Prejudice Meets Pride by Rachael Anderson

that Sam volunteered to watch your girls anytime you need, and Becky mentioned she’s brought you dinner a couple of times. Did you yell at them too?” He took another step forward and she back. “No, you didn’t, did you? But something tells me that if I were to offer to watch your girls or bring you dinner, you’d have a problem with that, right?”
    Emma bit her lip and glanced at her house. She should have never come here. She should have let those yard guys finish their job and mentally added whatever it would have cost to her current IOU to Kevin. But that was no longer an option.
    “No,” she finally answered, meeting his gaze. “Feel free to watch the girls or bring me dinner any time you want. And if you ever do get a lawnmower, by all means, mow away.” She started toward her house before glancing back. “So long as you let me reimburse you for the gas.”
    His quiet laughter sounded behind her as she made her way home with her arms still crossed over her chest. Kevin wasn’t exactly the dinner-making, babysitting type—at least, she didn’t think he was—and he didn’t own a lawnmower either. So as far as Emma was concerned, problem solved.
    But that was before she spotted a shiny new, red and black lawnmower being unloaded from Becky’s husband’s truck into Kevin’s garage later that day.
     

Kevin finished pouring gas into the tank of his new lawnmower and perused the owner’s manual for instructions on how to start the thing. It was kind of pathetic that he’d never mowed a lawn before, but his parents had always hired a service, and when Kevin finally purchased his first home, he’d done the same. It never really occurred to him to do it himself.
    Until now.
    It had only been six days since Emma’s lawn had been mowed, and it didn’t really need it since it was only just beginning to show signs of life again, but her car was gone, and Kevin was anxious to give his new toy a try. With any luck, he could have the lawn mowed before she returned and still get dinner prepped for his second date with Nicole that night.
    His phone rang with a call from his mother. As his thumb hovered over the Accept button, Kevin waffled. He really didn’t feel like talking to her at the moment, but if he ignored the call, she’d call back in an hour, then again every hour after that until he picked up. She was predictable like that. After the fourth buzz, he resigned himself to an uncomfortable conversation and answered.
    “Hello, Mother.”
    “Darling, how are you?” As usual, her tone was cool and collected. She never really got angry, but she was never really happy either. Always just… neutral. There was a time when he was younger that Kevin could remember a different mom. One who laughed and cried, yelled and squealed. It was so long ago that sometimes Kevin wondered if the hazy memory was real or just his imagination.
    “Great. And you?”
    “I couldn’t be better.”
    Which meant that his father’s re-election campaign was running smoothly. Well, good for him. For all of his standoffish ways, the man really did make an admirable senator. He was honest, opinionated, and loved the law and constitution more than anything else—probably even his family.
    “I’m glad.” Kevin’s eyes scanned the street, worried that he’d see Sunshine come around the corner any minute. He needed to get her lawn mowed soon. “So, what’s up?”
    “Oh, Kevin, do you have to use that deplorable slang all the time? It sounds so juvenile and trite.”
    “Sure, Ma. Whatevs,” Kevin said, just because he couldn’t resist.
    “That was very adult of you,” his mother answered. Still cool. Still calm. Still neutral.
    “You did just call me juvenile.”
    A sigh sounded on the other end of the line before his mother changed the subject. “So tell me, how did your date go with—what was her name? Nicole, right?”
    “Right.” Kevin had no doubt that his mother remembered Nicole’s name. She’d probably