Wired

"See!" his mother said. "Looks like I'm not the only monster in Union."

"You ain't no monster, Momma," he said to her.

"It's, 'You're not a monster, Momma'," she told him. "I've been tryin' so hard to get him to talk correctly."

"Either way, your son is right, you know. You're about as far from a monster as I've ever seen," he told her.

Brooke smiled then said, "Three times in one day."

"Ma'am?" he said out of habit before remembering their deal. "Sorry, about that—Brooke."

She laughed then said, "That's the third nice thing you've said to me today."

"Well, they're all true," Dalton assured her with a smile.

"So what have you got goin' on here?" she asked as she nodded toward the tools.

"Oh, just a little maintenance," he told her. "I was worried that pergola might fall down back there."

"On my side?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. It was really bad."

"And you fixed it?" she asked.

"Yes, ma.... Yes, I did."

"Oh, my goodness, Dalton. You did not have to do that!" she told him although he could see she was grateful.

"I took care of that gutter on the side of the house for you, too," he said as modestly as he could. He had no expectation of anything to include being thanked, and had she been just two minutes later getting home, she'd had have never known.

"Well, that is just so nice of you!" Brooke said.

"It was the least I could do," Dalton told her. "I'd never forgive myself if you or Bo here got hurt when I coulda fixed it so easily."

She smiled at him, and Dalton saw her trying not to look at his body before she said, "Listen. I've got some sweet tea in the house if you'd like a glass."

Bo perked up and said, "My momma makes the best sweet tea ever! Come on!"

"Are you sure?" he asked her as Bo grabbed his arm and pulled.

Brooke laughed and said, "Yes. I'm sure. It's the least I can do."

"Well, you certainly don't need to repay me, but I'd love a glass of sweet tea."

"Then come on in," she told him.

"I uh, I should go grab my tee-shirt real quick," he told her.

"Oh. Okay. Sure. Bo and I'll go in and get it ready," she said.

Brooke wasn't staring, but she definitely noticed the amazing body attached to the extremely handsome face—and that hair!

"Be right there," he told her.

It took less than a minute, and when Dalton tapped on the screen door, Bo flew from the kitchen to the front door and said, "Come on in!"

Dalton put a hand on his shoulder as they walked, and Bo was beaming with happiness.

"I can't wait to tell Granny I know Dalton Burke!" Bo said.

"That and a dollar might get you a cup of coffee," Dalton said. "But you're too young to drink coffee, so make that a diet Coke."

Brooke laughed then said, "He has a serious case of hero worship for you. And for your running back friend."

"Do you and Tim Rivers hang out together?" Bo asked, inquiring about Union's star running back from the championship team who'd set a single-game record his senior year by rushing for 204 yards in a 28-0 rout of a much weaker team.

"No, not really. I see him around every now and then, but we don't really hang out," Dalton told him. He wasn't about to tell the boy his other local hero was best know for putting a 12-pack away pretty much every day of the week.

"My daddy said he was almost as good as he was in high school," Bo informed the former quarterback.

"His daddy is his other hero," Brooke said.

Bo wasn't looking and didn't see the expression on his mother's face that spelled disdain in capital letters.

"I'm gonna spend Christmas vacation and next summer with my daddy!" Bo proudly told Dalton.

"Um, we'll see about that," his mother said as nicely as she could. She was about to discuss custody arrangements with him or their guest.

She handed Dalton a red, plastic cup filled with ice and sweetened tea, the only tea considered worth drinking by true southerners, and thanked him again for helping out.

"Have a seat," she said as she pointed to the small sofa. Brooke sat in a chair across from him and Bo clearly hoped to sit next to him.

Dalton patted the seat and said, "Come on, buddy."

The boy hopped up beside him and said, "Momma won't let me drink sweet tea yet, either."

"Oh, I see," Dalton told him. "That's probably a good thing."

"Why's that?" Bo asked.

"Well, it...it might stunt your growth."

Brooke tried her best not to laugh as she was taking a sip, but between the comment and Bo's reaction, she couldn't help it, and ended up spewing.

"I'll get it, Momma!" Bo said as he jumped up and grabbed a paper towel from the kitchen.

He couldn't see where the spewed tea landed so he handed it to her.

"Thank you, baby," she told him.

"Momma!" he said as he looked over at Dalton.

"Oh, right. I promised to stop calling you that, didn't I?" she said with a smile.

"Not in front of Dalton, especially," the boy said.

"Sorry...honey," she told him as he took the damp paper towel and threw it away.

