Protecting The Single Mom. Catherine Lanigan

do an open house, we’d love to have him stay with us.”

      Cate felt her smile of gratitude bloom. “Sarah, you don’t know what this means. Ever since his regular babysitter moved, I’ve been in a quandary. He hates day care, because all the kids are younger than he is. He’s only six, but he thinks he’s fifteen. He’s growing up so fast.”

      Sarah smiled wistfully. “I know what you mean. Annie is so much the young lady now, it scares me. Her piano playing is astounding and her voice... Last week she asked me if she could enter the Indiana Junior Miss Pageant.”

      Cate’s jaw dropped. “For real?”

      “Uh-huh. You know? I think she’d win.”

      “But that’s...so much, er, notoriety. I mean her photo would be everywhere. She’d be on television,” Cate replied, trying to suppress a wave of niggling fear.

      “Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Oh, absolutely,” Sarah said.

      “So what are you going to do?” Cate put her fingers to her lips as if to stifle her fearful words. Cate hated that her buried demons crept up on her at times like this. Sarah’s decisions had nothing to do with her—or Danny. She and her son were safe. Secure. She’d made certain of that.

      “We’ll go for it. The one thing that Luke and I agree on is that we don’t want to hold the kids back from anything within reason. Too many people go through life trying to do the sensible thing. When it’s all said and done, they wish they’d taken more risks. If the kids fail, at least they tried.”

      Cate kept her gaze on Danny as he and Timmy sat on the floor with Beau, petting him. Danny was the happiest, most well-adjusted little boy she’d ever seen. She loved him beyond measure and would do anything for him.

      Cate knew all about risks. She could write volumes about the determination that came from terror. Half the people in this room didn’t have the first clue about life-and-death risks. Except Luke, possibly.

      He never talked about his time as a navy SEAL, but Cate had always been curious.

      She supposed her caution was because she’d taken a lot of risks for Danny. Risked her life. She still risked her life for him. Daily.

      No one knew that. And they never would.

      “Mom! If I can’t have a baby brother, can I get a dog like Beau?” Danny asked, getting up from the floor.

      He had white icing on his lips. Cate wiped his mouth with the napkin she held. “A dog? I’m not sure. But, I will think about it.”

      “Promise?” Danny asked excitedly.

      “Yes.” It might be time he started learning some responsibilities. “You could help out by feeding and walking it.”

      Timmy patted Beau’s head. “Don’t forget cleaning up the poop. Mom wouldn’t let me do that till I was seven. I have to wear plastic gloves,” he said matter-of-factly.

      Danny nodded seriously. “I could do that.”

      Cate laughed. “Yes, you could.” She ruffled his hair. “We better get our things. Tomorrow is a school day.”

      “I know,” Danny said dejectedly as he gave Beau one last pet.

      “I have to say my goodbyes, Danny. You stay there,” Cate said, going into the kitchen where Sam Crenshaw and Gina Barzonni were pouring coffee. Ever since Gina’s husband, Angelo, had died of a sudden heart attack, Cate had noticed that Liz’s grandfather, Sam, always seemed to be at Gina’s side. Cate wouldn’t be surprised if there was something romantic brewing between the two.

      Sarah was at the sink washing dishes.

      “Sarah, I have to take Danny home,” Cate said. “It was a wonderful party. I think Danny would be happier if Liz let him take the baby with us.”

      Gina laughed. “He’ll have to stand in line. That baby has got half the town wrapped around his tiny fingers.”

      “You can say that again.” Sam smiled, pulling Gina closer to him and giving her a look that was so loving and intimate, Cate nearly winced. No one had ever looked at her like that.

      She knew she’d never give anyone the chance to, either.

      Sarah dried her hands. “Let me give you some cookies to take home. Luke will go nuts if I keep all this sugar in the house.”

      “Thank you, Sarah. That’s so kind. Assure Luke that I’ll dole them out carefully. No sugar overload at my house.”

      Sarah placed six oatmeal-and-raisin cookies inside a plastic container and snapped the lid shut. “Actually, they’re fairly healthy. I made them myself.”

      Cate went to the living room and hugged her friends one by one.

      Mrs. Beabots tugged on Cate’s hand and whispered, “Anytime you want to bring Danny over, I wouldn’t mind watching him. He’s such a good boy.”

      “What a nice thing to say, Mrs. Beabots. I’ll do that.”

      “See that you do,” Mrs. Beabots replied. “Being around the little ones keeps me young.”

      Cate squeezed her hand and went to get her purse. Though she and Danny were the first ones to leave, she noticed that others were starting to say their goodnights, as well.

      Cate buckled Danny in and reversed out of the drive.

      Her house was on the west side of Indian Lake, though not on the lake itself. They were close enough so that she and Danny could walk to the beach, but she didn’t have the sky-high property taxes.

      The 1930s Craftsman-style bungalow was Cate’s third house in town. The same week that she’d landed her first real-estate commission, she bought her first house. It had been a matchbox, but she didn’t care. It had been a start, and they hadn’t needed much since Danny was a baby then. She’d traded up until she’d finally bought this house. It was sturdy, in a good neighborhood and shouted respectability. The house was the antithesis of what Cate felt in her soul.

      She would do everything in her power to make certain her son had a good life. A happy home, security and friends.

      So far, Cate had provided all that.

      But Danny was getting older and asking a lot of questions. Ones that she couldn’t answer or didn’t dare to.

      As was her custom, she parked in the detached garage. Waiting until the automatic garage door lowered, they got out of the car. She locked it and they exited the garage through the side door, which Cate also locked, double-checking the handle to make sure it was secure. They walked the short sidewalk and up the back steps. Cate unlocked the door and they entered the kitchen.

      She turned on the light, reengaged the lock and threw the inside bolt. Again, she tried the handle to make sure the door was tightly shut.

      “So, Mom. Can we talk about what I was talking about?” Danny asked as he took off his jacket.

      Cate glanced out the window. “What? I’m sorry, sweetheart. What did you ask?”

      “A baby brother? Remember? When can we get one?” Danny stood with his hands on his little hips, his face earnest and concerned.

      “Sweetie, in order to do that, I have to have a husband. And that could take a long time. Then he and I would have to decide if we want anyone besides you. Honestly, I’m very happy with the current arrangement.”

      Danny shook his head. “That’s not how it works.”

      “It’s not?” She couldn’t wait to hear his take on this one.

      “No. You go to the attorney’s office. I saw a sign for one on Main Street. You get the baby there.”

      “Who told you this?”

      “Jessica. She’s in my class. Her mom can’t have any more babies. So they went to the attorney.