Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Cameron parked at the end of his driveway, stifling a yawn as he climbed out of his truck and began collecting his things from the back. After closing up the sandwich shop, he'd gone out to do some more work on the old house, but had quit barely three hours in with little more accomplished than when he'd started. He had convinced himself that he was just tired, that the late night at Julie's place—coupled with the mental and physical arousal that had kept him awake for most of the remaining hours—was finally catching up to him. But as the basketball ceased its pounding against the pavement and Finn's sneakers came scuffing down the driveway toward him, Cameron knew why he'd been so distracted that day—he'd been worried about Julie and her son.

"Need some help?" Finn offered, tucking the basketball under one arm.

"Sure. Thanks, bud," Cam said, handing over his lunch cooler and keeping the much-heavier toolbox for himself. "How's your day?"

Walking beside him, Finn shrugged. "I guess you heard about my father, huh?"

Cam nodded. "Yeah, some. You okay?"

Another shrug. "He wants to see me."

"Really," Cameron said, not letting on that he already knew as much. "Is that what you want?"

"I don't think that my mom wants me to..."

Cameron stopped and set his toolbox down, then sat down on the grass that bordered the pavement, and the boy followed suit.

"Finn, your mom loves you more than anything else in this world," Cam promised. "She wants you to be happy, and she's going to be there for you no matter what you decide to do."

Finn gave a half-shrug, spinning the basketball between his hands and avoiding Cam's eyes.

"I do wonder sometimes what he's like, you know? Like, does he look like me, or walk like me, or watch any of the same movies and stuff...?"

Cam nodded , leaning back on his palms as he stretched his legs out long, crossing them at the ankles.

"You should do it, then," he said decisively.

Finn turned to face him, surprised, and Cameron noticed that the boy had his father's eyes.

"You think?" he asked, seemingly relieved to have an outside perspective on the matter. "How come?"

"Because if you don't, then you'll never stop wondering."

Finn seemed to mull that over for a bit, and then came back with another question.

"Did you ever see your dad?"

"Yeah," Cameron said. "Sometimes."

"How'd it work out for you?"

Cam hesitated, recalling the final argument that he'd had with his father more than twenty years ago. They hadn't spoken since.

"It worked out...," he started, choosing his words carefully. "Just the way it was meant to, I guess."

Finn regarded him in silence for a long moment, and then sprang to his feet.

"Wanna shoot some hoops?" he ventured, apparently done talking.

"Sure," Cameron accepted, grateful for the topic change.

Finn sank the first shot, and they took turns for a couple of rounds in silence, the smacking of the ball against pavement and backboard the only sound in the early evening air. Cam caught the rebound as Finn's shot bounced off the rim, dribbling back to the invisible foul shot line in preparation for his turn.

"Hey, Cameron?"

"Mm-hmm?" Cam said, the ball balanced in his hands as he lined up his next shot.

"What if he doesn't like me?"

Caught off guard, Cam lost his focus just as the ball launched from his hands. The shot went wide, missing the rim and backboard completely and ricocheting off the face of the garage. It skittered off the far side of the driveway, coming to rest just inside the line of hedges that bordered the property, but Finn didn't seem to notice. He stood with his eyes cast down to the ground beneath his feet, his chin quivering just the slightest bit as he finally admitted the real reason he was hesitant to meet his father. A tear spilled down his cheek, but Cameron pretended not to notice.

"Seriously? A guy as cool as you?" Cameron lightly dismissed the notion, forcing a smile as he playfully tousled the boy's hair. "What's not to like?"