A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (8 page)

“Is there a reason you can’t ask a direct question?”

“Excuse me, I thought I had. What is your impression of Hayley Christopher with whom, by your own admission, you’ve been acquainted with for a few weeks?”

“I like her. I think she’s smart and tough and she has a good heart.”

“Have you also had the opportunity to meet Fletcher Mariano?”

“I have.”

“And?”

Ray raised an eyebrow at her and took another drink of his soda.

Callie let out a soft little sigh. “What is your impression of Fletcher Mariano?”

“Seems like an okay kid to me.”

“Have you noticed anything unusual about him?”

“Like what?”

“Have you heard him speak?”

“No.”

“And you don’t find such behavior unusual in a child his age?”

“To tell you the truth, Callie, I haven’t had much opportunity to be around children his age since I was one. It’s possible, isn’t it, that if a child Fletcher’s age doesn’t speak, perhaps he has nothing to say? A lot of adults could take a cue from kids like him, don’t you think?”

The corner of Callie’s mouth went up, as if she were trying not to smile. “No doubt,” she agreed.

She seemed to carefully consider how to word her next question before she spoke. “Do you think, based on your brief acquaintance with Ms. Christopher, that she’s a fit guardian for Fletcher?”

“Sure. She’s as good as anybody else.”
Oops
. That hadn’t come out the way he’d planned. “I mean, uh, it looks to me like she takes as good of care of Fletcher as she can.” Yikes, the hole was getting deeper. “She does her best.”
Shut up, Ray. Shut up,
he warned himself. “Isn’t that all anyone can do?”

Callie Maxwell sat up straighter and bristled a bit. “Despite the negative publicity of the past few years, the Florida Department of Child Welfare does maintain standards of care for those under its jurisdiction. Making one’s best effort, while admirable, does not necessarily mean the standard has been reached.”

Callie stood, leaving the glass of water on a coaster. “Thank you, Mr. Braddock, for your time and for the water. You’ve been very helpful.”

Great
, Ray thought. He’d somehow managed to piss off the DCW social worker. Hayley would hate him if his words somehow worked against her application to be Fletcher’s foster mother.

“If there’s anything else, any more questions, anything I can do—”

“You’ve done more than enough,” Callie informed him as she stepped through the door and out into the late afternoon heat. “Thank you again. Ah, there’s Ms. Christopher now.”

Sure enough, Hayley’s Mustang turned into the drive. Ray gave a half-hearted wave and stepped back inside, figuring the less he was seen the better.

An hour later, Ray had his grill fired up and laid three hamburger patties over the flames. Hayley’s sliding door opened and she came toward him. She looked sexier than usual in snug-fitting, knee-length exercise pants and a matching, form-fitting, V-neck top. She had on sneakers, and her hair was bound up in a messy bun from which lots of wild tendrils had escaped.

Ray licked his lips. Man, he could look at her all day and not get tired of it. “Hi there.”

“Hi.” Her purposeful stride stopped a few feet short of where he stood. They stared at each other for a several awkward moments.

Ray turned to the grill and adjusted the temperature. He turned back to find her watching him. “You want a cheeseburger for dinner? Or were you planning to burn a chicken pot pie later?”

“No. I mean yes. Uh, I haven’t decided. I was wondering what my social worker was talking to you about.”

“Nothing much. She asked if I knew you and I said I did. What was my impression of you, if I’d met Fletcher, stuff like that. She wasn’t there very long before you came home.”

Hayley chewed the inside of her lip for a moment. “What’d you tell her?”

“How about if I bring these burgers over when they’re done, and I’ll tell you all about it?”

“O-okay. I’ve got some macaroni and cheese I could make.”

“Sounds good.” Ray turned back to the grill, lifted the lid and flipped the sizzling meat.

“It’s the kind from a box. It doesn’t take very long if I use the microwave.”

He looked at her again. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”

“I’ll try not to ruin it, if that’s what you mean.” She turned to go back inside, and Ray watched until the door slid closed behind her. His mouth watered. But it had nothing to do with anticipation of cheeseburgers and macaroni.

The hamburgers were mouth-watering, if Ray did say so himself. And Hayley’s macaroni and cheese, though thick and sticky, was edible. Ray didn’t care what he was eating as long as he got to do it at the same table as Hayley. And Fletcher. Even without the gift of speech, Fletcher could communicate well. As soon as they were done, Fletcher brought out a Candyland game and offered it to Ray.

