“But it’s just Merry!” Ethan yelled back. “I saw him from the window!”

Ethan wasn’t allowed to open the door unless it was to his gramma.

“Right!” I returned, shoving up from the bed. “Get it.”

I was halfway down our short hall when I heard Ethan’s excited, “Hey, Merry!”

“Hey, man.” I heard Merry say back.

I hit the living room to see them breaking their handshake.

Ethan whirled to me.

“Look, Mom! Merry’s here!” he told me, something he’d already told me.

Suffice it to say, when I’d told my kid we were going out to dinner with Merry that night, he’d been in fits of glee.

In fact, he was so excited, he’d even told me he wanted to cancel plans with Teddy so we could all go to the game together and then get ice cream after.

Therefore, the first time in my life acting selfishly with my kid (but also because I didn’t want to push things too hard too fast for Merry, thinking a quick dinner might be better than forcing him to spend hours with Ethan), I’d told him no.

Due to his exhilaration, I’d expected devastation.

But I’d forgotten in his childlike excitement that my kid was growing up. And apparently, part of that was him understanding that Merry and me needed some time just him and me, especially this early with what we were starting.

So Ethan had relented easily.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t jazzed about dinner.

Obviously, seeing as at that moment, he’d totally forgotten to hide his excitement and act the man of the house around Merry.

“I see,” I muttered, moving in and looking to Merry, who stood in the open front door, watching and waiting for me to get to him.

Also watching and waiting for me to give him clues as to how to play this in front of Ethan.

I’d taught him that too, the hard way, and he’d learned, giving me what I needed.

God, Merry.

I moved close, lifted a hand, touched his chest, and held his gaze as I tipped back my chin.

He moved a hand to my waist and bent in, touching his lips to my cheek.

We broke apart.

“You can be gooey,” Ethan declared, and both Merry and I looked to him. “Mom loves gooey. She’d be gooey all the time if I let her,” he went on to share. “With me, she has to cap it. It’ll be good to have another guy around so she can get more shots at bein’ gooey.”

I stared at my son.

Then I said, “Shut up, kid.”

He looked at me, grinning wickedly. “Forget that, Mom.” His eyes went to Merry. “I’m almost eleven,” he announced. “Eleven years, dude, where it’s been just Mom and Gramma and me. They’re ladies. I’ve had no other guy around. They rock, but I’m a guy with two ladies. I think you get me. Now I’ve got a guy. That’s a big thing for me. So, just sayin’, I’m so totally spilling anything you need.” He jerked his thumb at himself and completed his grand offer. “You wanna know, I’m your man.”

I put my hands on my jeans-clad hips and repeated, “Uh…shut up, kid.”

Ethan kept grinning. “No way. Girls stick together and I’ve had years of that. But guys stick together too. You’re screwed.”

I looked to the ceiling wondering, after dancing around for years in a G-string on a stage with a bunch of losers ogling me, if I had it in me to blush.

I found I didn’t.

I also found Merry’s hand at the small of my back.

I turned my attention to Merry for him to tell me immediately, “He’s not wrong, babe. Guys stick together.”

“See!” Ethan cried.

“How about you two guys go out for dinner and I’ll stay home, knitting or something?” I suggested.

That was when Merry’s hand slid along my back, his fingers curling around my side and pulling me into his side.

“You start knitting, you totally lose cool mom status,” Ethan warned.

“What?” I asked him. “You mean your friends coming over and me using them to try on sweaters with penguins and crap on the front won’t go over good?”

Ethan made a face.

Merry emitted a chuckle.

Vaguely, I heard a car door slam but felt Merry’s movements, so I looked from my kid to him to see him looking over his shoulder through the storm door to see what had made that sound.

I also felt his body instantly get tight beside mine.

At his reaction, I looked beyond him and saw Peggy’s minivan at the curb behind Merry’s Excursion, Peggy clearly visible in the passenger seat and Trent was making his way around the hood.

Shit, I’d forgotten he’d said he was going to be here Friday at five thirty to pick up Ethan.

Of course, I’d told him Ethan wouldn’t be here so he shouldn’t bother.

But now Ethan was here, so was I, and so was Merry.

Damn.

Merry started to disengage from me as the room started to get heavy with his pissed off, badass vibe.

Shit and damn.

“Ethan, go to your room,” I ordered swiftly.

“What’s Dad doin’ here?” he asked.

I looked to my son to see him staring confused out the storm door.

“Ethan, kid, go to your room. Please.”

“I told him I didn’t wanna come this weekend.” His voice was pitching higher, almost whiny in a way I never heard anymore unless he was really tired or not feeling good.

He really didn’t want to be with his dad.

And he really wanted to spend time with Merry and me.

“Ethan—”

“Man,” Merry spoke over me, “help your mom out by doin’ what she says, yeah?”

Ethan’s eyes jerked to Merry, he nodded, then looked at me before he dashed toward the hall.

Another boon. Ethan looked up to Merry, so when Merry spoke, he didn’t talk back.

On this thought, I heard the storm door let out its opening whisper and I looked that way to see Merry stalking out of it.

Badass unleashed.

Shit!

I moved to follow him, watching as Trent, nearly halfway up the walk, eyes to feet it weirdly seemed he was dragging, sensed another presence and looked up.

He got one look at Merry and jolted to a stop in a way that would have been funny if I wasn’t worried Merry was about to go apeshit.

I dashed out the door and down the walk, listening to Merry order, “Turn around and go home.”

“Who are you?” Trent asked.

“I’m the man tellin’ you to turn around and go home,” Merry answered.

Trent stared up at him, but when I hit Merry’s side, he tore his eyes away and looked to me.

“Who’s this guy?” he asked, jerking a thumb at Merry.

“Answered that,” Merry bit out, and Trent’s gaze shot back to him. “Now, get in your car and go home.”

“Trent!” Peggy shouted from the car, not opening her window, opening her door. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Ma’am, remain in the car,” Merry ordered loudly.

I watched Peggy register an order that went against what she wanted to do and I saw what she hid barely under the surface.

Apparently, no man but God told Peggy Schott what to do, that “God” being in her head, which meant no man told Peggy Schott what to do.

Instantly, she was visibly ticked.

“Where’s my kid?” Trent asked.

I decided to try to take over. “I told you, Trent, he needs a break from you. And Ethan told you he wasn’t comin’ this weekend. I also confirmed that with you.”

“And Trent told you he was.” Peggy had decided to wade in. She was out of the minivan and hoofing it our way.

I looked to the back to the two car seats her kids were in.

“Mrs. Schott, your children are in your vehicle,” Merry told her, and Peggy’s eyes snapped to him at him using her name.

“You know me?” she asked.

“I know you,” Merry answered, his voice low with more meaning than the possibility that I’d shared who Peggy was.

She made it to Trent and her head tipped to the side as she stared at Merry.

“You were there, at the bar with Cheryl,” she decreed, as if this was news Merry was unaware of.

“I was,” Merry confirmed. “Now, both of you, please return to your vehicle and go home.”