Free Running Interference by Elley Arden Page A

winced. It figured he had some ugly ulterior motive for dropping into town like this.
Son of a bitch!
She’d been stupid enough to believe he’d suddenly wised up and missed everybody.
    “I wish my mom was moving to Boston,” Jace said. “Then at least I could see you again.”
    Cam patted the kid’s back. “I’ll tell you what. If you end up in Chicago, I’ll make sure you have tickets to the game when New England comes to town, and we will hang out as much as we can.”
    There was the generous streak that had her reeling since the day they spent at the school. So sweet. A turn-on even. If she weren’t so pissed about his reason for being here.
    “That sounds awesome,” Jace said.
    A few beats of silence, and she contemplated rejoining them, telling Cam she could take it from here, but Jace’s voice had her halting. “If you had a choice, who would you want to live with, your mom or your dad?”
    That
was where she had to draw the line. Cam Simmons was no man to be giving advice when it came to fathers. It was time for him to go.
    She didn’t want any ice cream tonight after all.

Chapter Six
    Cam stared at the young boy and tried to wade through his own confusing feelings about moms and dads and where kids fit between them. In his experience, a kid didn’t need a dad as much as he needed his mom. That was the biggest lesson life had taught Cam by giving him an absentee father. But Jace had a father in his life, and the boy probably couldn’t imagine not having one, so Cam would ease him into it.
    “You know, it’s hard to see it during times like this, but … ”
    “Hey!” Tanya buzzed by the sofa on her way to the kitchen. “I’m going to make popcorn, and, I’m sorry, bud, but it’s probably best if Cam goes home.”
    The interruption didn’t feel accidental. She’d overheard him, hadn’t she? And she didn’t trust him to answer the question tactfully. Come on. What did she expect him to say?
I didn’t have a dad in my life, and it hasn’t hurt me.
Or how about,
fill up the hole with professional achievements, fast cars, big houses, and pretty women.
    Whatever. He stood. But the kid reached up and grabbed his hand. “You said he could stay.” Jace directed the comment over the sofa back at Tanya, who was fumbling around the kitchen.
    “Yeah, but then I thought about it, and I thought it would be better if it was just you and me.” She stood from a crouch at the bottom cupboard and glanced at Cam. She must’ve seen Jace holding onto him, because she closed her eyes briefly and then said, “Maybe I was wrong. I don’t know. I’m just trying to do what’s best.”
    If he had to guess he’d say “best” was whatever resulted in the least amount of strings.
    “I can’t stay long,” he said to the kid.
    When Tanya returned to the living room with a bowl full of popcorn, she didn’t squeeze onto the couch beside him. She sat cross-legged on the floor and manned the television.
    Ten minutes into a re-run of
Cops
, Jace left to use the bathroom.
    Cam tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, just so you know I wasn’t going to answer that question in a way that would’ve trashed your brother.”
    She nodded, but didn’t look at him. “When were you going to tell me you only came home to convince your mother to leave?”
    Shit.
She’d heard that part, too. Probably not the best context to hear it in either. Tanya was fiercely protective of this neighborhood. “Well, I haven’t actually told her yet. I only told Jace because I thought it might make him feel better.”
    She looked at him and rolled her eyes. Before she could blast him, Jace returned.
    Cam had said he wasn’t going to stay long, but at 1:00 a.m., he was still there. Jace was curled up on the couch with his feet on Cam’s lap, and Tanya was stretched out on the floor. The last half of
X-Men
flickered in the darkened room, and Cam had to fight off sleep. Now, he should definitely go. From the snoring sounds beside him,