“Ever since Molly taught him, it’s his new favorite thing to do. I bought it at a garage sale for fifty cents.”

“Okay, buddy, let’s see what you’ve got.”

“You two go on and play. I’ll clean up in here. And if you don’t mind, maybe I’ll shower before I give Fletcher his bath.”

“I don’t mind.”

Ray turned on Sports Center with the volume low and helped Fletcher set out the board, cards and game pieces.

Fletcher chose the red piece and went first, moving the little plastic man deliberately to the green square.

He looked up at Ray. Ray gave him a thumbs up. “Good job, buddy.”

Fletcher ducked his head. Something flickered in his eyes and across his face, gone almost as quickly as it came.

They’d finished the game by the time Hayley reappeared in a pair of baggy running shorts and a tank top. Ray had turned up the volume on the TV and was explaining the nuances of a baseball game to Fletcher.

“Okay, Fletch, time for your bath.”

Fletcher looked up at Ray, and Ray swore he knew what the kid was asking even though he never opened his mouth. “You got any boats in by the bathtub, kid?” Ray knew he did. He’d seen them the day Hayley was felled by a migraine. Fletcher slid off the couch and grabbed Ray’s hand. Ray stood, catching Hayley’s eye and mouthing, “Is it okay?”

“Sure, go ahead. Don’t forget to wash behind his ears.”

Hayley took Ray’s seat and mindlessly flipped channels, listening to Ray’s voice from behind the bathroom door. She couldn’t make out all the words, but she heard explosive sounds, as if he’d engaged Fletcher’s boats in sea combat.

She leaned her head against the back of the sofa, grateful for even this small reprieve from the constant vigil of watching over Fletcher. She did her best to entertain him, read to him, play childish games with him. But it wasn’t easy being a single parent. There was no break. There was constant concern for his welfare, bills to be paid. The worry of whether she would qualify as a foster mother and whether she was doing the right thing in trying.

Some evenings she wanted to climb the walls with boredom and loneliness before she fell into bed, exhausted by her own frustration.

Ray was an attractive distraction, but she was afraid of relying on him too much. She hated how much she looked forward to catching a glimpse of him. Even that could make her heart race. And if he was in close proximity to her? Forget it. She couldn’t control her reaction to him, and wondered if she even managed to hide it from him.

Ray made her want all the same things she’d once wanted with Trey. Hayley remembered everything she’d thought she had, and how easily she’d lost it all. How easily she’d been crushed by Trey’s abandonment. She’d fallen into a black hole, and it had taken her almost a year to climb back out. Fletcher, at least, gave her a reason to try. But there were too many days when she felt she was teetering on the brink of falling back into that black abyss.

Her cell phone rang, yanking her out of her potentially dismal thoughts. As a general rule, when her cell phone rang, it was one of her two close friends, Andre or Paige, or else it was one of her co-workers at the Y looking to switch classes. It was Paige. “What’s up, girlfriend?” she began in her usual upbeat style.

Hayley smiled, which was what she normally did whenever she talked to or spent time with Paige. Her enthusiasm for life and the people she cared about was infectious. No wonder she loved Paige.

“Not much, actually. We just finished dinner. Fletcher’s in the tub.”

There was a pause. “By himself? Girl, you can’t leave a little kid in a bathtub alone.”

“Uh, no. He’s not alone.” Hayley plunked herself back on the sofa, crossing her legs yoga-style.

Another pause, then Paige said, “Explain please.”

“It’s my neighbor. Fletcher seems to have taken to him.”

“Him? Explain please.”

“There isn’t anything to explain, Paige. He lives next door. In fact, he’s my landlord. A social worker showed up this afternoon before I got home, and he talked to her. He grilled some hamburgers. I made some truly disgusting macaroni and cheese. We ate, and now he’s giving Fletcher a bath. As soon as Fletcher’s in bed, he’s going to tell me what he and the social worker talked about.”

“You’re explaining a lot for someone who claims there’s nothing to explain,” Paige pointed out.

“That’s because I know you. Now that I’ve mentioned him, you won’t let it go.”

“Because someone has to look out for you. And even if I’m two thousand miles away, I do a pretty good job of it, if I do say so myself.”