"So what keeps the star quarterback busy these days?" Brooke asked, that beautiful smile on her face.

"Well, I got into an electrical apprenticeship when I was 16, and I just got my apprentice certification this week, so I'm the newest full-time electrician with Union Electric."

"Seriously? Dalton, that is downright impressive!" Brooke told him.

"Well, thank you," he said. His modestly was again on full display, a trait she'd never seen her ex-husband.

"I so regret not going to college or gettin' a real skill like that," Brooke told him after taking another sip.

"May I ask where you're workin'?" he inquired as gently as he could.

"You know where the furniture store is on 3rd Street?" Brooke asked.

"Sure. I know the owner, Mr. Owens, and his wife, pretty well. Their boy, Eric, played defensive end a couple of years before I started high school."

"Right. I think I knew that but maybe forgot. Anyway, I'm working there as the bookkeeper. I don't have a lot of experience, but my daddy knew Mr. Owens and gave him a call when we decided to move back here, and he was kind enough to take a chance on me."

"Oh, okay. Now I understand why you're all dressed up so pretty on a Saturday," he told her with a smile of his own.

"I do believe that's number four," she said, smiling back at him.

"My momma's beautiful," Bo said, wanting to join the conversation.

"She sure is," Dalton said to him while looking at his beautiful mother.

"Ha! I'm a 30-year old, divorced, single mom. That's not what I call beautiful," Brooke said.

Dalton looked down at Bo then said to Brooke, "It's two against one, Brooke. I'm afraid you lose that argument."

She smiled sweetly then said, "Dalton Burke. You are quite the charmer."

"Yeah, you lose, Momma!" Bo said.

Dalton offered him a 'high five' and the boy slapped it hard.

"Dang! You're a strong little son of a gun," Dalton said as he shook his hand pretending it really hurt.

"I'm gonna lift weights when Momma let's me start playin' football. Then I'm gonna get big ol' muscles like you got, Dalton," he told the older boy.

"Yeah, I don't get to the gym too much these days, but I do run a lot. I've lost a good five pounds because of it."

Brooke smiled and said, "Well, you still look really good."

Once she said it she realized how it sounded and said, "What I meant was, you're still in plenty good shape for someone who doesn't go to the gym as often as he used to."

Dalton wasn't sure what was going on, but the way she spoke and especially the way she looked at him told him something was indeed going on. Then again, he might well be imagining something where something didn't exist. He took a sip of tea and dismissed the thought.

"So who keeps a eye on this guy while you're at work, Brooke?" he asked before mussing up the boy's hair the way his mom had outside.

"Oh, I have a friend who agreed to watch him today. He'll be in school most of the time, and she said she'll be happy to keep him whenever I have to work a Saturday. That should be twice a month for half a day, and he also stays at her house until I can come pick him up after school."

"Oh, okay," Dalton said, wanting to ask her for a name but aware she'd tell him if she wanted him to know.

Several seconds passed in silence before Dalton said, "I should probably go back over to my side. I'm sure you've got plenty of things to do."

"Oh. Well, if you need to run, by all means," Brooke told him.

"No, I don't have anything I need to do, I just thought you might need to take care of some things yourself, and that I might be keepin' you from it."

"I do, actually. I need to unpack, put stuff away, and...oh. Oh, my goodness. I've got to turn that U-Haul in before midnight or I'm gonna get hit with another day's charges," she said as she set her tea down and stood up. "What time is it anyway?"

"Do you need me to follow you over and bring you back?" Dalton asked.

"No, I can't ask you to do that. You've already done plenty for me. Thank you, though."

Dalton stood up, scratched his head, then said, "Um...do you have anyone to help you out?"

"Oh, I can call my friend, Casey. She'll meet me there and bring me back," Brooke told him.

"Okay. But I'm right here and you won't be bothering me at all."

She saw the hopeful look in Bo's eyes then said, "Are you sure?"

"Very sure," Dalton told her. "I don't even have a TV to watch yet, so anytime I can do anything to get out my...jail cell...."

Brooke laughed and smiled at him.

"I like a man with a sense of humor," she said sweetly. "Okay, if you're sure it's no bother."

"Nope. No bother at all," he told her.

"Can I ride with Dalton?" Bo asked as soon as he knew the 'QB' was going with them.

"I think you should ride with me, ba...honey," his mom said.

Dalton saw the look of disappointment and said, "It's not my call, but Bo's more than welcome to ride with me."

Before she could even think about it, Bo was begging his mother.

