I'll Be Watching You by Courtney Evan Tate

Author:Courtney Evan Tate
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2019-01-21T14:06:18+00:00

Chapter Twenty

July 16

Derek sat in his living room.

He had taken Leah and Liam to youth group earlier, and a car pulled up to his bungalow. He heard kids laughing, and a male voice teasing them.

Intrigued, he went to the window and peered outside. The youth pastor was standing next to his car, laughing with the kids.

Something about the guy had always made him uncomfortable, although he couldn’t put his finger on it. He stood too close, maybe? He laughed too much? He was too comfortable with teenagers. Maybe that was it. Although, then again, that was his job. He was supposed to make them feel comfortable.

The pastor, Hutch, leaned over and hugged Leah, and then slapped Liam on the back.

“Memorize your verses,” he instructed them as he got back into his car. “See you next week.”

They headed for the door and Derek rushed for his chair. He absolutely didn’t want them to see him staring at them through the window.

“Leah’s going to stay for a movie, is that all right?” Liam asked when he came in, forgoing a greeting.

“Of course,” Derek agreed. “That’s fine. Want me to make popcorn?”

“No,” Liam answered, at the same time as Leah answered, “Please.”

They looked at each other and laughed, and Derek stood up.

“No problem. I’ll make some for the little lady, and I might even put M&M’s in the bottom of the bowl.”

She stared at him. “You’re a genius, Mr. Collins.”

He laughed. “Please call me Derek.”

“Okay.”

“Want to watch The Blind Side again?” Liam asked her.

She lit up. “Yes.”

Derek groaned jokingly. It was Leah’s favorite movie and so he’d been forced to watch it over ten times since he moved into the bungalow the previous summer. They laughed, and went to find it, and curled up on the sofa. He watched them from the kitchen.

They sat a respectable distance apart, but they were so familiar with each other. They were like a couple already, and he found himself wondering if she really could be interested in his son? He didn’t personally understand Liam’s black clothes and his dabbling with eyeliner, but maybe Leah did. Maybe it was truly a generational thing.

He bustled about in the kitchen, making popcorn and, true to his word, dropping candy in the bottom of the bowls. He took them the snack, and when he did, Leah patted the couch next to her.

“Want to watch it, too?” she asked, glancing up at him when she took the bowl.

He shook his head. “Um, I’m pretty sure I could recite the words by heart nowadays.”

She giggled, and he had to admit it to himself, she was stunning. Dark hair, those eyes. Legs that went all the way up. He checked himself. Lord, man. She was a teenager. But still. He wasn’t blind, and if Liam had a brain in his head, he’d pursue Leah to the ends of the earth.

“Dad, you’re in the way,” Liam grumbled, and Derek moved. He went back to the kitchen, and then out to the patio. He found the hollow rock where he kept his smokes when Liam was here, and lit up a cigarette.

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