The Inmate (68)

Josh is done with his homework and is quietly reading in bed. He puts down his book when he sees me walk in.

“I brushed my teeth,” he tells me.

I settle down on the edge of his bed. For the first five years of Josh’s life, the two of us shared a bed out of necessity. (It was excellent for my love life.) And now the kid has his own room. “Good job. All the homework is done?”

“Yep.” He hesitates. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Why is that guy Shane staying with us?”

“He’s an old friend.” The lie is getting easier and easier. “He’s just going to be staying a few nights. Why?”

Josh shrugs his skinny shoulders. “No reason.”

“Don’t you like him?”

He hesitates, and my stomach sinks. Josh likes everyone. Although I thought it was possible he and Shane might not be the best of friends immediately, it never even slightly occurred to me that Josh wouldn’t like him.

“He’s okay,” Josh says carefully.

“Was he mean to you?”

“No.”

“Is there something you don’t like about him?”

“No…” But again, there’s that hesitation. There’s something he’s not telling me, and it makes me crazy that I can’t get it out of him.

I don’t know what Shane could have done wrong though. I have had my eyes on them practically the entire time since Josh has been home. Shane has been great with him, considering he has zero experience with kids. I mean, Tim was a teacher. That was what he did for a living. Obviously, he was better at making friends with a ten-year-old boy than a guy who spent the last ten years of his life in prison.

“How long is he staying?” Josh asks.

“Like I said, not that long. Maybe a few nights.”

Is it my imagination, or does Josh look relieved?

I don’t know what Josh has against Shane, but I’m not going to let on to Shane about any of this. He would be completely crushed. I have to pretend Josh thought he was great.

When I get into the guest bedroom, Shane has just finished putting the new sheets on the bed. He’s shaking out the blanket, but he lays it down when he sees me. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey.”

“So…” He rubs the scar on his forehead. “Did Josh say anything about me?”

I can’t tell him that Josh seemed happy at the idea he wouldn’t be staying long. “He liked you.”

It was the right thing to say. A smile stretches across Shane’s lips. “That’s awesome. You know, I was thinking, maybe until I get a job, I could be here when Josh gets home from school every day and keep an eye on him for you.”

“Oh…” I avert my eyes. “Well, the thing is, we already have somebody who is here every day. So…”

“But this would save you money. And I’d get to spend time with him.”

“Let me think about it,” I say, even though I won’t. There’s no way I’m getting rid of Margie, especially when Josh doesn’t seem that crazy about Shane. “Listen, there’s some clothing you could wear in the top drawer over there.”

Shane opens the top drawer of the dresser by the bed. He pulls out a men’s T-shirt, which I now realize has the word Syracuse on the front of it. It’s where Tim went to college, and from the look on Shane’s face, he knows it. “Is this Tim’s clothing?”

“Yes,” I admit. “It was in the house so…”

Shane drops the T-shirt in disgust. “Great.”

“I’m sorry.” It hits me now how inappropriate this was. It didn’t seem like a bad idea before though. I mean, it’s just clothes. “I’ll get you something else to wear tomorrow.”

He lets out a sigh and drops onto the edge of the bed. “No, it’s fine. I can’t be picky. And it’s all just clothes.”

“I washed it,” I say weakly.

He looks down at his lap. “It’s my fault you were even in this position. If I had protected you better from him that night…”

“You tried to warn me.”

“I did…” He raises his eyes. “It kills me that he’s been taking advantage of you since you came here. I’ll never forgive myself for letting it happen.”

I settle down beside him on the bed. “It wasn’t your fault. You were in prison. Anyway, it worked out in the end.” I gently place a hand on his. “I’m glad you’re out now.”

He chuckles. “Me too.”

He looks down at my hand on his, and then his eyes rake over me. The longing on his face is unmistakable. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. The man has been in prison for a decade. He hasn’t even touched a woman in all that time.

And Shane is still very attractive. I used to swoon when I watched him running across the football field, and he’s even sexier now that he’s older. He’s more muscular than he was in high school—he must have worked out a lot in prison. He’s hard to resist.

But I can’t do this. And I better take my hand off his. Now.

When he notices I have withdrawn from him, he looks away. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

I try to keep my voice even. “It’s okay.”