"Momma, can I? Please?"

She looked at Dalton who said, "It really is fine with me."

"Okay. I guess that's fine," she said as Bo hollered out, "Yes!" and offering a high-five to Dalton.

"I believe, 'thank you, Momma,' would be the better reply," he said very kindly to Bo who immediately turned to his mother and thanked her.

"You're welcome, son," she said, impressed with this older boy's manners.

"But you gotta wear your seat belt, okay?" Dalton told him as he mussed up his hair again.

Brooke changed out of the dress and put on a pair of jeans and a white tee-shirt before they left. She looked just as nice in them as she had in the dress, and Dalton made it a point not to try not to stare as she walked out in front of them when they left the house. He let Bo climb up into his truck while he went over and opened the driver's door for Brooke.

"You are quite the young gentleman," she told him. He offered her a hand, and that too, resulted in another 'thank you' and a warm smile.

Brooke's former husband had long since stopped doing—or saying—anything nice to her with the exception of the first few weeks she'd agreed to try and reconcile with him. That hadn't lasted long at all, so it was a true pleasure to be treated like a lady, something she valued very much but rarely experienced.

The U-Haul place was across town, so Dalton followed behind the 16-foot rental. When she pulled in, Dalton said, "Let's go help your momma."

They walked up just in time to open her door again, and she thanked them both. The attendant was still there, and in just a few minutes, Brooke was all set and ready to go home.

When she came back out, Dalton said to Bo, "Now remember what I showed you."

He ran over to the truck, waited, then bowed when his mother walked up. He reached up and opened the door, and helped her in.

Dalton was already seated, and when Brooke slid into the middle of the bench seat, she was sitting right next to him.

"Well, hello there!" she said with a laugh.

Dalton looked around her and said, "Nice job, big guy."

Bo was all smiles as his mother said, "I believe you are a very positive influence on my son."

Dalton fired up the truck then pretended to tip the hat he wasn't wearing as he said very seriously, "All in a day's work, ma'am."

Brooke watched him as he realized he'd called her ma'am again, and laughed when he shook his head and said, "Gosh dog it!"

She laughed a happy laugh and said, "It's okay. Really."

Dalton looked over at Bo and said, "Your momma doesn't like it when I call her 'ma'am'."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it makes me feel old," she explained.

"Well, you are old!" her son said.

His mother gasped and pretended to be deeply offended. She placed one hand over her forehead and said, "Why Michael Bo Mitchell! How dare you call your young, beautiful mother...old!"

Brooke flipped her long, dark hair the way a woman did when she was shrugging off a hurtful comment, and Bo started laughing.

"Oh, now you're laughin' at me, too?" she said.

"Yes!" he told her.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with this boy!" she said before reaching over and digging into both of his sides.

"Momma! Stop! I can't stand it!" Bo said as she tickled him.

"That'll teach you!" she said as her son shrieked with laughter.

Dalton was laughing, too, and when Brooke saw him she said, "I'm sorry. We just haven't laughed a lot lately."

She put a hand on Bo's leg then said, "That felt so good!"

"You okay, Buddy?" Dalton asked Bo as the laughter died down.

"Yes, sir," he said with a smile.

"Okay. Well, better you than me, right? I can't stand to be tickled, either!"

"Oh, your turn is coming, my friend," Brooke told him. "Yessiree. The next time you call me ma...that... hurtful, hideous name."

She held out her hands and moved her fingers indicating tickling, and Bo started laughing again while Dalton recoiled in feigned fear.

"Help! Help!" he called out.

Bo was cracking up again and reached out for his mom's hands to 'save' his new best friend.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? The men folk ganging up on the poor, defenseless girl who's all by herself. Okay. Fine," Brooke said causing Bo to laugh even harder.

"We ain't gangin' up on you, Momma. Are we, Dalton?"

Brooke didn't correct her sons's grammar, and Dalton said, "Uh...no. Of course not."

Brooke understood Dalton meant they were ganging up on her, and that made her laugh again.

As they drove back no one said anything, but Dalton could tell Brooke was happy. And judging by the way she had her arm around her son and the way he was leaning against his mother, it was clear Bo was happy, too.

Dalton was trying to imagine what they'd been through together having lived some of that himself. He'd been older, but it was still very hard to watch, and he couldn't imagine how hard it had to be this little boy who was so cheerful and still so good to his mother.

When they got to their joint front porch, Brooke hesitated then asked, "Dalton? Do you have any plans for dinner?"

