“He’s an NFL player,” Michael added. “Cam Hartson. Safety for the Boston Bobcats.”
Mia looke
d up sharply. “He is? I guess that explains the expensive car.” He could probably pay for the repairs himself without blinking. But that’s not how she did things. She’d find a way to pay for them, even if it killed her.
It was a matter of pride. And right now that’s all she had left.
“Did you have a good day at school?” she asked them softly. Michael shrugged and Josh nodded.
“We had hamburgers for lunch,” Josh told her. “They were even better than in Kansas City.”
Mia smiled, despite herself. Leaning across the table, she ruffled his hair. “I’m glad it went okay. How about you go and wash up. I think I can see a bit of hamburger still on your lips.”
Josh smiled and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sure. Can I watch some TV?”
Mia nodded, her heart soft as she watched her youngest leave the kitchen.
If only Michael was as easy to keep happy.
“So school was okay?” she asked her eldest.
“Yeah.” Michael ran his finger along his bottom lip. “Mom, how are we going to pay for the repairs?”
“I’ll find the money. And you can repay me by helping Sam out around the house.”
“You don’t have the money. I’m not stupid. I know that Dad didn’t leave anything. We wouldn’t be here if we had any cash.” He looked down at the table, shaking his head. “I’m sorry I messed up. This is my fault.”
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Sweetheart, you’re still a kid. I know you like to think you’re an adult, but you aren’t. You don’t have to worry about how I keep a roof over our head or find money for repairs. That’s my job, not yours.”
Michael swallowed, but said nothing.
“Okay?” she prompted.
“Okay. But I’m gonna get a job. Help you out around here. You’re not alone, Mom.”
“The best you can do to help me out is to work hard at school and help out with Josh. Speaking of which, can you go and check he’s actually washed his face?”
“Yeah, sure.” Michael stood and smiled at her. His teenage mood swings would be the death of her. “Can you believe Cam Hartson was driving through this tiny town? I wonder where he’s going. He’s miles away from Boston. Though he got injured a couple of weeks ago. Maybe that has something to do with it.” His eyes lit up. “Hey, do you think he’s getting treatment around here? Is there a big hospital nearby?”
“I’ve no idea.” Mia walked over to the refrigerator to pull out some food. She liked to feed the boys early. That way they had plenty of time to burn off the energy before bedtime. “Hopefully he was driving through and we won’t see him again.”
Yeah. And she’d keep telling herself that. Because she didn’t have the time to think about sexy NFL players who had a swagger that made her legs feel weak.
“Cam Hartson. Yeah, I know him,” Sam said later that evening, when Michael asked him about the football player. “His family comes from around here. His dad lives just up the road. And you’ll have heard of his brother, Gray.”
“His brother’s Gray Hartson, the singer?” Mia asked.
“Yeah.” Sam nodded. “There are four boys and a girl. All of them live around here.”
Five kids? Damn, two were enough to deal with.
“But Cam lives in Boston, so he must be visiting,” Michael mused. “I wonder if he’s staying with his dad.”
“Michael, don’t start stalking football players. You have too much school work for that.” Mia shot him a look and Michael groaned.
“I wasn’t planning on stalking anybody. It’s just interesting, that’s all. I thought this place would be boring, but it isn’t.”
“I like boring. Boring is good,” Mia said, shaking her head.