Chapter 30 Heather
Heather
I pull into Margo’s driveway and take a moment to check myself in the rearview mirror one more time. My hair is down and curled so that it falls over my shoulders—working double-time with the collared shirt I’m wearing to cover most of the evidence from my weekend escapades.
The hair, the shirt, and about a pound of concealer.
Yeah, totally normal. Nothing suspicious here.
I slap a smile on my face and head to the front door, which opens before I can even knock. April comes barreling out and throws her arms around my waist.
“Mom! We had the best time! Aunt Margo taught me how to make pizza from scratch, and we stayed up until almost midnight watching movies, and we did face masks, and—”
“Breathe, sweetheart,” I say with a laugh, hugging her back tightly. Lord, I missed her. Even though it’s only been a couple of days, it feels a lot longer.
Margo appears in the doorway, grinning. “She’s not exaggerating. We had a blast. Although I’m pretty sure my kitchen is never going to be the same after our pizza-making adventure.”
“I’m sure it was worth it,” I say, following April inside to grab her overnight bag.
“Definitely worth it.” Margo leans against the door frame, studying me with a look I know all too well. She knows something is up, and she’s trying like hell to pinpoint it. “You must have had a good ‘me weekend.’ You’re literally glowing.”
My stomach flips, but I’m doing my best to play it cool. “Really? I just caught up on some sleep and took a couple of nice, long baths. Super exciting stuff, I know.”
“Uh-huh.” She’s still giving me that knowing, appraising look. “Well, whatever you did, it agrees with you. You look good. Very relaxed.”
“Thanks.” I turn and busy myself with checking April’s bag, partly to make sure she’s leaving with everything she brought, and partly because I’m desperate to change the subject. “I appreciate you taking her for the weekend. I know you’re busy with the baby coming and everything.”
“Oh, please. I loved every second of it.” Margo ruffles April’s hair. “And my favorite niece is welcome here anytime, right?”
April nods enthusiastically. “Do you think I can come back next weekend?”
Margo and I both laugh. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I say. “We haven’t even left yet. Let’s give Aunt Margo time to catch her breath.”
We chat for a few more minutes. Margo tells me about the pizza dough incident, and April demonstrates the fancy braid Margo taught her. It’s easy and comfortable, but I can feel Margo’s eyes on me every so often, like she’s still trying to figure out what I’m not telling her.
Or maybe I’m just being paranoid. There’s no way she could possibly know anything about me and Grant, even if she might have a few suspicions.
“Anyway,” I say once there’s a lull in the conversation, “we should get going. I have some work stuff to catch up on tonight. Another event at the shelter I’m trying to plan.”
“You’re always working so hard,” Margo says, pulling me into a hug. “But seriously, whatever you did this weekend, keep doing it. You look happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.”
“Thanks, sis,” I manage, returning the hug. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” She bends down to give April a squeeze. “And you come back and see me anytime you want, okay? I mean it.”
“Okay!” April lights up, and I have a feeling we’ll be doing this all over again sooner rather than later. “Thank you, Aunt Margo!”
We make our way back to the car, with April chattering the entire time about everything else she did with Margo. I’m doing my best to keep up and stay attentive, but my mind is already racing ahead to what is going to happen when we get back to Grant’s house.
Back to acting normal. Back to pretending nothing has changed.
Once we’re buckled in and pulling out of the driveway, April’s excitement somehow kicks up another notch.
“Oh, Mom, I forgot to tell you the coolest part!” She’s practically bouncing in her seat. “When I was with Aunt Margo at work the other day, she showed me all the stuff she does. Like taking pictures during the games and making posts for the team. There’s so much that goes into it!”
Her enthusiasm is off the charts, and her smile is so wide that I can’t help but mirror it. “That sounds amazing, sweetheart! It’s pretty cool getting to see what Aunt Margo does, isn’t it?”
“So cool! And she said next time we go to a game, she’s going to show me even more.” She pauses for a big breath, as if she just realized she’s been getting low on oxygen. “Oh, and Sophie from my reading club said her dad has a job kind of like that, too. For a basketball team, though, not hockey.”
“Oh yeah? How’s reading club going, by the way?” I ask, happy that she brought it up. She was so nervous about joining at first.
