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“What?” Oh, hell no. Being patient with him was one thing, but letting him talk to her as if she was nothing was not about to happen.
She walked over, took his arm and pulled him away from the other arriving kids. “Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this attitude stops now. You do not snap at me and say ‘what’ like I’m some annoyance you’re forced to deal with.”
“You mean like I am to you?”
The retort slapped her in the chest. “What are you talking about? You’re not an annoyance.”
“But you’re forced to deal with me. I know I’m a burden. You had your own life and I’m messing everything up.”
Angela tried to keep up. Where had all of this come from? Last week he’d been happy about camp and teased her about liking Isaiah. Now he was angry and accusing her of not wanting him around? What could possibly have changed over a weekend?
She softened her voice. Concern replaced her anger. “No, you’re not. You’re my nephew and I love you.”
“Before my dad went to jail I saw you about once a month—if that—and less than that after. Now I’m supposed to believe you’re happy to have me in your apartment?”
Except for some holidays and birthdays she hadn’t spent a lot of time with Cory before now. Only because Angela had always thought Heather was selfish—funny how her instincts has been right on that. It didn’t mean she didn’t love him. “I would do whatever it took to make sure you were with family instead of put in the system. You’re not a burden. We’re making things work.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to make things work. I don’t need my parents and I don’t need your pity.” He turned to walk away.
Angela took his arm and spun him to face her. “Where is all of this coming from? What’s gotten into you?”
He jerked his arm away. “Just go to work, and leave me alone.”
“Cory.” Isaiah’s stern voice broke into their argument. “Don’t talk to your aunt like that.”
Angela’s heart imploded. Just what she needed—Isaiah witnessing how inadequate she was at dealing with teenage mood swings. She turned to him and wasn’t too embarrassed to miss how good the green of his Gators T-shirt looked against his skin, as it draped over his muscular torso.
“I’ve got this,” she said.
Isaiah looked from her to Cory’s slumped shoulders. “I know, but I can’t stand by and watch one of my camp kids be disrespectful. Cory, you need to apologize to your aunt.”
Cory nudged his foot against the floor. “Sorry.”
Isaiah crossed his arms over his chest. “The way you were disrespecting her was sorry. I need you to apologize. Like a man. Lift your chin and look her in the eye.”
Cory raised his head and squared his shoulders. When he met Angela’s eye, there was a flash of regret. “I’m sorry, Auntie.”
Angela placed her hand on his arm. He stiffened and glanced around. Several other kids from the camp watched. She squeezed his arm instead of pulling him into a hug. “Cory, I love you. You’re not a burden and you’re not unwelcome. I know we’re still working things out, but we can’t get through them if we don’t work together. You can talk to me about anything. Don’t forget that.”
He nodded and the stiffness left his body. “I know.” His gaze darted to the side. A young girl Angela recognized from the camp walked by on her way into the gym. Cory glanced back at Angela. “Can I go now?”
Angela nodded and dropped her hand. “We’ll talk more later.”
“Twenty laps,” Isaiah said to Cory. “Learning to control your emotions is part of the discipline you’ll need to be professional at anything. Think about that while you’re running.”
Cory sighed, but nodded and trudged into the gym. They both watched him go.
“What’s going on with him today?” Isaiah asked.
Angela shrugged. She wished she knew where this burden nonsense came from, but Isaiah didn’t need to know all her business. “He was in a bad mood when he woke up this morning, but it really started brewing over the weekend.”
“He lives with you?” Isaiah’s dark eyes met hers. She felt the force of his gaze like a blow to the stomach. It took her breath away. Without Cory there between them she was acutely aware of Isaiah’s closeness. They didn’t touch, but she could still feel him. His nearness was like an electric current in her vicinity. Powerful, potent and potentially dangerous.
She shifted away slightly. The distance didn’t help. Isaiah was a big man and her instincts didn’t want to escape his gravitational pull. “I’m his guardian for now. For the most part, things have been going really well. It’s just when he gets like this...” When I have no clue what I’m doing. “I’m still learning the mind of a thirteen-year-old boy.”
His shoulders relaxed and he arched an eyebrow. “You really don’t want to know everything that goes on in the mind of a thirteen-year-old boy. Trust me.” He chuckled. His laugh was low, warm and sexy.
“Is it that bad?”
Isaiah rubbed the back of his head and gave her a smile that had her sliding back into his circle. “Worse than you can imagine. I’ll talk to him today and keep a close eye on him. He’s a good kid, but I can tell he’s got a lot going on in his head.”
“You really don’t have to do that. I’m not asking for any special treatment. Thanks for stepping in. I was about to go straight fool on him and that wouldn’t have helped.” She didn’t like appearing as if she needed assistance, but she had to admit, Isaiah diffused Cory’s sour attitude much faster than she had.
