All Consuming (Brotherhood by Fire #3) -Jaci Burton Page 0,30
talker, but he and Jeff both were more animated than usual, and very engaged with Kal.
Hannah couldn’t believe how easily Oliver had accepted Kal. Then again, Kal didn’t talk down to Oliver or treat him like a baby. He was easygoing with him, and he spent time with him. To Oliver, that was everything. It made it even more obvious how much Oliver had missed having a male influence in his life.
When they got home, she walked Jeff next door to his house. Becca thanked her for taking him to dinner and said she and her husband had a quiet, restful evening.
When she got back home, she didn’t see Kal or Oliver. She found them both in Oliver’s room.
“And these are my trains.”
“Wow. Those are awesome, Oliver. I like how you have them up on a shelf.”
“Thanks. Mom and Grandma put the shelves up for me when we moved here.”
“They did a good job. And the trains look great up there.”
Hannah leaned against the doorway listening to Oliver tell Kal all about his trains. He’d always loved them from the time he was little, so every birthday and Christmas Hannah had been buying him new pieces for his set.
“Okay, Oliver,” she finally said. “Time to get ready for bed.”
“Aww, Mom. I want to stay up for a while.”
She shook her head. “You have an early game in the morning, remember?”
“Soccer?” Kal asked.
Oliver grinned. “Yup. I’m a halfback, and sometimes I get to play goalie.”
“That’s pretty cool. Maybe I’ll get to come to your game sometime.”
“Great. Mom doesn’t get to come because she works on Saturdays. But Grandma is always there.”
That twinge of guilt hit her right in her stomach. She pushed it away because there was nothing she could do about it. She had to work. “That’s right, and your grandma loves watching you play. Now go brush your teeth and get your jammies on.”
“Okay.”
She and Kal left the room. As they made their way into the kitchen, she asked, “Do you want something to drink?”
“I’m good right now, thanks.”
“I’m ready, Mom,” Oliver yelled from the bedroom.
“He reads a chapter of his book to me before he goes to sleep,” Hannah said. “We’re on the Magic Tree House books right now. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Go ahead.”
She left the room and went into the bedroom, sitting down on the side of the bed to snuggle up next to her son.
“Did you brush your teeth?”
Oliver gave her a toothy smile. “Yes.”
“Good. Okay, let’s read.”
He pulled the book out. “Mom?”
“Yes?”
“I like Kal.”
Her heart fluttered. “Me, too.”
“Can he come over again sometime?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. Good.”
He started reading, and Hannah hoped it was the whole pizza and playtime thing and Kal being someone new that sparked Oliver’s enthusiasm.
After all, it had just been tonight. And Kal was a nice guy. Everyone liked him.
No big deal, right?
Except it kind of had been, she realized after they finished the chapter. She kissed Oliver good night and turned off the light.
Kal was in the living room playing a game on his phone. When she came in, he shut it off, got up and slipped his phone in his pocket.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I could have left so you could have had some quiet time with Oliver.”
“It’s okay. It really was time for him to go to sleep. He was yawning while he was reading.”
“I can go now if you’d like me to.”
“No. Let’s sit and talk for a while if you’re up for it.”
“Sure.” He waited while she found a spot. When she did, he sat next to her on the sofa, making her body warm up in all the places it shouldn’t.
“I had a good time tonight,” she said.
“Is there a ‘but’ in there?”
She frowned. “No. But there’s a ‘thank you’ in there. Oliver had a good time, too. Thanks for spending so much time with him.”
“Hey, he’s a great kid. Hanging out with him wasn’t a chore.”
“Most adults wouldn’t think so.”
“Then most adults are dicks. Your kid is smart and fun. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with him?”
He said all the right things, did all the right things, which was so unusual considering getting her ex-husband to spend any time with his own son had been an effort. And yet, it had seemed so easy for Kal.
She didn’t understand it, but she wasn’t going to question it. Kal had seemed at ease with Oliver tonight, and she was grateful.
“You’re a good guy, Kal.”
He looked over at her. “Hey, thanks. What brought that on?”