Triumphant, Justin crowed, “I won!”
“Yes, you did.” Ivey mussed his hair. “Done in by a child!”
“I’m ten, not a child.”
“I’m more than three times your age,” she pointed out. “That makes you a kid.”
“Huh-uh.” Coming up to his knees, his hands on the cushion beside Corbin, Justin said, “My mom said I could take care of myself now.”
Silence landed like a thunderclap. Ivey stared at him, horrified, then she reassessed. Surely his mother had said that in some logical context, maybe in encouragement. “She did, huh?”
“Yeah, she said only babies wanted their moms to take care of them.”
The horrid disclosure made Corbin stiffen even more. Justin said it in such a nonchalant way, there was no doubting the truth.
“Let’s see,” Ivey mused, hoping to free Corbin from his tension-induced disbelief. “I’d say you’re old enough to take responsibility for some things. Like brushing your teeth without being told? And making sure Daisy has food and water?”
Justin shrugged. “Mom said I could watch myself, too.”
Corbin practically jumped on that. “Your mom left you alone?”
“Sometimes.” Full of energy, Justin bounced on his knees. “When she had to work or if she had a date. But it’s okay cuz I’m ten, now.”
Tension vibrated off Corbin. “Where did Darcie work?”
“I don’t know.” Justin turned as Maurice and Daisy trotted over to him, trailed by the puppies. “She worked at night, though.”
Gently, Ivey asked, “When it was dark?”
“Yeah.” He no longer looked at them, choosing instead to focus on the animals. The jubilant victory of moments before seemed forgotten.
Ivey didn’t want to press, not with him looking so withdrawn, as if he realized he’d blundered into a sensitive topic.
Corbin must have realized it, too. “Ten is getting up there, but as your dad, I enjoy taking care of you.”
Justin shot him a quick look. “You and Mom are different, huh?”
“Yes,” he agreed. “Very different.” Then he went one step further and said, “I won’t ever leave you alone at night.”
“Why not?”
“For one thing, it’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, Mom said the same thing. She told me I should come in and lock the door before it got too dark, cuz if I didn’t someone might steal me. But sometimes I’d forget.” Hugging Daisy close, he whispered, “The lights in our hall didn’t work so it was a little creepy at night.”
Gathering himself, Corbin sat forward and asked with admirable calm, “Did you leave your apartment unlocked?”
“No. We kept the key under the mat.” A puppy chewed on Justin’s shorts, making him smile. “But one time, my mom forgot and took it with her.”
Ivey welcomed Maurice into her lap. The old cat always seemed to know when she was upset and needed affection. “What did you do?”
“I slept in the hall.” His brows scrunched as he rubbed the puppy’s ear, then he said accusingly, “Mom was mad at me, but she took the key. She made me stay in after that.”
Leaning against Corbin, Ivey looked back and caught his gaze. She hoped to convey her support, her understanding, and she wanted to encourage him to remain cool. He looked...ravaged. And no wonder. Little by little, Justin’s tone and expression had changed, the upsetting memory coming out of nowhere, which to her, meant it was an important event.
Corbin being Corbin, he pulled together his control. Neither his tone nor his expression showed how wretched this had to be for him. “How mad was she, son?”
Justin rubbed at his nose, his gaze evasive. “Our neighbor, Doris, saw me and she yelled at Mom real bad. I think that’s why she was mad at me.”
Justin was only ten, so how could he understand an adult’s behavior? How would he know that the problem had been with his mother, not with him?
His mouth trembled. “I didn’t mean to make her mad or get her in trouble. I swear! I just didn’t know what to do.”
Ivey put a hand on his shoulder. She felt so much emotion from Justin, and even more from Corbin. She nearly choked on it, it was so strong and turbulent. “Honey, how come Doris didn’t invite you in?”
“She did,” he said in a rush. “Doris was always real nice to me, but Mom didn’t like her so I wasn’t supposed to talk to her. Mom said Doris would call the police on her and they’d take me away.” He shot a fearful glance at Corbin. “I didn’t want to go away. I didn’t know about Dad, though.” He concentrated on stroking the dog. “Doris told me not to worry, and she gave me a pillow and blanket and sat out there to talk to me until morning.”
“Doris sounds like a very nice neighbor,” Corbin said.
“Mom said she was a nasty—” he slid a cagey glance at the adults “—B-word.”
Clearing her throat, Ivey tried to think of something to say. Justin beat her to it.
“Mom wouldn’t let me have pets, neither. And she didn’t play video games or race me or nothing.” His bottom lip quivered as he picked up steam. “She got mad at me a lot, too, and sometimes...sometimes I didn’t know when she’d come home!”
Throat closing, Ivey fought to keep her expression impassive. She didn’t want to upset Justin more by reacting too strongly.
Leaning past her, Corbin caught Justin under the arms and hauled him up and onto his lap. He clutched his son close, rocking him a little. “You will always know where I am, and you will never be left alone. Okay?”
“I want to say here forever,” Justin said, hugging Corbin just as fiercely.
Knowing she was going to cry, Ivey got quietly to her feet and, holding Maurice, headed for the kitchen to give father and son some privacy. Confused by the sadness, Daisy hastily followed her, which meant all three puppies did, too.
Around the corner, Ivey slid down the wall until her bottom hit the floor. Maurice butted her chin and Daisy snuggled up to her side. For years upon years, she’d relied on animals in happy times and sad. Now was no different. People thought she gave so much to animals. In truth, they gave so much to her. She hugged and kissed each animal in turn, taking the comfort they gave, hoping to give some back in return.
Every time she thought of a little boy left alone, sleeping in a hallway, without his mother’s care, her heart crumbled a little more.
She was fighting off the tears when she heard Corbin say, “We talked about this, right? I promised you that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. But you’re still worrying?”