She’s a widow. She’s a single mother, and I will not think about dipping my stick where it doesn’t belong. Get a goddamn grip, Jacob.
“Good morning, Jacob. I see that Sebastian found you quickly.”
I run my hand through my hair, feeling a little off balance. “He did. I wanted to let you know where we were going and give you my number in case you need to get a hold of us.”
“Oh, yeah that would be great. I probably should’ve asked for that, but Sebastian has a phone and . . . I’m rambling—again.” She stops herself with a laugh.
“Can I have your phone?”
She hands it over, and I type in my number into a new text thread and then tap out a message. Before I hit send, I need to make sure that she understands how vital it is to never share this. “Now, this number is my personal cell phone.”
“Okay,” Brenna says with confusion.
“I mean that, only ten people in the world have this number. It’s very confidential.”
Understanding seems to strike her as her eyes widen. “Oh, so this is like top secret.”
“Very much.”
“I see. Don’t worry then.”
I send the message so she has it and also now I have hers. That shouldn’t make me happy, but it does. I hand the phone back to her. “There, that’s my number in case you need anything.”
“I appreciate this. I mean, if I sold this to the tabloids, I could probably pay off my mortgage, right?”
I don’t say anything as I try to think of the right response. I hadn’t pegged her as that type, but I don’t know her.
“Jacob, I’m kidding! God, you should see your face. I would never. Not only because I’m not an asshole but also because that would be incredibly horrible after you’re taking my kid out, which leads me back to my not being an asshole.”
I laugh as though I knew she had been kidding the whole time. “I know. I didn’t think you would. I knew you were kidding.”
“You didn’t, but that’s okay. I promise not to share this with anyone, but I do suggest not giving it to Sebastian.”
“Why not?” he asks from beside me.
She looks down at him with one brow raised. “Well, let’s think back to a few weeks ago when you told everyone at school a secret about your sister that you weren’t supposed to?”
Sebastian waves his hand at her. “Please, that was different.”
“How so?”
“It’s Melanie! No one cares about her! She’s annoying and stupid and deserved it. I like Jacob, I wouldn’t do that to him.”
I cough to cover my laugh.
Brenna rolls her eyes. “Right, well, until you prove to be trustworthy no matter the situation, I don’t trust you, and neither should anyone else.”
My hand clasps his shoulder. “Those are the breaks, kid. All moms are just wired to know the way it goes. It sucks.”
“Does your mom know when you’re telling the truth?”
“My mom died when I was your age, but when she was alive, she always knew. It’s why I thought she was an alien or something because no matter what lie I told, she figured it out. And if I did something wrong, somehow, Mom could always tell.”
He leans in, voice quiet so only I can hear. “They’re not normal.”
“I agree,” I whisper back.
“I heard that,” Brenna informs us.
“See,” Sebastian counters.
I nod. “They’re aliens.”
“Aliens or whatever, you guys have fun. I’m planning on running Melanie to the store, but I won’t be far or gone too long. I assumed you’d be fishing at least an hour?”
“Definitely. We’ll probably be much longer than that. Is there anything he needs to be home for?”
She shakes her head. “I have no other plans.”
“Great. We’ll be off and hopefully we’ll bring back something to cook.”
Her face goes a little pale. “Sounds . . . great.”
Sebastian laughs. “Mom might be an alien, but her weakness is fish guts.”
“Good to know. We’ll do all the work so she doesn’t have to see it,” I say with a wink.
We turn to leave, but Brenna clears her throat, causing the two of us to halt. What is it about women and the throat clear? She looks at her son with her head tilted and puts her coffee mug down. “Are you forgetting something, Sebastian?”
He smiles and heads toward her. His arms wrap around her middle, and they hold each other tight. She ruffles the top of his head before letting him go, and my chest tightens. It’s such an innocent gesture, but one that my mother would do each time she hugged me.
“Now, go have fun, be good, and please don’t forget your sunscreen.” Brenna smiles at me, lifting her hand with a wave.
He huffs the way a boy does when his mother embarrasses him, and I grin. “Do you need a helmet or something to ride?”
Sebastian’s eyes fill with horror. “No!”
I laugh. “All right, I just don’t know any of this stuff.”
“If you asked my mother, I’m sure she’d say we do, but she’s a little paranoid about my getting hurt.”
“That’s a woman thing. My brothers’ wives are the same. Let’s head out, and we’ll hopefully catch something good.”
The ride back to the creek isn’t long since we cut through Sydney’s property to get to mine. The weather is perfect for being out like this. We’re at the beginning of where spring and summer meet, so it’s cooler in the mornings, but midday is perfect.
We set up, and it doesn’t take me long to realize Sebastian is a pro. He feeds his line, ties off the lure, and scopes out a spot. “I think over here the rocks will allow the fish a chance to bite.”
I nod in agreement. “Good call.”
“My dad and I fished a lot.”
“Your mom mentioned that. I remember your dad being out here when we were kids.”
Sebastian gives a reluctant smile. “He loved the water. He loved to get me up before anyone else so we could go fish. The week before he deployed, Mom would wake up to find us gone every morning, and . . . it was our thing.”
It breaks my heart to hear the pain in his voice, but I understand it. Things my mother did with us that never happened again was not easy to accept. There’s nothing that will make it better other than time.
And even then, sometimes, even that won’t help. There were days I would do nothing but sit at my mother’s grave and talk. I wanted to be close to her. If she could hear me, surely, she’d find a way to come back and help us. We were her heart, and we were breaking, but help never came, at least not in any way that we needed.
“I hope that it’s okay we’re doing this. I wanted this to be fun for you.”
“It is. I swear, it’s all good.”
“I don’t mean that for you to feel guilty, Sebastian. I just don’t want to make you sad.”
He shakes his head quickly. “You’re not. I missed fishing. There’s been no one to take me . . .”
“While I’m here, I would be happy to be your fishing partner if you want.”
His eyes widen. “You want to hang out with me again?”