Maybe he didn’t want to risk Cory’s place in the camp, either?
If there wasn’t the issue of Cory getting kicked out of camp, then she would flirt a little harder and put herself out there. She wasn’t looking to get married and become dependent on a husband, but she didn’t shy away from letting a guy know if she was interested. Cory wasn’t going to be in camp forever. If she got the vibe again, she could drop the hint that after camp was over, she’d be willing to get to know him. After all, not going after the things she wanted wasn’t in her personality. She’d gotten this far by trusting her instincts and every one of her instincts said Isaiah felt a little of what she felt, too.
“I don’t have to work tonight. Maybe we can try out that trampoline park?” Angela suggested to Cory while she walked him into camp.
Cory’s annoyed sigh would have made disgruntled teens everywhere nod in approval. “I’m thirteen. I don’t want to go to a trampoline park.”
Angela gritted her teeth and counted to ten. The boy had been in a state all morning. He wouldn’t tell her what was wrong, but the mood had grown over the weekend. Angela chalked it up to teenage mood swings.
She held open the door for Cory. “Fine. No trampolines. How about a movie?”
He dragged his feet through the door. “There’s nothing out right now that I want to see.”
Annoyance, meet my last nerve. “What do you want to do?”
“Nothing,” he mumbled.
Angela couldn’t suppress her sigh. Try to remember what it was like to be thirteen and moody. She remembered her aunt making Angela and Darryl feel like unwelcome houseguests the entire time. If anything, she worked harder to make Cory feel welcome in her tiny apartment, but damn, could he at least try to meet her halfway? She didn’t know what to do when he just clammed up.
They walked in silence to the front desk and Angela smiled at the young man behind the counter, then signed in Cory for the day. She’d barely gotten her signature on the paper before Cory turned his back to her and stalked toward the opening of the gym.
“Cory.” Angela dropped the pen on the desk and raised an eyebrow.
He sucked his teeth and grunted. “What?” He faced her with a glare.
“What?” Oh, hell no. Being patient with him was one thing, but letting him talk to her as if she was nothing was not about to happen.
She walked over, took his arm and pulled him away from the other arriving kids. “Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this attitude stops now. You do not snap at me and say ‘what’ like I’m some annoyance you’re forced to deal with.”
“You mean like I am to you?”
The retort slapped her in the chest. “What are you talking about? You’re not an annoyance.”
“But you’re forced to deal with me. I know I’m a burden. You had your own life and I’m messing everything up.”
Angela tried to keep up. Where had all of this come from? Last week he’d been happy about camp and teased her about liking Isaiah. Now he was angry and accusing her of not wanting him around? What could possibly have changed over a weekend?
She softened her voice. Concern replaced her anger. “No, you’re not. You’re my nephew and I love you.”
“Before my dad went to jail I saw you about once a month—if that—and less than that after. Now I’m supposed to believe you’re happy to have me in your apartment?”
Except for some holidays and birthdays she hadn’t spent a lot of time with Cory before now. Only because Angela had always thought Heather was selfish—funny how her instincts has been right on that. It didn’t mean she didn’t love him. “I would do whatever it took to make sure you were with family instead of put in the system. You’re not a burden. We’re making things work.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to make things work. I don’t need my parents and I don’t need your pity.” He turned to walk away.
Angela took his arm and spun him to face her. “Where is all of this coming from? What’s gotten into you?”
He jerked his arm away. “Just go to work, and leave me alone.”
“Cory.” Isaiah’s stern voice broke into their argument. “Don’t talk to your aunt like that.”
Angela’s heart imploded. Just what she needed—Isaiah witnessing how inadequate she was at dealing with teenage mood swings. She turned to him and wasn’t too embarrassed to miss how good the green of his Gators T-shirt looked against his skin, as it draped over his muscular torso.
“I’ve got this,” she said.
Isaiah looked from her to Cory’s slumped shoulders. “I know, but I can’t stand by and watch one of my camp kids be disrespectful. Cory, you need to apologize to your aunt.”
Cory nudged his foot against the floor. “Sorry.”
Isaiah crossed his arms over his chest. “The way you were disrespecting her was sorry. I need you to apologize. Like a man. Lift your chin and look her in the eye.”
Cory raised his head and squared his shoulders. When he met Angela’s eye, there was a flash of regret. “I’m sorry, Auntie.”
Angela placed her hand on his arm. He stiffened and glanced around. Several other kids from the camp watched. She squeezed his arm instead of pulling him into a hug. “Cory, I love you. You’re not a burden and you’re not unwelcome. I know we’re still working things out, but we can’t get through them if we don’t work together. You can talk to me about anything. Don’t forget that.”
He nodded and the stiffness left his body. “I know.” His gaze darted to the side. A young girl Angela recognized from the camp walked by on her way into the gym. Cory glanced back at Angela. “Can I go now?”
Angela nodded and dropped her hand. “We’ll talk more later.”
“Twenty laps,” Isaiah said to Cory. “Learning to control your emotions is part of the discipline you’ll need to be professional at anything. Think about that while you’re running.”
Cory sighed, but nodded and trudged into the gym. They both watched him go.
“What’s going on with him today?” Isaiah asked.
Angela shrugged. She wished she knew where this burden nonsense came from, but Isaiah didn’t need to know all her business. “He was in a bad mood when he woke up this morning, but it really started brewing over the weekend.”
“He lives with you?” Isaiah’s dark eyes met hers. She felt the force of his gaze like a blow to the stomach. It took her breath away. Without Cory there between them she was acutely aware of Isaiah’s closeness. They didn’t touch, but she could still feel him. His nearness was like an electric current in her vicinity. Powerful, potent and potentially dangerous.
She shifted away slightly. The distance didn’t help. Isaiah was a big man and her instincts didn’t want to escape his gravitational pull. “I’m his guardian for now. For the most part, things have been going really well. It’s just when he gets