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rack and then pulled up the door to shut it. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, and it has nothing to do with being a single mom.”
    I didn’t bother answering this time, mostly because I didn’t want to. This conversation was headed into repeat station and there were plenty of aspects of my life I didn’t care to rehash, so I switched gears completely.
    “You staying over tonight or heading home?” She had a small cottage about halfway between here and the city. It was actually the guest house on a much grander property owned by a couple of extremely wealthy snowbirds who spent half of the year up in New York. She’d scored the place for super cheap rent in exchange for keeping an eye on it while the owners were away.
    Deb glanced out the window and sighed. It was already pitch black out. “Might as well stay over. I’m in no mood to deal with the cows tonight.”
    One of the farmers up the road was having some severe fencing issues. Twice now, Deb had nearly had a run in with a cow who was standing in the middle of the road making no efforts to move out of the way of her oncoming vehicle. It was one thing during daylight hours, but another at night.
    “In that case, I’ll make the coffee.”
    She smiled. “I’ll get the cake.”
    Wyatt had been in bed for nearly an hour already and this was as close to a girl’s night out as Debbie and I tended to get. There would be coffee, cheesecake and a whole lot of Golden Girls re-runs until we both passed out. I’d told myself a few years back that the perfect slice of cheesecake paired with a delicious hot cup of coffee were better than anything a man could ever offer, but after spending the day with Derek, I was starting to see some serious fucking flaws in my theory.
    He had been more than just charming. He had been generous and kind – to my kid of all people. Watching Wyatt soak up all of Derek’s attention like it was water in the desert was enough to break my heart. The only father figure he’d ever had was Bobby, not that he wasn’t a great uncle, but he worked an insane amount of hours, making it hard for him to spend time with Wyatt on a regular basis.
    Realizing how much Wyatt needed to be around a man, and not having a fucking clue how to give that to him, was making me all kinds of crazy. On the one hand it made me want to call Derek and make plans for the following day and the day after that and the day after...never mind my feelings, Wyatt’s were definitely the ones weighing heaviest on my mind. But on the other hand, I was ready to pull the plug on the whole thing entirely. Ban Derek from my house. Never allow his and Wyatt’s paths to cross ever again. I mean, if my son could be so infatuated with him after just one day, what would happen after a couple of weeks, or even months? And then, how heartbroken would he be when Derek suddenly disappeared again?
    “Okay, what’s wrong?” Deb’s voice cut through my thoughts.
    “Nothing. Why would anything be wrong?” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to back up my casual tone.
    “Because I muted the TV five minutes ago and you’re still staring straight at it like nothing has happened.”
    Shit . “Oh.”
    “Yeah, oh. So, spill it. Is it Derek or Travis?”
    Double shit. I’d feel like an ass now saying it was Derek when I had far more pressing Travis matters to monopolize my thoughts. Which they had, all week. Until today. Until Derek.
    “It’s Wyatt.” It was. And Derek. But this way made me feel like less of a crappy mother.
    “Wyatt? Why? He’s perfectly fine. Healthy, happy and smart. What’s there to worry about?”
    She didn’t get it.
    “Just, I don’t know...seeing him with Derek. Realizing that he doesn’t have a dad. Knowing that there are things about growing up to be a man I can’t teach him. The injustice of him being saddled with a father like Travis who could only do more harm than good. It’s all kinds of crystal clear now, whereas before I was able to