and rammed them in his mouth, his grin expanding when he saw me. “Hi,” he chirped, then wiped bits of potato off his lips with the back of his hand.
“Hey, buddy.” Confused, I forced a smile and approached Dorothy. “Why is he here?” I hissed.
Her grin disintegrated. “You asked about him when you came in with that hottie with the body. When he showed up for a snack, I thought you’d like to know he was okay.” Her lips formed an O and her eyes opened wide. “You thought he was hurt again.”
I patted Dorothy’s hand. “We really need to work on your code system.”
While she giggled around an apology, I perched beside Shane, who polished off the chips, then crunched into an apple, grinning as he chewed. “We don’t get these kind at home. Mom says they cost too much. When I grow up, I’m only gonna get the juicy kind.” With a smack of his lips, he went in for another bite.
“Where is your mom today?”
“Work. She said thank you for the hamburgers. She wanted me to say that if I saw you.”
“When will she be home?”
His eyebrows pinched together. “After I go to bed, prolly.”
“You guys good on food?”
He nodded, his eyes glued to the snack in his hand. He didn’t look like a kid who was good on food. “How’s your finger? Did Mom ever say anything about the stitches?”
“I hid my hand so she never saw ‘em. I didn’t want to scare her, even though I think the scar looks cool.” He held up the proof of his assessment. The skin was red and raised, but the sutures had dissolved and he was healing well despite questionable hygiene. We chatted about dinosaurs, superheroes, and how excited he was to start school in a couple weeks. I left with deep thoughts weighing on my heart.
When I pulled into Nan’s driveway, I headed immediately to the guesthouse, though I wasn’t sure why. A couple days ago, I would have said I felt compelled to fight with Joe to burst the bubble of concern growing around Shane, but that wasn’t true anymore. I thought, maybe, I just wanted to talk. I found Joe stretched out on one of the new chairs near the firepit with Nan. He leaned back, beer in hand, smile in place, long legs extended and crossed at the ankles, while she nursed a gin and tonic.
“Did you see what he did for me?” Nan waved a hand to indicate the backyard. “This man is a miracle worker.”
The smile on her face found its way to mine. “He’s something, that’s for sure.”
“Careful there. That could almost be mistaken for a compliment.” Joe quirked his head, then indicated a third seat and brandished an unopened beer. “I grabbed this for me, but it’s yours if you want it.”
“I’d love it. Thanks.” His fingers brushed mine as I accepted the bottle, refreshing the smile on my face.
“Everything okay? You ran out of here awful quick earlier.”
Why did everything about the man crank my reactions to eleven? Why was one touch of his skin enough to make me forget anything not related to Joe Channing? Why did one question about my day have my heart glowing like a sunrise after a stormy night? I popped the top and took a long swig as I curled into a chair. The snap and pop of the fire soothed my frazzled nerves and I took another drink.
After watching me for few silent seconds, Joe leaned closer to my grandmother. “Has anyone ever told her it’s strange to let questions hang in the air unanswered?”
“Sometimes,” Nan replied in a voice worthy of a nature show narrator, “when she’s working on something that really bothers her, she has to sit quietly for the thought to come together.”
“And you’ve told her how uncomfortable it is when she doesn’t explain what she’s doing to those of us who don’t understand?”
I laughed and took another drink while Nan giggled through her answer. “Yes, but it hasn’t helped yet.”
“Okay, you two. I get it. Awkward silence makes for poor conversation.” I leaned my elbows on my knees and stared at the ground between my feet as I gave them the high points about Shane—carefully treading around doctor patient confidentiality. “I’m starting to wonder if I need to call the Department of Children and Families.”
Joe’s sky-blue eyes reminded me of a lake freezing over. “That could land this kid in foster care.”