and it’s delicious.”
“Thanks, Ms. Patti. We won’t be long.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Ian stuck out his hand, and Ms. Patti shook it. Derrick felt a warmth filling him, so proud of his little man. He was trying, he’d give him that. Now if he could just provide him with the stability he needed, he’d figure out that he was safe and secure, and he could finally relax and be a kid.
After Ms. Patti left, Derrick made quick work of his bacon cheeseburger. Glancing at Ian, he had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. Ian was scraping the bowl, trying to get every last drop of the chicken and dumplings. Good thing they were in public, or he’d probably be licking the bowl clean.
“Are we getting the cake?”
“Why not?” Derrick waved at Jackie and ordered two pieces of the cake Ms. Patti mentioned. He was familiar with Jill’s baking, having sampled more than his fair share of How Sweet It Is goods every time he visited Shiloh Springs. When the two huge slices of cake arrived, he inhaled deeply, wondering if he should have ordered one piece to split with his son.
Ian attacked his piece with gusto, shoveling the chocolatey gooey treat into his mouth, only pausing long enough to take a drink before getting another. He cleaned his plate in less than two minutes. Where did he put it all? Oh, to have the metabolism of a young boy, he’d be able to eat anything he wanted to.
He managed to eat half of the huge piece of cake before pushing the remainder across the table to Ian, who demolished it in under a minute.
“You ready to go?”
Ian nodded and grabbed his game and slid from the booth. “Are you gonna see Daisy later?”
Derrick halted halfway out of the booth, surprised by his son’s question. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Come on, Dad, I know you like her.”
“I like lots of people.”
“Geez, Dad. I know you like her like her.”
Derrick hadn’t realized Ian had caught onto the fact he tended to spend a lot of his time at the diner when he visited. Guess he hadn’t been subtle in his interest if his nine-year-old son noticed.
“Busted. Yeah, I like Daisy. A lot. She’s nice. She’s funny.”
“And she’s pretty. I like her rainbow hair.”
Walking to the door, Derrick pulled it open, and he and Ian headed toward his truck. Climbing inside the cab, he settled in and clicked on his seatbelt, and pointed toward Ian’s. Once buckled in, he turned to face his son.
“Would you be upset if I asked Daisy out?”
“You mean like on a date?”
He nodded, waiting for his son’s answer. With them working their way toward a semblance of a family unit, he would never do anything to upset the applecart, no matter how much he wanted to get to know the irrepressible diner owner.
“Do you think she wants to date you? I mean, you’re kind of old and all you do is work.”
“Old? I’ll give you old,” Derrick reached across the seat, and wrapped his arm around Ian’s neck, and rubbed his knuckle against his scalp, with Ian squirming to get away and giggling the whole time.
“Dad!”
Turning Ian loose, he straightened behind the steering wheel. Looked like Ian wasn’t opposed to him asking Daisy out.
Maybe things were looking up—not only with his son but with his new start in Shiloh Springs.