Our eyes meet, and one corner of his lips quirks up. Now that he’s cleaned up and is out of his prison jumpsuit, he looks so different. I had forgotten quite how sexy Shane could be. And I have to admit, he has upped his game in the last ten years. Even the scar on his forehead that I stitched up myself is sexy.

It also occurs to me he has not been with a woman in over a decade. And tonight, he’ll be sleeping in the bedroom right next to mine.

The quiet moment between us is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. It’s Josh. The school bus has arrived.

Shane leaps away from me, staring at the door while tugging at his shirt collar. I rush over and unlock the door, and there is Josh, standing at the entrance with his backpack slung over one shoulder like this is any ordinary day, and not the day he’s about to meet his father for the first time.

“Hi, Mom,” he says. “I’m hungry.”

“Josh.” I glance back at Shane, who is wringing his hands together. “We have a visitor here. This is Shane.”

“Hi, Josh,” Shane says. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

Josh ignores Shane and drops his backpack right in the center of the foyer. He’s supposed to put it on the side, but he always manages to put it in the exact right spot for somebody to trip over. “I didn’t even have lunch,” he whines. “They had ravioli for lunch, and they only gave me like five ravioli. Five, Mom!”

I look over at Shane again, worried he’s offended that Josh mostly just seems interested in having a snack, but he doesn’t look upset. He’s just smiling and staring at Josh like he can’t quite get over it.

“Fine,” I say. “What do you want for a snack?”

“I don’t know. What do we have?”

“You know what we have!” Oh my God, this kid can try my patience sometimes.

“When I was a kid,” Shane speaks up, “I used to love peanut butter on Ritz crackers. My mom used to make that for me all the time.”

Josh looks up at Shane, considering his suggestion. The two of them look so much alike, it gives me chills. I wonder if Josh notices. I’m sure Shane does.

“Okay,” Josh says. “I’ll have that.”

Thankfully, we have both Ritz crackers and peanut butter in the pantry—I think Margie uses them for snacks. Josh goes to play Nintendo, while Shane helps me construct the snack in the kitchen. I put the crackers on the plate, and he covers them in peanut butter. It’s not exactly a two-person job, but it gives us a chance to talk.

“I’m sorry he was kind of rude,” I say.