In that kiss, Del felt all that pent-up need Justin had for someone to just take care of him, for once. Frankly, Del wasn’t sure how much of it was actually desire for Del and how much was situational and the fact that he was so young.
Then he managed to fuck up by calling Justin “kid.” While he was young—around the same age as Abigail, for fuck’s sake—he wasn’t a kid. The way Del felt him pull away mentally and physically felt horrible.
When Justin couldn’t seem to look him in the eye, Del did the only thing that seemed right; he kissed Justin again. The almost-startled little noise that Justin let out somehow went straight into the pit of Del’s stomach, and he made a hasty exit.
He couldn’t tell his sister about what had just happened. Yet she’d somehow, most likely, dig out the information from him anyway. If he just managed not to video call her, maybe she wouldn’t read him like an open book then? Ugh.
* * * *
When he went to bed that night, he thought about it all again. Justin couldn’t be more than twenty. That made Del almost double his age. That alone was a bit…potentially not okay. If he found out Abigail was dating someone his own age, he’d be very, very concerned. It wouldn’t be about her, either, but the person who wanted to date someone that much younger.
Abigail was smart, driven, and incredibly loving. She also knew her value and never let anyone walk over her. No, Del wouldn’t be worried about her or who she chose to date. He’d worry about the motivations of someone who wanted a partner that much younger.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with age difference in relationship, of course. Hell, when he’d started to date Clyde, his dad—may he rest in peace—had been worried about the fact that Clyde had a decade on him.
So yeah, Del definitely understood why he was feeling like this now. Justin had a life ahead of him, and Del was already divorced, feeling burned out, trying to put his life back together and managing by the skin of his teeth.
Sighing, he rolled over and punched his pillow into submission.
If he thought about Justin’s situation logically, he knew that Justin needed help. If he wanted to keep the kids, he needed someone to be there for him.
Del also knew that he already liked the kids. They had problems, but what kid in their situation wouldn’t? He also worried about Wyatt not talking and how angry Harper seemed to be.
That reminded him; he really needed to figure out how to talk to Justin about Harper’s hair. He picked up his cell and checked the time, then called Abigail.
“Hey, Uncle Del, what’s going on?” she answered, sounding worried.
“Ah, shit, sorry sweetheart, I didn’t mean to worry you. Everything is fine.” Del berated himself for not thinking this through. A text before a call would have sufficed. Damn it.
“Oh, okay. What can I do for you?” He could hear the smile in her words.
“I need to figure out how to do a little girl’s hair.”
For a moment, there was complete silence, then she guffawed. “What?”
He explained the situation, and she listened patiently.
“Okay, so you need to know how to handle natural hair, then.”
“Yeah. I thought one of your friends might be able to point me in the right direction?”
“Sure, I’ll ask tomorrow. Everyone has their favorite products and stuff, but I’ll get you some info and some links, too. If you remember my friend Jayla? She’s studying to be a hairdresser, so I’ll text her, too.” Then her tone shifted into something almost sneaky. “So, this guy Justin, what’s he like?”
Del groaned. What the fuck was it with the women in his family? How could they read him based on voice alone?
Abigail’s delighted laughter rang through the cell. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave you be and won’t tell Mom anything.”
“You’re not even going to say he’s awfully young?”
“No, because it’s none of my business who you like. Besides, he’s gonna need an adult for what he’s attempting.” She snorted a little. “I didn’t mean like that. I mean, someone with some actual life experience that’s different from his. I would freak out if I was suddenly in charge of the boys, and they’re much older.”
Her baby brothers were ten and twelve.
“Yeah…All I’m going to say is that I’m not notattracted to him. I just…I know it’s been a year and well, longer than that really, but…”
“You’re not ready for commitment, and with three little kids, there’s nothing but commitment, right.” He could picture her nodding in her dorm room.