Danielle #3
He and his parents had never seen eye-to-eye when he was growing up, unsure of why he would waste medical school to become an ER doctor, and less than impressed that he hadn’t found a wife yet.
Emerson had been their pride, the child they could throw their lot in with, and it had caused a lot of hurt in their house .
Danielle’s parents had been part of Emerson’s parent’s crew, smothering Danielle in expectations while also giving her anything she could possibly want. Creating a monster that was equal parts depressed and entitled.
Danielle had spent a lot of time in therapy trying to sort through it all, and by the time she had finally confronted her parents about it, they were ready to change for her sake.
“Two weeks,” Erick says, voice barely above a whisper. His parents had not been as open to correction as Danielle’s had been. “They had to close their house and are expecting to stay with me.”
“At least you’re staying at Emerson and Jack’s,” Danielle says. “You can give them the key to your place instead, that way you can give them space.”
“And have them in my apartment?” Erick asks with a snort. “No thanks. I know I’m not there right now but at some point, I will be. I’d rather not have to have a priest come exorcise demons from my space when I move back. ”
“We also have room,” Danielle’s mom says, squeezing Erick’s hand gently, “that way it keeps them out of both places. They don’t need to be teased with Emerson and Jack’s house.”
“I just don’t know what it’s going to prove,” he says, shaking his head, standing up. “Them coming back, I mean. Also, if you want to have any adult time, you’d better do it before they get here. They’re already building a report to take to lawyers.”
“Just what I needed to hear,” Danielle sighs.
“And be careful introducing anyone new,” her father says, “they’re going to look at consistency and twist whatever details they can to get Harper.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking with this Andrew Fisher character,” her mother throws in, “but now isn’t the best time to start anything. Especially with this.”
In other words, she’s going to have to go with her head, not her heart. Even though her heart desperately wants to start to fall.
“Could you possibly watch Harper on Saturday night?” Danielle asks. “I swear I don’t have anything planned, I just need a night to think, and process what all of this means. ”
“Of course,” her mom says, “we’re here to help you with Harper any time. It’s our job as your parents.”
Andrew drops Harper off at six, after having her for almost the entire afternoon. If it had been anyone else, Danielle would have been chomping at the bit to get Harper back, especially after the conversation she’d had with her parents and Erick, but this was Andrew.
She trusted him.
And when Harper had jumped down from his truck, massive smile on her face, and run up the sidewalk to Danielle, she’d known that her trust hadn’t been misplaced.
“Did you have fun, Sparrow?” Danielle asks as Harper flings her arms around Danielle’s waist.
“We got ice cream, and then went to the park!” Harper says, excited, as Andrew stops in front of the porch steps.
He smiles sheepishly, and runs a hand over the back of his neck.
“I would have texted, but I’m trying to leave my phone when I can,” he says. “I want to be in the moment. ”
Danielle nods, and Harper runs back down the porch steps to hug Andrew around the waist.
“Can we hang out again?” she asks, looking up at him, six-year-old eyes wide and hopeful.
“Duh,” Andrew says, grinning down at her. He brushes some loose strands of hair out of her face affectionately. “I already said I would teach you to skate. I’ll talk to your Aunt D about it, and we can figure something out so I can take you.”
Harper squeezes Andrew as hard as a six-year-old possibly can, he bends to kiss the top of her head, and then she runs back up the porch steps and inside.
“Bye Andy!” she yells over her shoulder, then she’s gone and Danielle is letting out a disbelieved laugh as she walks down the porch steps.
“Looks like she had fun,” Danielle says, stopping a safe distance away and folding her arms over her chest.
“Sorry I had her for so long,” Andrew says, shoving his hands in his pockets. He’s nervous, and she honestly has never met someone as stupidly endearing as this man .
“We went to the park, like she said, and a few friends from her class were there with their dads. She got playing, and they got talking hockey with me. I lost track of time.”
“It’s okay,” Danielle says, kicking at the sidewalk. “Are you alright? I know I don’t know exactly what happened, but I wouldn’t blame you if you were triggered. Or something.”
“It was actually nice,” Andrew says with a shrug. He smiles a little. “They’re Rangers fans, so they thanked me before changing the subject.”
“I’m glad,” Danielle says, knowing without knowing that that had to have been a big deal for him. “It’s better that you were gone so long. My parents and her uncle bombarded me when I got home from work.”
“Everything okay?” Andrew asks, and he looks so concerned for her she almost wants to lie and say it’s not, just to see what he would do.
“For now,” she says, “it was just unexpected. Harper’s mother’s parents are moving back from Berlin, and it’s going to be hard to do anything once they’re here. Like you offering to teach Harper how to ice skate. Not sure how that’s going to work if they’re coming back. ”
“She asked,” he says with a shrug, “and she wants you to come, too. She told me that she wants you to learn and that ‘I’m probably the best guy for the job.’”
He uses air quotes around the last part of his sentence, but he’s grinning as he says it.
Danielle rolls her eyes, but she’s grinning too. “That definitely sounds like her.”
“If anyone says anything about it, it can be a bonding activity,” he says, “no one has to know you aren’t taking lessons.”
“Casual ice-skating lessons from the NHL player in town?”
“I’m not the only NHL player who’s here,” Andrew says, raising a brow, “if you think it’ll help with appearances JT can come, too. He’s already coaching the high school team.”
“As if I could ever forget that,” she replies, “they’ve been to states two years in a row. There’s a sign on the main road that says ‘Home of Jet Thompson and the Lake Placid Bombers, like they’re a boyband.”
“That sounds more like the local cover band you hire for a Memorial Day Carnival,” Andrew says, blue eyes sparkling with mirth. “If you want to have him there for stability’s sake, I can ask him to come. ”
“I think it’ll be fine, just the three of us,” Danielle says.
She wants to be careful, but she also wants to have a life. She knows that people are watching, and that she still sees Emerson wherever she goes, but she also is more than aware that Emerson would be encouraging this.
Andrew is offering her more time with him. More time to see if this is anything, and to keep putting her heart on the line, matching where his has been since he’d arrived.
“And I wanted to ask…” he trails off, looking at a point somewhere over her shoulder. “JT is having a bonfire at his house on Saturday. Do you want to come? You can say no.”
“Does Ainsley know you’re asking me?” Danielle asks, raising a brow.
“She knows,” he says with a nod, “it’s just going to be she, JT, and I. It might be fun, and Harper is more than welcome to come. Unless you wanted adult time.”
“Not sure how much more adult time I’m going to get once Emerson’s parents are back,” she says with a sigh, “luckily for you, I’m free Saturday. ”
“What do I have to do to convince you to spend it with me? And JT and Ainsley, of course.”
“Spending time with you, and also people who hate me,” she says, holding her hands out in front of her like a scale and pretending she’s weighing her options, “or spending it on my couch with a book. Tough choice.”
She’s not sure how she feels about Andrew, or how he feels about her. Even if she has her parent’s warnings ringing in the back of her mind, and she’s very aware that he’s leaving at the end of the summer, and she’s got her own life to contend with, she still wants this. Wants to see where it goes.
He’s taking risks and shooting his shot. She can be brave, and see if this goes anywhere. She can be brave and say that Andrew is a good influence on Harper if anyone asks, and not just a risk that she’s wanting to take for herself. She owes him, and herself, that much.
She really thinks that this man could be worth the risk.
“I’ll come. My parents already offered to help with Harper if I wanted to be an adult,” Danielle says. “Just make sure you tell Ainsley. ”
“She promised to be civil, if you said yes,” he says, grin splitting his face.
“Then I also promise to be civil.”
“I’ll pick you up at six.”