“It’s no special treatment. When it comes to all of the kids in the camp, if I think one of them is struggling with something I talk to them. Sometimes it helps to talk things out with someone who isn’t a parent.”
“That’s one of the reasons I thought he’d be willing to talk to me. I’m not his mom and he’s never hesitated opening up to me before,” Angela said, frowning.
“If he’s staying with you, then he’s probably viewing you as a mother figure.”
Angela cringed and fought back panic. Mother figure. She reached for the diffuser charm she wore on a slim chain around her neck and inhaled the scent of lavender. She could do this. It was only for a summer.
“I guess you’re right.” She met Isaiah’s eyes. He seemed to watch where her fingers toyed with the charm of her necklace in the V of her blouse. Angela dropped her hand. For several tense seconds, the air stuck in her lungs.
He quickly looked away. Angela tilted her head to the side. Was he blushing?
Before she could be sure, he ran a hand over his face and shrugged. “Because of that, he may be more comfortable talking with someone else.”
“Someone like a famous basketball player whose memories of being thirteen will seem much cooler than mine.”
Isaiah shoved a hand into the pocket of his black basketball shorts. “Believe me, my teenage memories are very boring. Chess-club member, anchor for the school morning-news show, the ugliest glasses you’ve ever seen. I was an official nerd. Far from considered cool.”
Angela took in his tall, toned body and handsome face. For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine him as a nerd. “You’re joking.”
“I’m dead serious. My younger brother and older sister were the cool ones. I was the geeky middle brother along for the ride. My dad put me in basketball when I was fourteen to help me get exercise. I ended up liking basketball more than chess. Some days, I still can’t believe I made it to the pros.”
She’d seen him play and couldn’t imagine him not on the court. Finding out he hadn’t always been a superconfident jock actually made sense. He was the “good guy” of the team. The one with the preppy bow ties and always in the news when the team did something in the community. She’d admired that about him. “There’s nothing wrong with being a little nerdy.”
“I didn’t feel that way then. Girls did not look my way.” His voice didn’t hold any hint of lingering resentment, but just enough self-deprecation to make her chuckle.
“If they’d known you’d grow into such a fine man they wouldn’t have ignored you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away. The hint of red appeared beneath his pecan skin, which in turned made him even cuter.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “I wouldn’t want them to like me because they knew I was going to be a professional baller. I’d rather they liked me because I was me.”
“I’m sure there were other girls like me, who tended to crush on the smart guys in class. I don’t like brashness and bravado. I prefer someone more laid-back. Someone I can talk to all night about anything and everything.”
Like they’d talked the night he’d sat at her bar for hours. He hadn’t been interested in the women onstage, hadn’t drooled down the front of her shirt, or spent the entire time trying to get her to go home with him. He’d talked to her about movies, music, the right way to make a martini. She hadn’t truly enjoyed talking to a guy in a long time.
“Yeah, I like that, too.” His gaze probed hers. His pull made her want to reach out to him. Run her hands across the strength of his chest. Run her lips over the fullness of his.
Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention. Keri smiled but there was a sharpness in her eyes as she walked over that made Angela step back from Isaiah.
“Everything good?” Keri asked, and when she looked at Angela her eyebrows drew slightly together.
If Cory had guessed there was a vibe between her and Isaiah after a few seconds, then she shouldn’t be surprised Keri would look concerned after she and Isaiah had been speaking for several minutes.
Angela acknowledged Keri’s concern with a nod. “Everything is fine. Isaiah stepped in with Cory this morning. He’s in a bit of a mood.” She smiled at Isaiah. “Thanks again. I better get to work.”
Isaiah tilted his head forward. The slight bow would have looked silly if another man had done it, but seemed fitting when Isaiah made the motion. “You’re more than welcome.”
Keri shifted next to Angela. Angela tore her gaze from Isaiah, said a quick goodbye to Keri and got out of there before she forgot that succumbing to Isaiah’s pull right now had consequences that would affect Cory. Three more weeks of camp and then maybe she’d be able to find out if he was into her, too. Angela smiled on her way to the car.
* * *
Isaiah watched Cory as he stared with all the longing of a teen in love. The target of his longing was Denise, one of the girls in the camp. Cory sat alone on the bleachers during the lunch break, watching Denise but never gathering the courage to walk over to speak to her. Cory’s crush on the girl was obvious, but if she looked his way, he stammered and walked away. All of his bravado on the court evaporated when Denise smiled at him.
Isaiah could relate to the boy’s struggle. He’d felt the same way when he was a teen. Felt that way now whenever Angela smiled at him. Just like an angel, the brightness of her smile struck him speechless. She must think he was ridiculous.
He’d blushed! What the hell. Kevin would take his man card if he knew.
