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“Why are you sitting next to my mom?” Sam asks from the opposite the booth.

“Because we’re friends. Friends sit together, don’t they?”

He seems all right with my explanation because he only shrugs his shoulders and leaves the question alone for the moment.

Our pizza arrives just in time, so we don’t have to explain anything more to Sam. The rest of the dinner consists of Sam talking about everything under the sun. I guess Sarah, the gal who watches him, is a marine biology major and she’s been sharing her passion for the ocean with Sam. I learn from the conversation that Sam has never stepped foot onto the actual beach. He’s seen it, been there, but he’s never stuck his feet in the sand. How is that even possible when they live in southern California?

“I think we’ll need to make a plan to get to the ocean.” I watch as Sam’s eyes light up at the idea.

“You don’t have to do that,” Tessa argues.

I turn my head towards her. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to.”

“That would be awesome. Can we, Mom? Can we go to the ocean?”

I continue to watch as she struggles with my idea. She has a massive issue with letting go of control, and I know why. When something happens to you, like it happened to Tessa, power is the one thing that you feel you always need. It’s been the two of them for so long, and I’m sure she’s struggling with letting me in. The thing is, she’s doesn’t really have a choice in the matter. I can see her desire for me in her eyes. She may not know it yet, but it’s there. It’s the same look she used to give me when we were younger. She thought she was so smart hiding her feelings for me, but there are some things you can’t hide.

I place my hand on her thigh, making her slightly jump. When I give it a slight squeeze, she relaxes.

“All right, baby. We’ll plan a day.”

“When?”

This kid’s relentless. “Your mom and I will figure it out when she gets her schedule next week.”

“But she works the same days and times.”

“Then I’ll make sure I take a Saturday off.”

That seems to pacify him since he doesn’t question it anymore and digs into his pizza.

* * *

“How did you meet my mom?” Sam asks when he drops his spoon into his bowl of ice cream.

We’ve spent the last few hours walking around the small downtown area near Tessa’s house. The entire time I’ve been on high alert, making sure that dickhead, Phil, wasn’t watching. When Sam asked to stop for ice cream before he headed back to their house, I complied.

“I told you, honey, we grew up together.”

“Yeah, but how? Why did you grow up together?”

“We lived in the same town. We had mutual friends.”

“Your mom’s best friend was the sister of my best friend.”

His eyes widen at my news. He looks at Tessa. “Where is she? Do I know her? Is it Shae?” Then he turns his direction to me. “Do you know Croy? Why didn’t you say hi when you saw him?”

“Baby, no, it’s not Shae. She was from where I grew up. In…New Mexico.” Her hesitation tells me that she hasn’t shared much of her past with her son.

“Wow, you’re from Mexico?”

I can’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“Thank you, public school system,” Tessa mutters. “No, Sam, New Mexico is a state. Not far from here.”

“Ten hours by car, to be exact,” I say.

“Do you still live there, Hawk?”