Summer Nights: A Single Father Novel

Chapter 1

Istruggled to hold in my laughter as I stood by, watching my son kick an eighty-six-year-old’s ass in a game of chess. Colten was ten, but the expression of intense concentration on Chester’s face made it seem as if he considered the boy a master.

“Kids these days have a leg up from practicing on computers,” Chester grumbled and stuck his unlit pipe between his teeth. “Back in my day, the only practice we got was when our butts were in a rickety wooden chair and we had a friend willing to play with us.”

The game had attracted a bit of attention in the rec room of the elderly care home, and several of the other residents guffawed at Chester’s griping while smiling proudly at Colten. We came to Green Acres Senior Living Facility at least once a week and many of these people saw Colten as a grandson of sorts, spending more time with him than with their own grandkids. They appeared to be delighted that he was beating the resident Grouch today.

I bit my tongue in an attempt not to chuckle at their expressions of glee and Chester’s of absolute disgust. He resigned by flicking his king over before he slowly pushed to his feet. “Good game, kid. I’ll teach you a thing or two next time.”

Colten stood and offered the old man his hand, but Chester was already shuffling away from the table to brood in the corner of the rec room. Finally losing my battle, I chuckled under my breath and Colten playfully looked around the room, grinning at all the white-haired folks.

He even arched a cocky little eyebrow at them. “Is anyone interested in challenging me, the victor?”

I laughed in earnest, pushing off the wall I’d been leaning against and sliding my arm around his shoulders before I ruffled his hair. “Alright, buddy. Knock it off with the bravado. No one likes a bragger.”

Colten sighed heavily, humor in his kind green eyes as he glanced up at me. “I wasn’t bragging. I was simply stating a fact. I am the victor.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I hid my amused smile as I turned toward the table. “Let’s pack this up. Grandpa should be done with his physio appointment soon.”

“Maybe he’ll play me,” Colten said hopefully, but I shook my head.

“Let’s pack it up. I’m sure he’d love to try his luck against you later, but we should probably ply him with some coffee and treats outside first. Just to make sure he still loves us when we leave. Unlike Chester, who I’m sure is going to be avoiding us from now on.”

Colten shrugged. “He won’t avoid me. He’s too proud for that.”

“Fair enough. When did you get so good?” I asked.

“Since Mr. Lafferty put me in the chess club at school.”

I grimaced. My work really had been keeping me way too busy. Too busy, it seemed, to keep tabs on my own son’s extracurricular activities. “How long have you been in the chess club?”

“Since January,” he said, picking up the game when we were done and stowing it back on the shelf behind him.

Meanwhile, I was reeling a little bit. Since January? That’s six months. How could I have missed it for that long?

As we packed up the chess board, I watched him stow each piece meticulously and I wondered what had happened to the kid who used to just stuff things back into his toy bag on the rare occasion I could convince him to actually help clean up before he was ready.

“I’m super proud of how well you’re treating this board right now.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Mr. Lafferty says we have to respect the pieces as part of the game itself.”

“That’s great. It’s also very true. It’s important to learn how to take care of your things.” It was also important that your parents knew what you were being taught, which I was apparently failing at dismally.

Before I could beat myself up too much about it though, my stepfather emerged from the hallway, clearly finished with his physio appointment for the day. Walter lived here at Green Acres, which was the best place my money could buy.

If I didn’t work so much, I would have had Walt live with us, but I would never be able to give him the care he needed to be healthy. Seventy-eight and unsteady on his feet, he still broke into a wide smile when he saw us, as enthusiastic as ever. He pulled Colten into a hug.

“My boys!” He beamed at me in turn, reaching out to shake my hand as he let go of my son. “How are you two doing?”

“We’re good. Happy Father’s Day, Walt.” I gave his hand a firm shake before pulling him in for a quick hug.

“Oh. Happy Father’s Day, Grandpa. Guess what?”

“What?” he asked eagerly as he released me. “Happy Father’s Day to you too, Landon. You’re a wonderful dad. Never doubt it.”

My heart swelled. Coming from a man who’d been the best father he could be to a boy who wasn’t even biologically his, that meant a lot. Walter and Colten turned to head outside, and Colt looked up at him with his chest puffing out a little.

“I just beat Chester at chess,” he said happily.

“Is that so?” Walter laughed, clapping him on the back as they walked. “That’s great, Colt. He’s a sour old grouch who deserves to lose every now and then. He keeps telling us he was named after that game. Makes him insufferable. We’re never going to let him live this down.”

“You’re getting mean in your old age,” I joked as I stepped up beside him, joining them for a stroll down the wide corridor that led to the gardens and patio outside. “I’ve never known you as one to gloat.”

“My ten-year-old grandson kicked his butt. Of course, I’m going to gloat.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, fair enough.”

With my head shaking, I fell silent as Colten caught him up on every move of the game, and to my surprise, Walter seemed to have known about chess club. “That Mr. Lafferty is teaching you well. Is he still challenging you to matches during lunch?”

“He is,” Colt said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “He says it’s to hone my skills. I didn’t know what hone meant, but I looked it up and it’s a good thing.”

“Indeed,” Walter said as we stepped outside.

Since it was Father’s Day, the facility was expecting more visitors than usual and they’d laid out a nice spread of snacks for the visitors and residents alike. Long tables lined the walls on the patio, urns filled with coffee and iced tea beside them.