"No, not really. My momma'd love it if I went back over for supper, but I had lunch there so...no...I don't have any plans."

"Well, you'd be welcome to sit with us. We don't have much yet, but I've got some macaroni and cheese and a big bag of salad greens."

He smiled at her then said, "You're a real glutton for punishment, aren't you?"

Brooke laughed and Bo began pleading again.

"Our TV works!" the boy said.

"Yes, it does," his mother added.

"Do you get the football channel?" Dalton asked.

"No, but we do get ESPN," she told him.

"Well, I reckon that's close enough," he said.

"YES!" Bo called out offering yet another high five.

"Just let me go take a shower first, okay? I don't need to go stinkin' up your new house."

"Okay," Brooke said sweetly. "You know where we live so just come on in when you're ready."

Dalton knocked anyway when he came back over, and Bo was there to let him inside.

"Come on, Dalton! They got a football game on ESPN!"

"Okay, okay. Who's playin', big guy?"

"It's the Super Bowl between the Seahawks and the Patriots!" Bo told him excitedly.

"Oh, gee. The Sea Squawks and the New Fangled Patriots."

"It's the best come-from-behind win ever, though!"

"Yeah, okay. I'll grant you that," Dalton said as he looked over at Brooke.

"Hey, Dalton. Can I get you a beer or anything?" she asked.

"Oh, um...no thank you. After last night I probably shouldn't get anywhere near alcohol."

"Why? You weren't drunk. Believe me, I can tell," she said.

"Just the same, I don't want to...you know," he said as he nodded at Bo.

"Hmmm. Now why does that not surprise me?" she asked with another pretty smile.

"But you can have one," he told her.

"No, thanks. I don't drink alone. I just thought you might like one."

"All the same, somethin' smells mighty good," he told her.

"My momma's making macaroni and cheese," Bo told him. "And I'm starvin'!"

"Keep my spot warm, okay?" Dalton told his new best buddy as he went to the kitchen.

He saw the cast iron pot and knew where the smell was coming from.

"It's not much, but it's all I've got 'til I can get to the grocery store. We've got a loaf of bread and some butter, too, so Bo won't go to bed hungry."

"I'd offer to go get somethin' else, but I don't exactly have a lot in my fridge, either."

"That's okay. I'm more interested in the company than the food," she told him.

Dalton couldn't decide whether she was just being nice or possibly flirting with him. It seemed a whole lot like flirting, but flirting didn't make any sense. It was more likely she was just feeling good being away from her ex and being nice to a guy who'd helped her out a little.

Just as she turned away from him, Dalton found himself looking where he shouldn't be looking and thought, "Day-yum. She is...fine!"

"Are you staring at my butt, Dalton Burke?" she asked, her back still to him.

He quickly looked away and said, "Uh, no. Of course not."

"You know lyin' is a sin, right?" she teased as she looked over his shoulder.

"Okay, well maybe a little," he admitted rather sheepishly.

"I'm not sayin' I want you stare, but if you didn't at least look, I'd feel pretty bad."

"Well, in that case, you've got nothin' to feel bad about," he assured her.

"Okay. Good to know," she said with another smile.

"Dalton! The Patriots are fixin' to convert on 4th down and start their comeback," Bo called out to him.

"I believe I'm needed," he told Brooke.

As he went to walk away, she turned and reached out a hand and touched him on the lower arm.

"Dalton? Thank you for being so kind to my boy."

"Oh, sure. He's kinda easy to be kind to. He's a real good kid."

"Yes. Yes, he is. He's such a good boy, and he's been through so much. He's been my rock through it all."

"I can see that," Dalton told her just as Bo hollered.

"Yeah, baby! That's what I'm talkin' about!" they heard the boy call out.

"I believe they just converted on 4th down," Dalton said to Brooke.

She laughed then said, "Go on. He loves having you around."

The three of them sat on the couch watching the replay of the Super Bowl with Bo in between them, and Dalton was amazed at how well Brooke knew football and the way she reacted to plays she liked or disliked.

"Dang, girl, you love you some football, don't you?" he said when New England took the lead near the end of the game.

"Yes, I do!" she said. "And I love me some Tom Brady, too! That boy is one handsome piece of man!"

"Well, I'll have to trust you on that," Dalton told her.

"Oh, you can take that to the bank!" Brooke told him with a happy smile and a laugh.

"My momma's gonna marry Tom Brady someday," Bo informed Dalton.

"Oh, okay. Does his super-model wife know about that?" he asked the boy while looking at Brooke.