“What are you frowning about?” his teammate Will Hampton asked.
Will sat next to Isaiah on the bleachers. He was taller than Isaiah at six foot six, with dark skin, a full beard and dark eyes that were always sparkling with laughter. Will lived life with an enthusiasm that tended to spill over to everyone around him. That’s why he was one of the most popular members on the team.
Isaiah pointed toward Cory across the gym. “Cory is too afraid to go over and speak to Denise.”
Will followed Isaiah’s gaze. “He has been giving her puppy-dog eyes from day one.”
“Thing is, she’s been giving him the same puppy-dog eyes. I think she would respond well if he decided to talk to her.”
“Then he should talk to her,” Will said with the confidence of a guy who’d never been afraid to approach a woman he was interested in. Isaiah couldn’t quite call Will a player because even though he always had a new woman on his arm, he always ended up their friend and was yet to have one of his flings get possessive or clingy with him. Isaiah had no idea how the man did that.
“You don’t know how hard it is to go up to a girl. I used to be petrified to talk to girls I liked when I was that age.”
Will grinned and slapped Isaiah on the back. “That’s because you were overthinking things. Women are easy. You smile, tell them they have nice eyes and before you know it, they’re giggling and eating up everything you’re spitting. Treat them with respect when you’re ready to move on, or make them think it’s their idea that they’re ending things and you’re golden.”
“Shut up,” Isaiah said without any heat. “The world already knows you wiggle your finger and women come flocking.”
Will laughed and tugged on his collar. “Hey, I’ve got a gift.”
Isaiah looked at Cory again. Angela had said he didn’t have to talk to Cory, but he wanted to know why the boy had been so rude to his aunt. Maybe it was something as simple as pining over a girl he liked. Isaiah stood. “I’ll go talk to him. He was giving his aunt a hard time earlier today. There may be a few things on his mind.”
“Isn’t his aunt that bartender at Sweethearts?” Will’s voice rose in interest.
“Yes.” Isaiah’s tone hardened. He gave Will a hard look.
Will only smiled and leaned back. “I thought so. You two talked for a long time the night we were all out.”
“And?”
“And is she the reason why you’re so concerned about Cory?”
Isaiah would have stepped in if any of the kids at camp had disrespected their parent or guardian in his vicinity. Yet, he couldn’t deny something else made him especially want to lend a helping hand in this case. “I’d help out no matter what and you know that. His aunt has nothing to do with this.”
“Uh-huh.” Will’s tone called Isaiah a liar.
“Bridget is coming to town in a few days. I’m not that kind of guy.”
Will’s smile grew. “Uh-huh.”
Isaiah ignored the teasing glint in Will’s eye and waved him off. He hopped down the bleachers and crossed the gym to Cory. Cory appeared to notice him, sitting up straighter and trying to look relaxed.
“I’m not doing anything,” he said.
Isaiah sat next to the kid. “I’m not going to give you a hard time. I just want to talk.”
“Everyone wants to talk,” Cory mumbled. He pulled on a shoestring and scowled.
“That’s because we care about how you’re feeling. If we didn’t care, we wouldn’t want to know what’s going on.”
Cory cocked his head in Isaiah’s direction. “We?” He sounded confused.
“Me and your aunt. You were giving her a hard time earlier today.”
Cory went back to pulling his shoestring. “I didn’t mean to.”
Isaiah tapped the boy’s side so that he’d look at him. “Then why were you?”
Cory dropped the shoestring and sat up. “She’s trying too hard,” he said in a rush.
“Trying too hard?”
Cory pulled on his fingers in a frustrated motion. “To act like I’m not a problem for her when I know I am. She’s treating me like I’m a little kid. Like she can’t be real with me. She just acts like everything is okay and when I offer to help she tells me to go play video games or something.”
“And that hit you this morning so you had to be rude to her?” Isaiah didn’t buy it. Something else had to be going on.
Cory frowned. “The other night I asked her if I could stay home by myself while she worked. I’m thirteen now. Most thirteen-year-olds stay home. Instead, she gets her friend Nate to babysit me every night she works late.” Cory said babysit as if it was an act of the highest treason.
A knot formed in Isaiah’s stomach. “Nate? Is that her boyfriend?”
Cory shook his head. “No, he lives next door and they’re friends. You don’t have to worry.”
“Why would I worry?”
Cory just gave Isaiah a look that said whatever. “Anyway, I know I’m a burden, but she’s trying too hard to make me think I’m not.”
Isaiah forced away thoughts of the nonboyfriend Nate and focused on Cory’s problem. “Maybe Angela doesn’t want to burden you with her problems. She’s the adult, you’re the kid.” When Cory glared, Isaiah held up a hand. “Last time I checked thirteen was still a minor. There’s nothing wrong with her not wanting to upset you.”
