Page 15

Her eyes lit up. “How did I not know that? I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other?”
Ah. Well. My day had gotten impossibly worse.
“I suppose so.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Tommy peeked out from behind his mother’s legs and waved at Eric.
He returned it with vigor, and the other boy moved out more.
“I bet Eric would like a friend,” Kerry said to her son. “Then we could set up playdates!”
And I bet she would use that to get more information out of me. Absolutely not. I was not a part of the gossip machine of this town. I refused to be.
But Tommy listened and walked over to Eric to ask about his favorite TV show.
“He’s got him talking about Bluey,” she said. “They’re best friends now.”
Well,fuck.
I eyed the front door. A quick check of my watch told me we had three minutes.
“It’s so hard dropping them off the first time,” Kerry said. “But it gets easier.”
My eyes slid to her. “I don’t know if itwill.”
“Soon, you’ll be wanting him to go. And then he’ll start reading and writing. Then he’ll be out of the house like my first is.”
Yeah. I didn’t want to think about that at all.
I was attached to Eric. He was possibly the only person other than Jackie and Bennie who genuinely liked me. And in return, I’d poured all the love I’d missed out on as a kid into him. When he grew up, I wasn’t sure what would be left for me other than the chickens and cows on the farm.
“But that’s not for a long time,” Kerry reminded me. “And maybe by then, you’ll have a nice woman to fill your time.”
“That’s not happening.” I knew way too much about the women in this town, and they knew the same about me. A relationship with any of them was completely off the table. And besides, I didn’t have time for romance when I was raising a child and running a farm.
Kerry opened her mouth to say something, but the doors opened and parents filtered in. I gave her a nod and took Eric to his classroom, eager to be away from her.
Nicole’s hair was in a bun, and she welcomed every child with a tight hug. Eric wasn’t excluded, but she wouldn’t look me in the eye. I focused on my nephew, who nervously looked around. I knelt to get to his level.
“I’ll be back in a few hours,” I said.
“Okay.”
“And I know this is scary, but you’re gonna do great.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re smart. And kind. Way more than I am.”
Eric hugged me tightly, and I returned it for far longer than I should have. When I let go, I ran out of the classroom before I stayed forever.
And thankfully, no tears fell until I was in my truck.
3
MOLLIE
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch