“I’m all for that.”
He was here. He wanted them all in his life. That was all she needed to know.
“Can we talk, man to man?” Michael asked Cam later, as he put their dirty plates into Sam’s old dishwasher. Mia had taken an exhausted Josh to bed, and was sitting upstairs with him until he fell asleep. Sam had taken the opportunity to head for the bar. Cam got the impression that all this angst was too much for the guy.
And now Michael was standing in front of him, twisting his arms as his gaze barely met Cam’s.
“Sure.” Cam closed up the dishwasher. “You want to do it here?”
“Can we g
o outside? It’s more private.”
Cam nodded. “Lead the way.”
The night air was cool as they walked onto the deck. Beneath the light of a single outside lamp, Cam could see that the wooden boards were slippery with moss. The table and chairs at the far end looked like they’d seen better days. Maybe in the 1970s. Michael leaned against the rail – which thankfully looked solid – and swallowed hard.
“I’m sorry for hitting you,” he said, his voice small. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” Cam wanted to tell him it didn’t hurt, but thought better of it.
“And for asking you to leave. I was angry and upset, but I shouldn’t have done that either. I just…” Michael shook his head, as though he couldn’t find the right words. “I guess nobody wants to think of their mom like that.”
“You shouldn’t have to. What happened between your mom and me should have stayed between us until she was ready to tell you. I messed up, too.” Cam ran his palm through his hair. “Neither of us meant to hurt you. But especially not your mom. None of this is her fault. She doesn’t deserve to be shouted at.”
Michael looked down at the ground, his expression guilty. “I’ve been an idiot.”
“We’ve all been idiots at one time or another. The secret is in how we move on from that.” Cam leaned against the brick of the house, staring at the teenager in front of him. “It’s good that you want to protect your mom. But maybe sometimes she doesn’t need protecting.”
“She’s pretty kick ass.” Michael nodded.
Cam’s lips twitched. “Yeah, she is. Single moms usually are.”
Finally, Michael lifted his eyes to Cam’s. “She missed you. She cried a lot while you were gone. I hated it.”
Cam hated hearing it. All he wanted to do was hold her. “I’ve missed her, too.” He moistened his lips with his tongue. “I’ve missed all of you.”
“Do you think…” Michael trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Do you think you could try again with her?”
Cam eyed him steadily. “I want to,” he admitted. “But only if you’re okay with it. You’re her priority. You and Josh. You should know that. If you don’t want this to happen between us then it won’t.”
“I think I do.” Michael nodded. “Yeah, I really do.”
Relief flooded Cam’s chest. “I do too. But we need to see what your mom wants. If anything happens between us, we’d take it slow. We’d agreed on that. Maybe date for a while. Take you guys out to the movies or a theme park. Nothing scary.”
“But you’ll stay with her tonight, right?”
Cam’s eyes widened. “You want me to stay here?”
Michael shrugged. “I don’t want her crying all night again. It keeps me awake.”
The thought of it wasn’t doing much for Cam, either. “I guess it’s up to your mom,” he said, reaching for the handle of the back door. “Come on, let’s go in. It’s freezing out here.”
“He really said that?” Mia asked, her voice low, so as not to wake the boys up. Michael had gone upstairs shortly after she came down to announce that Josh was finally asleep. He’d muttered something about an assignment due by Friday as he hugged his mom tightly. Then he’d turned to Cam and held out his hand. Cam had shaken it, impressed by how tight Michael’s grip was.
“Yep.” Cam nodded. “He wants me to stay the night.”
She bit down a smile, glancing at him through her thick lashes. “You know the walls are paper thin, right?”