Page 99 of Love Me Boldly

I raised my brows to Holly, and she gave me a nod.

“Go get it, kid. But be careful. It’s kind of heavy.”

He clamored off his chair so quickly it tipped to two legs before re-righting itself with athunkof wood hitting the tile floor.

“He’s so damn funny,” I told Holly.

“He’s excited.” She glanced toward the front door. “I don’t…well, he doesn’t have a lot of men in his life, you know?”

“It might make me a jerk, but I’m kind of glad to hear that.”

Her cheeks turned pink as she rolled her eyes. “Shut up,” she mumbled.

“You always say that’s not nice,” Jonah scolded Holly as he carried back the large bag. It dragged on the floor, and he kicked it as he lifted it to the chair. “You should say you’re sorry.”

“Yeah, Holly,” I teased and pouted. “You should say you’re sorry.”

She tossed her napkin at me and growled playfully. “Open it up, kiddo. What’d he get you?”

Attention diverted, and the subject changed, Jonah cried out, “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to see!”

He tore at the bag like he’d turned into a feral animal, and red paper went flying. Once freed from the bag, he dug into the wrapping paper with the same excitement, and soon, his eyes were rounding into large orbs, and his jaw was dropping. “Skates?” he asked, almost so quietly we had to lean in to hear him. He wiped his hand over the box of Bauer hockey skates and stared at me in awe. “You bought me new skates?”

“Thought you could use an extra pair.” I didn’t want to point out that the old ones were too worn and not sturdy enough. Holly was doing her best, and a great job at that.

He gaped at me and stared at his mom. I’d never seen him so silent. And then he ran around the chair and threw his body into me. My arms wrapped around him on instinct.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Graham! This is the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

He shined his massive smile up at me and then to Holly, who sniffed and blinked harshly. “Isn’t it amazing, Mama? I finally have my first pair of brand new skates! Mr. Graham is amazing!”

“It’s really amazing, kiddo.”

“Wow.” He turned back and hugged me tight. I kept my gaze on Holly, watching her son hug me as her eyes filled with tears. My own started to feel the sting of dust in the air. “Thanks so much, Mr. Graham. It’s really nice. They’re my favorite.”

I patted his back and wished I was comfortable enough with him, with both of them, to pull him into my lap and hold on to him even longer. “I’m glad, Jonah. I’m glad you like them.”

“Like them! They’re the best! When do we get to go skating again?”

“Friday,” I told him. Holly and I had worked out the plans last night on the phone. “Your mom said I can take you Friday, so we’ll break them in then, okay?”

“Awesome!” He pulled out of my arms and went back to his box, brushing his hand over the top again.

“Brand new skates that no one’s ever worn before. This is so great.” He bent over the box and hugged it. I gave up on blaming dust as my vision grew blurry.

He wasn’t just a sweet and smart kid. He was thankful, too. And that said it all about how he’d been raised.

I looked to Holly to see her wiping away tears beneath her eyes, and I sucked back my own.

“Can I try them on, Mama?” he asked. “Just for a bit?”

“They should come with guards,” I told her, in case she was worried about her flooring.

“In the living room,” she said, nodding. “Give Graham and me some time to clean up, okay? And then we’ll have to do bedtime soon.”

“Bath, too?” His face scrunched up in displeasure.

Holly chuckled. “How about we give you a night off from the torture of clean skin?”

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