She hesitated, pink dusting her cheeks, but looked at Russ before glancing back at Griff. Taking the check, she glanced down, and her eyes widened before darting up again. “This… this is very generous.”
“He works two to three hours every day after school and five to six hours on Saturday. Believe me, Karen, it’s well-deserved.”
“Mom, that’s a lot more than I was getting at the grocery store.”
Griffin hid his smile, hearing the excitement in Russ’ voice but knowing the young man was trying to maintain his cool demeanor.
She lifted her brow as she smiled. “You know what you have to do with that, right?”
“I know, I know. It goes in the bank.” Russ looked over at Griffin. “Mom made sure I set up my own bank account. That way, I learned to save, it gets a little interest, and keeps us safe.”
“Your mother’s a smart woman.”
Karen smiled up at him. “Griffin, would you like to stay for dinner? It’s the least we can do for taking a chance to help Russ.”
“Thank you, but some other time. I know my girlfriend has already got dinner started.”
“He’s dating Ms. McBride, my English teacher. She’s the one that talked to Griffin about hiring me.”
“And we’d love to have both of you to dinner. I’ll have Russ check with your schedules, and he knows my work schedule. I do hope you’ll make plans to come.”
“Karen, it would be an honor. I’ll talk to Caitlyn and we’ll come up with a date.”
She smiled, then turned to see the two younger children standing at the door. “Lovely. Thank you again.” She turned and walked back inside, shooing the curious children back into the house.
Russ ducked his head. “I don’t want you to think that I just blow my paycheck. Mom hates taking any, but I always give her a bit to help out—”
Throwing his hand up, Griffin said, “You don’t have to tell me what you do with your pay.”
“I know, but I just wanted you to know how much we appreciate the chance. Mom makes me save what I can in case I ever wanted to go to college, but I don’t. I planned on a trade, but if I can learn from you and don’t have to spend money for a trade school, then that’s just more for my future and to help my mom.” He drew in a deep breath and stuck out his hand, nervousness moving across his face.
Grinning, Griffin took his hand, accepting the shake. “Keep up the good work, Russ, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Driving home, a smile remained on his face. He liked Russ. Liked helping him. And liked thinking that Russ might find his way in life, following the same pursuits he enjoyed. Parking, he felt his phone vibrate. A text from Caitlyn had come in. Come on over after shower. Soup’s on.
It was early days in their relationship, but they shared meals and nights in her apartment mainly because it was comfortable, and she seemed so at home in her place. The idea that he was encroaching niggled at him, but she always assured him she wanted him there.
After his shower, he walked across the hall, finding her door unlocked. “Hey, babe.” He moved behind her as she stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove that smelled amazing. Nuzzling her neck, he loved the sound of her giggle, knowing he was creating goosebumps over her arms.
She let go of the spoon and turned, her gaze meeting his. “Hey, yourself. Good day?”
“Yeah, not bad. You?” She crinkled her nose, and he suspected a story was behind that expression. “What’s up?”
“Dinner is almost finished. Then we can talk, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Sounds good. I wanted to talk to you about something also.”
Soon, they sat down to bowls of clam chowder and fresh bread from the corner grocer. “So, you first,” she said, breaking off little pieces of bread to drop into her soup.
“I met Russ’ mom when I took him home.”
Caitlyn sat back in her chair at his words, waiting.
“He’d expressed surprise and gratitude when he got his first paycheck. The pay period rolled around after he’d only been with me for a week, but it was more than he expected. He immediately showed it to his mom, and I can tell it meant a lot to her, as well. She asked us to dinner and wants Russ to coordinate our schedules and her work schedule. I told her we’d do that. I hope that was okay.”
“Oh… of course. Yeah, that’d be fine.”
“I think he just reminds me so much of myself. Dad’s out of the picture. Mom’s doing the best she can. And Russ has a lot of responsibility to help.”
Caitlyn’s face softened and she leaned forward, placing her hand on his arm, her fingertips sliding over his skin. “I’m glad he’s working out for you.”
“You’re the one who has to take the kudos for sending him my way, Caitlyn. You’re the one that saw his potential.” She seemed to hesitate again, so he prodded, “Now, you were going to tell me about your day.”
After a moment’s prevarication, she finally opened up to tell him about the drug dogs indicating something at her car, her brother and brother-in-law being there as she felt interrogated even if it wasn’t a true interrogation, and then ending with nothing being found.
Brow creased, he licked his lips before asking, “And they think it was the scent of all the boxes from T&B?”
She shrugged, her eyes staying pinned on her now-empty bowl.
“Hey, sweetheart. You okay?”
Her gaze lifted and a half-hearted smile curved her lips. “Yeah. I mean what else could it be, right? Even Terri and Bjorn told me that they’ve gotten stopped at airports when they pack some of their products. They even remember seeing a woman stopped by the drug dogs when all she had was some homemade naan bread in her suitcase.”
“I’m sure it was upsetting, though. You probably felt as though everyone was wondering what you did, and then to have your brother right there, you really felt under the microscope.”
“I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but it was embarrassing, nonetheless.”
He took her hand and drew her to her feet, guiding her to his lap. She settled on his thighs, her arms wrapped around his neck, and lay her head on his shoulder.
“So, is that it, or are there any lingering issues?”
She sighed. “That’s it. I told them about T&B’s products in my car and they searched and found nothing. So, it’s a done deal. No harm, no foul as my brothers would say.”
So many emotions crossed Caitlyn’s face, and his heart ached for her. He wanted to be her champion in all things. Take away the pain. Keep the world at bay. But all he could offer was a shoulder to cry on. “And yet, it feels like a foul, doesn’t it?”
She sniffed and nodded, her shoulders slumping as though the weight of the world rested on them.
“Was there anything else, babe?”
She stared at him for a long moment, but he had no idea what she was thinking. Finally, heaving another sigh, she shook her head. “No.”
He wasn’t entirely sure he believed her, but if she needed to work something out on her own, he wanted her to feel free to do so. He just hoped when she was ready, she’d come to him. “You need time to yourself tonight?”