“You do, Paige. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Andre.”

“We’ll talk about Andre later. Don’t try to change the subject. So this next-door neighbor? He’s…single?”

“Widowed.”

“Widowed? Does that mean he’s ancient?”

Hayley chuckled. “He’s a couple years older than me. I knew him from high school.”

During the brief silence that followed, Hayley could almost hear the wheels turning in Paige’s head before she spoke again. “Name please. I’ll Google him right now.”

“Paige, that isn’t necessary. I know him. He’s a good guy.”

“He was a good guy when you were in high school fifteen years ago. Name please.”

Hayley sighed. She knew Paige wouldn’t let it go. “It’s Ray Braddock.”

An even longer silence ensued before Paige spoke again. “Not
ripple effect
Ray Braddock?”

Having a BFF who knew all of your secrets was a double-edged sword at times. Paige had been there for the beginning and the end of her relationship with Trey. During one late night of girl talk their sophomore year, Hayley’d explained the ripple effect to Paige. She’d mentioned feeling it at a distance with Ray and up close with Trey. Paige filed it away in her memory bank like she did everything else.

“Yes,” Hayley answered softly. It sounded like bath time was winding down.

“Oh, girl. You better be careful.”

“I am. I will.”

“I’m going to Google him anyway,” Paige informed her.

“Google away,” Hayley replied.

“So what about this social worker? What’d she have to say?”

“Not much. She has to drop by a couple of times unannounced and check things out here. Make sure I’ve got food in the fridge, that I’m looking out for Fletch.”

“Funny, isn’t it, they never did that when he was with Steffie and that loser Carlos? Maybe they’d have rescued him sooner, and he’d be okay now.”

“Maybe. But I think Stef did the best she could for him. It’s not like I was around to help her, either.”

“Hay, when are you going to stop beating yourself up about that? You tried to help her more than once, and she wouldn’t go for it. It’s not like you didn’t have your own problems to deal with.”

Hayley sighed. “I know.” She heard the bathroom door open. “Paige, I’ve got to go. I love you.”

She disconnected and sat up straighter when Ray appeared with a clean, pajama-ed Fletcher in his arms.

“We have bathed,” Ray intoned. “We have fought in the mighty sea, and we have won. We’ve brushed our teeth. Let’s see the teeth, Fletch.” Fletcher obediently opened his mouth. “Yep. Looks good.

“Last but not least, we have chosen
Green Eggs and Ham
for our final reading of the evening.”

“And who will be reading that epic tonight?” Hayley inquired, steeling herself for the reply. She’d read Dr. Seuss books often, and this one in particular of late. She sometimes thought she’d go stark raving mad if she had to read it one more time. But she gritted her teeth and read it anyway, because Fletcher seemed to enjoy the silly rhyming stories.

Fletcher patted Ray’s shoulder and Hayley hopped up. She stood on tiptoe and kissed Fletcher’s soft little-boy cheek and ruffled his hair. “Okay, if Ray doesn’t mind, I’ll let him read to you this one time.” She held out her arms. “Do I get to tuck you in, though?” Fletcher leaned toward her and Ray let go. She loved the feel of Fletcher’s little arms tight around her neck. She carried him to his bed and pulled the covers over him. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” She kissed him once more. To Ray she mouthed a heartfelt, “Thank you.”

Back in the kitchen she set about making lunch for herself and Fletcher for tomorrow. She’d learned that the mornings slipped away, leaving her rushed and harried if she didn’t plan ahead. And bringing a lunch was much more economical than stepping out to buy one on her break.

Ray reappeared after a few minutes. “He’s out like a light. I didn’t even get to the good part before he fell asleep.”

“There is no good part after you’ve read it a hundred times, believe me.”

“Yeah, I can see how it would get old real quick.”

Hayley stowed the two paper lunch bags in the refrigerator then reached into the cabinet above. Ray watched in silence as she undid the rubber bands and the layers of wrapping to reveal a pack of cigarettes. She removed one of the extra long filter tips and offered the package to Ray. He shook his head, and she carefully rewrapped them and returned them to the cabinet.

“I know it’s stupid and unhealthy, but I can’t tell you how ready I am for Fletcher to fall asleep so I can get away with it.” She took a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and a corkscrew from a nearby drawer. Ray took the corkscrew from her and opened the bottle.