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asked.
    “No.”
    “That’s—” She stopped herself, withholding her opinion. “What do you think?”
    Mitch was fairly certain his mother was relieved, but he didn’t know how he felt about it yet. “I think I’ll manage without her.”
    “Of course you’ll manage,” she said immediately. “Why wouldn’t you? You’ve done—”
    “Mum! The bus is here. I’ve got to run.”
    “All right, dear! Call me later!”
    Mitch heard a few more good-byes in the background before he hit the Off button. He set the phone down and leaned against the counter. The bus wasn’t anywhere in sight and a glance at his watch told him he had a few more minutes. He just couldn’t bear to hear his mother offer praise when he didn’t think he deserved it. She thought he could do anything, and even though he usually shared her confidence, he wasn’t so sure it was warranted just now.
    Thea was right about one thing. He wouldn’t be taking on the task of raising the kids alone. He only had to go as far as his refrigerator for proof of that. He could probably count on his mother’s version of meals-on-wheels at least two times a week. More, if he asked her. Amy would be good for some baby-sitting time. She’d been married three years but she and David were in no hurry to have children. Gabe and Kathy’s kids had always been surrogate grandchildren to his parents; but now that he had them in his care, the pressure to reproduce was really off him and Amy. There was no way of knowing how long the reprieve would last.
    Mitch finished his beer, rinsed the bottle, and dropped it in the blue recycling bin inside the breezeway. He started out to wait for the bus, felt the chill, and went back for his coat. In the past he wouldn’t have thought twice about making a jaunt to the corner without his jacket. Even if he had had to wait there a few minutes he’d have been okay. Now, with the twins watching his every move, and Emilie grading his screwups as mild, moderate, and I’m-gonna-call 911, he tried to make sure he practiced what he preached. Just that morning he wouldn’t let Grant go for the bus without snapping his jacket. Mitch couldn’t very well go outside now without a coat.
    He made it as far as the driveway when he saw Gina’s bright yellow Nissan Xterra turn the corner. Case and Grant loved her banana car and were always clamoring for rides. Mitch wished she had chosen another color from the Crayola box. Like black.
    He waited on the sidewalk for her to pull up. The street in front of his house was wide enough to permit parking on both sides. Gina stopped the SUV directly beside him and threw it into park. That was another thing that bothered Mitch. She bought a tough little truck-based SUV with an automatic transmission. It was some kind of vehicle castration as far as Mitch was concerned. It made him uncomfortable.
    “Hey,” he greeted her when she fairly danced up to him. “What’s up?”
    Gina threw her arms around his neck, gave a little hop, and clapped her thighs around his hips, locking her ankles behind him. Scooching around a bit to find a comfortable cradle against his groin, Gina waited for Mitch’s hands to cup her bottom. As soon as he did she planted her mouth firmly over his.
    Mitch was the first to draw back. “Wow,” he said softly. “What’s that for?”
    “I sold a house today.” Beaming, she kissed him again, humming against his mouth so the kiss fairly vibrated.
    Out of the corner of his eye Mitch was watching for that other banana ride, the No. 83 bus, and wishing Gina would give him back his tongue. He gently disengaged himself from her mouth and a moment later from the barnaclelike hold she had on his body. “This part of town is zoned residential,” he said dryly. “You want to put on a show, we should take this outside the town limits.”
    Gina caught Mitch’s wrists and leaned back against the Xterra. Tugging, she got him to take another half step toward her. “Too bad. I’d let