She caught the knowing glint in Sean’s eyes and realized he had a pretty good idea of exactly what was going through her mind. Before she could think of some way to extricate herself, Kevin thundered down the hall and launched himself at Sean.
“This is so cool,” he said from his perch on Sean’s shoulder. “Where are we gonna go?”
“That’s up to you and your mom,” Sean told him. “What kind of food do you like?”
“I like pizza,” Kevin said at once.
“I think we can do better than pizza tonight,” Sean said, his gaze steady on Deanna. “How about seafood? Or Chinese?”
“Mom likes Chinese,” Kevin admitted, his face scrunched up in disgust. “I think it’s yucky.”
Sean laughed. “Okay then, no Chinese food. Steak? Burgers?”
“A great burger sounds good to me,” Deanna said. That would mean the kind of casual place where Kevin would feel comfortable and she wouldn’t have to worry quite so much about him misbehaving. They hadn’t been to a lot of fancy restaurants, not on her income. Joey’s was the cream of the crop, and most of the regulars there considered Kevin a surrogate grandson.
“Then I know just the spot,” Sean told her. “It’s not too far from here. We can walk.”
For the life of her Deanna couldn’t think of a single good hamburger place in the neighborhood, but she trailed along beside Sean, content to listen to her son’s nonstop barrage of questions and Sean’s patient responses. She tried to imagine Frankie showing such patience and couldn’t. It was a solid reminder that those occasional regrets she had about his absence from his son’s life were wasted.
“Here we are,” Sean announced as they reached an apartment building half a dozen blocks from her place.
Deanna gave him a quizzical look.
“There’s no place in town that makes a hamburger any better than mine,” he said. “And it just so happens that I went grocery shopping earlier.” He studied her intently. “You okay with this?”
She managed to nod. The truth was that she felt a small quiver of anticipation in the pit of her stomach at the prospect of seeing where he lived. The building was certainly unpretentious, but the lawn around it was well tended. There were flowers blooming in pots beside the front door. A half dozen children were playing catch on the stretch of grass. She saw Kevin studying them enviously.
Apparently, Sean saw the same thing. He waved at the kids. “Hey, Davey, Mark, come on over here.”
Two dark-haired boys broke away from the others and ran to Sean, regarding him with the same adulation that was usually evident on Kevin’s face, though these boys were around ten or twelve.
“This is my friend Kevin,” Sean told them. “Would you mind letting him play with you guys while I’m getting our dinner ready? Is that okay with you, Deanna? He’ll be fine. Davey and Mark are very responsible. They look out for their kid brothers all the time.”
“It’s okay with us,” one of the boys replied.
“Please, Mom?” Kevin begged.
She grinned at his eagerness to abandon the adults—even his beloved Sean—in favor of playing catch with some older boys. “If Sean thinks it’s okay and the boys don’t mind, it’s fine with me.”
“All right!” Kevin said, racing after the others as they loped back to their game.
Deanna stood looking after him. He was growing up so fast, and she was missing so much of it, thanks to her work schedule. In that instant she could see as plainly as she ever had that she was shortchanging not only Kevin but herself. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see any way around it, not unless the courts managed to track down the errant Frankie and extract all the child-support payments he’d missed over the years.
“You don’t need to worry about Kevin. Davey and Mark live right downstairs from me. Their mom keeps an eye on them out her window, and you’ll be able to see them from my kitchen window, too.”
Deanna forced a smile. “I’m being silly and overprotective, aren’t I?”
“No, of course not. You can never be too careful in this day and age, but this neighborhood is as safe as any in town. I wouldn’t have suggested letting Kevin play if it weren’t. And there’s always a parent within earshot.”
Deanna studied him closely, realizing with a sense of amazement that he took the safety of all these children as personally as if they were his own. “Something tells me you keep a close eye on things when you’re around, as well.”
He shrugged. “I do what I can. Now let’s get out of here before we cramp their style.” Reaching for her hand, he led her inside and up the narrow stairs.
“The kitchen’s this way,” he said as soon as they’d walked into his apartment.
Deanna wondered at his eagerness to keep her from looking around. “Did you forget to straighten up this morning?” she asked, deliberately lagging behind him.
Sean stopped and stared at her, evidently bewildered by the teasing question. “What?”
“You seem to be in a rush to get me into the kitchen. I figure that’s because you left your underwear scattered all over or something.”
“Hey, I’m no slob,” he protested with feigned indignation. “I thought you’d be in a hurry to look outside and check on Kevin, make sure you could keep an eye on him.”
“You told me he’d be safe,” she reminded him.
“And you trust my judgment?”
“When it comes to my son, yes,” she said, surprised to realize that it was true. If there was one thing she believed with all her heart, it was that Sean would never deliberately put her child—any child—at risk. She was surprised by the expression that washed over his face. Relief, maybe. Even a hint of wonder.
“Just like that?” he asked.
“Not just like that,” she countered, astounded that he would doubt her faith in his reliability. “I’ve seen you with