“We should go find a spot in the shade before they’re all taken,” Walter said as we strode toward the coffee. He looked around the activity on the lawns today, sighing when he realized his favorite bench was already taken. “I suppose we’re going to have to find a different spot for our visit.”

I grinned at him. “Change is as good as a holiday, Walt. Cheer up. We’ll find an even better spot.”

Grumbling softly, he waited as I fixed our coffee and Colten helped himself to juice from a jug on the table. Then we meandered away from the building in search of a suitable place to sit. Some of the younger residents were lawn-bowling a little ways down, and Marge spotted Colten, immediately smiling and waving him over.

“Colty! Come join us. Let Aunty Marge show you how it’s done.”

He glanced at me and I nodded, taking his juice. He hurried away to join them. Walter sighed. “The only thing she’s going to teach him is how to cheat.”

“Don’t be a sore loser.” I smirked as we sat down at a small table under a canopy of branches overhead. “She didn’t cheat last week. We beat you guys fair and square.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

I set our drinks down, offering him a hand to help him sit, but he swatted it away, managing just fine on his own.

As I took a seat across from him, I cast a glance at Colten to make sure he was okay before I looked back at my stepfather. He was really getting on in age now, with most of his previously blond hair gone and only a few strands of wispy white left on top of his balding head. His goofy smile, glasses, and kind brown eyes had remained the same though, which was comforting.

“How are they treating you here?” I asked, starting each visit with the same question as the last. “You’re looking well, so I’m assuming you like this new chef they hired.”

“He’s fine.” Walter waved me off. “We don’t need to keep having the same old boring conversation, my boy. I’m fine. I like it here. They’ve always treated me well. I’m more interested in hearing about you. Has that job sucked out your soul yet?”

“Not since last week,” I joked.

Walter was the closest thing I had to a parent. My mom had passed shortly after they’d gotten married and he’d raised me ever since. He considered me his son by every definition possible and I felt the same way about him. We were family. If I couldn’t be honest with him, then I wouldn’t be able to admit this to anyone.

I sighed when he cocked his head at me, waiting patiently for the truth to come out. “My last case was a doozie.”

Being a criminal defense attorney wasn’t an easy or an enviable job. I knew that, and yet, I was one of the most in-demand ones in all of Los Angeles. A fact I was no longer sure I was proud of.

Walter nodded slowly. “What happened?”

“I, uh, I got some threatening letters in the mail again. My car got vandalized. It’s getting harder to explain it all to Colten.” I paused for a beat. “I’m just not sure if it’s worth it anymore.”

“That child is too clever for his own good.” Walt pushed his glasses firmly into place on the bridge of his nose. “If it’s not worth it anymore, why keep doing it? You’ve got your inheritance now. With all that money, you could retire and live comfortably for the rest of your days without ever working again, so why are you still putting yourself through it?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I wish I had a good answer for you, but I don’t. It’s just a part of who I am, I guess. I’m a defense attorney. That’s what I do.”

“You’re right,” he said dryly. “That’s not a good answer. Try harder.”

When I didn’t immediately respond, he sighed and rubbed the shiny skin on top of his head. “I realize this isn’t the first time you’ve received threats for doing your job, but your car has never been vandalized before. That’s an escalation, son. It’s going to keep happening too, with you becoming more well known and getting higher profile cases.”

“I know, but what I do is part of my identity,” I explained, digging deep to try and put words to the way I felt. “I genuinely believe in the legal system. I know it’s not perfect, but every now and then, I defend someone who’s legitimately innocent, and in those cases, my commitment and representation have saved someone from serving time for a crime they didn’t commit.”

I drew in a deep breath, trying to imagine quitting and never getting to help someone like that again. The thought was inconceivable to me. “Those cases are why I do it and those moments make it all worth it.” I shot him a look and arched an eyebrow. “Should I keep trying, or was that better?”

“Marginally,” Walter said, chuckling at something happening at the lawn bowling.

I turned to see Colten taunting Chester to come join them, and the old man actually shuffled his way toward the green. As I watched Colten hand over some bowls, I smiled. “I’m missing out with him. I think that’s what’s been bothering me the most. It’s not that I don’t love my job. I’m only wondering if it’s worth representing the clients who are assholes when I could be spending that time with him.”

“You are missing out,” he agreed emphatically. “For no good reason. You have nearly one billion dollars sitting in an account somewhere. You’ve had access to it all year, and yet, here you are. Have you even touched it?”

I shook my head, watching Chester show Colten some tricks while Marge collected her bowls to get ready for the next game. “It’s a life-changing amount of money, Walt. I can’t touch it until I know I’ll be using it to change our lives for the better.”

I could feel Walt’s eyes on me and knew he was thinking. Considering. Finally, he spoke, and I could tell his words were chosen carefully. “The best years of my life were those I spent with you when you were a boy,” he said quietly. “Don’t let this precious time slip through your fingers. You’ll regret it, and not even all that money can buy you back so much as a minute of that time. When it’s too late, it’s too late.”

“What should I do?” I asked, genuinely needing his advice about this.

Walter shrugged. “Rent a house on a lake somewhere for the summer and show your son a good old-fashioned time. No screens. No video games. No distractions. Just fun, sunshine, water, and making memories. You’ll have a bit of a different perspective on things by the time you get back.”

I had no doubt that he was right. I just didn’t know if I’d be able to swing a trip to a lake this summer. But as I watched Colten laugh while Marge chased him around the green, I decided to try. I couldn’t remember the last time he and I had had fun together, and Walt was right. I’d let too much time slip through my fingers already.