“It’s good! Sophie’s really nice, and we’re reading this fantasy story about dragons. It’s cool.” She’s quiet for a second, then adds, “Some of the other kids in the club play hockey. Like, on actual teams.”
Something in her tone makes me glance over at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. They were talking about their games and stuff, and it sounded really fun.” She fidgets with her seatbelt strap. “Do you think... I mean, would it be weird if I wanted to try it sometime? Playing, I mean. Not just watching.”
My heart does a little flip. “I don’t think that would be weird at all, sweetheart.
I think that would be amazing. If that’s something you want to try, we can definitely look into it.
” I smile, glancing sideways at her. “You know Grant would probably be happy to talk to you a bit about what it was like for him when he started playing if you ask him about it.”
She lights up, looking slightly awed. “Do you think so?”
“Absolutely,” I confirm, and she grins out the window.
The next few minutes are mostly quiet, now that April has apparently exhausted the trove of fun things she’d been waiting all weekend to tell me, and I feel a familiar, fierce protectiveness when I glance over at her again.
This beautiful girl—my sweet, innocent daughter—has been through so much in her short life.
The divorce, the move, the instability, the issues at school.
But she’s still so full of joy and curiosity and hope.
I’ll do anything I can to protect that part of her. To keep her safe and happy and secure.
Which is exactly why keeping things quiet with Grant is the right decision, no matter how much it might complicate things between us. April’s well-being comes first, always.
“Mom?” Her sweet voice breaks through my thoughts.
“Yeah, honey?”
“Are you okay? You look so serious all of a sudden.”
I push those thoughts aside and force a smile. “I’m fine, sweetheart. I was just thinking about how much I love you.”
“I love you too.” She says it so easily and in such a matter-of-fact way, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
And just like that, my heart is full again.
We pull into the driveway, and April grabs her bag and shoots out of the car the instant I put it in park, leaving me in the dust as she races toward the front door.
“April, wait for me!” I call out, but she’s already inside.
By the time I make it through the door, she’s found Grant in the living room and is talking a mile a minute about pizza dough on the ceiling and face masks and staying up past midnight.
Grant is listening with that serious expression he always has, but I can see the hint of amusement in his eyes. “Wow, it sounds like you had a good time, huh?”
“The best time! And Aunt Margo taught me about her job, and next time we go to a game she’s going to—oh, hold on.” She reaches up to pull her hair back, clearly about to launch into another story, but her hand comes up empty. “Mom, do you have a hair tie?”
Grant is on the move before I can even reach for my purse. He walks over to the side table by the couch and pulls open a small drawer, retrieving one of April’s hair ties—the ones with the little stars on them that she loves. He hands it to her without a word.
“Thanks, Grant!” She takes it and quickly pulls her hair into a ponytail before continuing with her story about Aunt Margo’s job.
My stomach flips as I watch the casual, easy way he interacts with her. How he doesn’t think twice about jumping in and solving a problem, no matter how big or small. He’s been paying attention. He knows which drawer has her hair ties and which ones she prefers.
They definitely share a bond, and that’s a big deal to me.
I fooled myself into thinking it would be so easy to keep things compartmentalized and straightforward, to hook up with Grant from time to time while pretending things are completely normal whenever April is around.
But watching him now and seeing how naturally he fits into both of our lives, I already know that nothing about this is going to be simple.
“Speaking of games,” Grant says, glancing over at me before looking back at April. “I have one on Thursday night. A home game.”
April’s eyes light up immediately. “Can we go, Mom? Please, please, please?”
There’s just enough of a smile playing on Grant’s lips to tell me everything he isn’t saying out loud.
He wants us there. Both of us. Genuinely.
My heart does that annoying fluttering thing it’s been doing all weekend, and I know I’m in trouble.
“Of course we can go.” I’m answering April, but my eyes are still on Grant. “We wouldn’t miss it.”
The smile on his face gets just a little bit wider, and I have to look away before April notices.
This isn’t going to be simple at all.
The arena is packed with fans in their Denver Aces jerseys, and there’s the kind of electricity in the air that only comes from having this many people in a shared space, fired up and chanting for their home team.
April is off with Margo somewhere near the bench, getting the behind-the-scenes experience she’s been talking about nonstop for days.
Which leaves me alone in our usual seats watching Grant.
Watching the game, I mean.