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Sam yawned. He pushed himself off Carson’s chest although he remained in Carson’s lap.
“Sorry, I almost fell asleep.” Sam gave a little smile.
His boy obviously needed sleep. “That’s fine. I can sit here and hold you if that’s what you want.”
“You wanted to talk,” Sam pointed out.
“I did but it’s not anything that can’t wait. You need to sleep.”
Sam was shaking his head even before Carson got done talking. “I’m fine.”
This was the problem. Carson cupped Sam’s face and forced the boy to meet his gaze. “How often do you say that?”
“Say what?” Sam furrowed his brows, showing his confusion.
“I get the feeling that you say the words ‘I’m fine’ way more than you should,” Carson stated with knowing.
Sam’s eyes widened before he glanced down.
“Look at me, baby,” Carson demanded softly.
He smiled when Sam returned his gaze to his. “You are a smart, sweet, funny boy with a good heart. It’s okay to lean on someone.”
“I have my friends,” Sam pointed out.
Carson didn’t remind Sam that they hadn’t even known about Sam’s family until recently. Instead he nodded. “You do. I also notice that you’ve taken on a big-brother role to both of your friends.”
“What?” Sam jerked back. “No.”
Carson raised a brow. He never released Sam’s face.
“Maybe…maybe with Caden, but Adam…” Sam trailed off.
“With Adam, you make sure he has plenty of hours to pay his bills but also not too many hours that he’s exhausted between work and school. I would also wager that if someone were unable to work their shift that you don’t call anyone else in but take care of it yourself.”
“I’m the manager,” Sam replied. “Or I was before I bought the place. It’s my responsibility.”
“It is, although most managers would have forced someone else to take that shift especially if they’d already worked all day.”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “How do you know?”
“I pay attention, boy. We’ve been talking for weeks now, and I know when you work both opening and closing.”
A soft sigh was his only response.
“There’s nothing wrong with your relationship with your friends or how you run the shop. I’m extremely impressed. And I know that your friends are good guys that love you and would do anything for you.”
Sam closed his eyes and when he opened them, there were tears in the corners.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
His boy sniffed. “I’m not used to anyone telling me they’re proud of me. You said it before and now you said you were impressed. By me.”
“I wouldn’t be here now if I wasn’t proud and impressed with you.”
“Why are you here?” Sam asked softly. He quickly wrapped his fingers around Carson's wrists as if he was trying to keep his hands on Sam’s face. “Even though we’ve texted and talked on the phone a couple of times, I haven’t seen you since the day after the attack at the station.”
“This is what I wanted to speak with you about,” Carson informed him.
