Deanna sighed. “Kevin, you know that I’m not even home for dinner most nights. That wouldn’t be any different if we had our own place.”
His expression turned mulish. “You never want me to have my friends over.”
A headache was beginning to pound at his relentless complaining. “Sweetie, that’s not true,” she said, trying to keep her voice even.
“It is so true,” he insisted. “You always say I can have them over when you’re here, but you’re never here.”
Deanna considered the accusation and realized it was possible Kevin had gotten it exactly right. She always meant to let him invite his friends over, but there were simply too few free hours in her week, and she didn’t want Ruby to have to baby-sit Kevin’s friends. It was enough that she was willing to look after Kevin.
“Why don’t you go call them right now and ask them to come over?” she suggested. “We can order a pizza.”
“I don’t want a pizza. I want Sean to come over,” Kevin said, clearly impatient that she’d missed his point.
“Not today,” she said flatly.
“Then can I go see him at the fire station again?”
“No.”
“Why not?” he asked, clearly warming to this new idea. “I could call first and ask if it’s okay. If you can’t go, Ruby would probably take me. She probably wants to see Hank, anyway.” His expression turned serious. “I still don’t get why they fight so much, but I think she really, really likes Hank, don’t you? And he’s kinda cool, not as cool as Sean, but okay.”
Deanna wished she could be as sure of Ruby’s feelings as Kevin seemed to be, but Ruby never mentioned the man’s name. That might be a dead giveaway that she cared…or it might mean the opposite, that she hadn’t given him a thought. It wasn’t as if he was hanging around, at least not while Deanna was around. And since Ruby didn’t have a phone at the apartment, the two of them couldn’t be spending hours on the phone talking, either.
When she didn’t respond to Kevin’s question, he slid his chair closer. “So, is it okay? Can I call Sean?”
Deanna knew she ought to nip this whole thing in the bud, but the hopeful expression in Kevin’s eyes kept her from saying no outright. After all, Sean was a grown man. If Kevin was making a nuisance of himself, Sean could find some way to tell him not to come by the station. And Ruby knew how to protect herself if she wanted to steer clear of Hank. She certainly hadn’t seemed all that upset that he’d joined her after dinner the other night at Joey’s. Every time Deanna had glanced their way, the two of them had been laughing.
She reached over and brushed Kevin’s hair off his forehead. He needed a haircut, but he’d refused, telling her he wanted his hair to be as long as Sean’s. “Okay,” she relented. “If Ruby doesn’t mind taking you, ask her to go to the pay phone with you and you can call.” She tossed him enough change for the phone.
“All right!” Kevin said, bounding out of the kitchen. “I’m gonna call right now.”
“Ask Ruby first!” Deanna shouted after him. “And take her with you. Do not go to the corner by yourself.”
“Ask Ruby what?” Ruby inquired, appearing in the kitchen doorway.
“If you’re willing to take him to the fire station for a visit if Sean says it’s okay.” Deanna studied her reaction. Ruby’s expression remained completely neutral. “You’re not answering me.”
“Sure, I’ll take him,” Ruby said with a shrug. “It’s no big deal. Why can’t you take him, though?”
“Because that’s a bad idea,” Deanna said without thinking.
Ruby regarded her with sudden fascination. “Oh, really?”
“I meant that I have things to do.”
“That is not what you meant,” Ruby accused. “You meant that you don’t want to see Sean Devaney again. Why is that? He seems like a perfectly nice guy to me.”
“He is a nice guy,” Deanna conceded reluctantly.
“Then what’s the problem?” Ruby studied her face. “Or do I even need to ask? Are you beginning to see that he’s more than just a nice guy? Are you maybe just the teensiest bit attracted to him?”
“If I admit that I am, will you leave me alone?”
Ruby’s grin spread. “For the moment,” she agreed. “I will, however, point out that that makes you a complete and total coward for refusing to take Kevin to the fire station.”
Deanna looked straight into Ruby’s eyes. “Maybe I’m just playing hard to get.”
“As if,” Ruby scoffed. “You don’t play at that. With you it’s the real thing.” She regarded Deanna with evident fascination. “Have you kissed him yet?”
Deanna was debating the technical accuracy of a negative response, when Ruby gasped as if she’d just read her mind. “My God, I’ve got that backward, haven’t I? He’s kissed you.”
“Once,” Deanna admitted reluctantly.
Ruby studied her with undisguised curiosity. “Well, tell all. How was it? Was it awful? Is that why you don’t want to see him?”
“No, it was not awful,” Deanna said. “How could it be? We’re talking about Sean Devaney here.”
Ruby held a hand to her chest. “Oh, my, that good, huh? When did it happen? Never mind. I think I know. It was when he followed you into the kitchen at Joey’s. That’s why you looked completely dazed when you finally wandered out of there, isn’t it?”
“I did not look dazed,” Deanna said with exasperation.
“I just call ’em like I see ’em,” Ruby retorted. “Well, well, well…this is definitely a fascinating turn of events. Is Sean the first man who’s gotten close enough to kiss you since Frankie?”
“Don’t be absurd. Frankie’s been gone for more than five years. Of course other men have kissed me.” Joey. Old Mr. Jenkins at the restaurant. Even one of the law partners at work had given her a friendly peck on the cheek once when they’d said
