Page 4 of Only One I Ever Wanted

“Son?” I blinked as a lanky child somewhere between toddler and teen stood. I wasn’t around kids much. My babysitting days had included pets, not kids before I’d been able to get a regular job. “Oh, hi.”

The boy waved, but he didn’t look up from his handheld game.

“Do you have somewhere he could sit and play his game?”

“Sure. I don’t have much yet. I just moved in yesterday, but there’s a chair.”

Sully snickered. “A chair?”

“Literally. A chair.” I glanced over my shoulder. “The kitchen is all wet, though.”

He held up the ShopVac. “I come prepared. Danny, this is my...friend, Nora.”

Friendswas a stretch. Maybe once upon a time. Alongtime ago. “Hi, Danny.”

Danny gave a barely there nod, then they both came in. Sully peered into the kitchen with a whistle, arms full. “Definitely broken.”

“Thanks. Your skill is masterful.”

He chuckled, his eyebrow arching with humor. He gave me a once over with those hooded, dark eyes. Had he just checked me out?

God, he was probably married.

Heck, I’dmarriedhis best friend. There had been absolutely nothing between us.

Mostly.

He put the vacuum and his toolbox down. He turned to Danny. “Pretty sure your sneakers won’t make it. Mind if I pick you up?”

The kid’s eyes went wide as he looked up from his Switch. “Uh. Okay.”

Surprised that the kid looked reticent, I frowned.

Sully swung him up as he sloshed across the kitchen in his thick soled boots. “Where to?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Just through there.” I pointed to the doorway across from us.

He laughed as he set him down on the other side of the towels. “You weren’t kidding about the chair.”

“Man, that’s cool!” Danny’s voice was little more than a whisper, but there was obvious excitement in it.

He nodded to the chair. “I’ll be back. Sit tight.”

“’Kay.”

Sully came back through the door. His mussed hair fell over his forehead, making his eyes seem even darker. “Let’s see what’s going on, shall we?”

“Hope you know. I ran it to wash the dust off the dishes, Gene supplied. Said I could use a box of dishes in his garage since I had nothing when I arrived.”

Shut up for God’s sake, Nora.

“Since I don’t see a floor full of suds, I’m assuming you didn’t do something stu—er,sillylike putting dish soap in it.”

“No, I’m not that clueless. I used one of those pod things. It was working just fine when I left to put away my clothes. I came back in to get a glass of water, and there was water pouring everywhere.”

“Looks like we’ll have to play detective. Why don’t you go sit down? Not sure I want you stepping in this water with your bare feet.”

“Right.” I turned around. There wasn’t anywhere to sit. I was still figuring out the furniture for the small kitchen.

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