Travis stormed into the apartment and darted down the hallway. His bedroom door slammed.
"Oh, no, he is not going to bounce on me." Jess hustled around the counter and marched after her brother.
Wyatt came inside and shut the door. His hair hung wild around his shoulders, and his tired eyes settled on her. Not even seeing her standing in the kitchen of his apartment sparked any surprise from him.
He approached her, taking in the meat on the stove, the bread on the plates. Wrapping his arm around her neck, he pulled her against him.
"Are you taking care of my girl?" He kissed the side of her head and sighed heavily.
"I heard the bikers arriving and came out to see what was going on. I was worried and had to check on her." She stayed close to him when he seemed to hang in place, not moving. "Is Travis okay?"
"Yeah, he will be." His chest expanded. "I don't know what's going on with him. Dean told him to get in the car at school, and he got in, even though he knows not to. He got dropped off at the apartment, and since the bus hadn't dropped Jess off yet, he went for a walk."
"A walk?" she said.
"Yeah." He kissed her forehead. "That's what he's saying."
With no experience with children, only having been a child a long time ago, she said, "Keep loving him. That's all a parent can do."
"Right," he mumbled, dropping his arm.
The meat on the stove sizzled. She moved away from him and put the burgers on a plate. She'd used the whole package of meat in case Travis and Wyatt wanted to eat more than one.
An incessant knock came. Wyatt walked out of the kitchen.
Joey hunted around in the fridge, looking for what she could put on the burgers. There was only cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise. Making sure everything was out for them to grab, she took the hot skillet and put water in it to let it soak.
"Where is he?" A woman's voice grew louder.
Joey looked over her shoulder and found an older woman putting her purse on the table. Wyatt put his hands on the woman's shoulders. "He's in his room. Just give him a few minutes, Mom."
That was Wyatt's mom? Joey wiped her hands off on the dishtowel. When she'd tried to picture his mom in her head, she imagined a tall, slender, almost stern woman. In reality, she was average height, weight, and pretty in a soft way with flowing black hair and bright red lipstick on.
His mom noticed her and lifted her arched brows. Feeling like she had stepped in where she wasn't needed, she walked over to Wyatt.
"There's food when you feel like eating. I'm going to leave now that you're home." She squeezed his arm.
He caught her hand and held it. "Mom, this is Joey. She manages the apartments. Joey, this is my mom, Lucy Carr."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Carr," she said softly.
Wyatt's mom's eyes widened in pleasure. "It's nice to meet you, too. Please call me Lucy."
"Stay." Wyatt kissed her temple. "Mom just came over to check on Travis."
She smiled and let the two of them talk. As an outsider, she could see the love between mother and son, and their mutual worry over Travis.
"I'll go see if I can talk to him." Lucy inhaled deeply and shook her head. "The poor baby. He's had enough to worry about in his life. I wish he'd realize how much we all love him and stop making us worry all the time."
Joey's eyes welled with tears, and she swallowed hard. As someone who was raised by a single mother and a grandpa that lived in a different state, she felt guilty for putting her family through hell growing up. Looking back, it was her choice to rebel and find her footing in a big world. She never meant to hurt her mom and grandpa.
Children never realized how easy it was to scare the adults in their life.
"Are you doing okay?" Wyatt turned her toward him and tipped her chin. "Have you eaten?"
She warmed at his concern, but she was the last person he should worry about. "I'm fine. You guys should eat though."
"Will you stay?" He looked over his shoulder. "Are there enough burgers to go around?"
She nodded. "As long as you need me, I'll stay."
Fifteen minutes later, Travis came out of the room, followed by Jess and his grandma. He sat down at the table without saying a word and scarfed down his dinner. Wyatt's mom left, and as the Carr family settled in for the night, Wyatt pulled her onto his lap.
"The kids have school tomorrow, and you have to work," she whispered. "I'm going to go home."
"Give me ten more minutes." He rubbed her hip.
During that time, she pretended to watch Magnum P.I. with everyone. She'd quickly come to care about Wyatt's kids, and she tried to figure out a way to help without intruding. Wyatt, from her time with him, was doing everything he could raising them on his own. She understood he worried about the kids' stepdad trying to gain visitation rights with them, and hearing that Travis went off with his former stepdad was something Wyatt hadn't wanted.
By the time Wyatt walked her back to her apartment, she'd come up with a possible solution on how she could help.
She could watch his kids in the summer, even though they were teenagers. At least she'd always be around the apartments if they needed her. Though she wasn't sure how Wyatt would take the suggestion. She could be overstepping his boundaries, so she wanted to sleep on the idea and wait to talk it over with him when his nerves hadn't been rattled.
He kissed her deeply and pulled back, pressing his forehead against hers. "Get some rest."
"You, too." She kissed him again. "Call if you need anything. I have an answering machine in case I'm out."
He nodded and let go
