Chapter 25
COOPER
July ended in a heat wave. The electricity went out after a lightning storm and melted all the ice cream at Swensen’s and caused an uproar in town.
Silas texted. He found a condo with a view of the Charles River. He sent pics and emojis with heart eyes.
August was a blur of camps for kids, tears with Sarah, who’d ultimately decided she’d visit every weekend. We all knew that wasn’t feasible, but no one said anything. There was a party in Fallbrook to send Frank and her off…and more tears.
Ivy and Chase started school in Wood Hollow at the end of the month. They loved it. They missed some of their old friends, but they had friends here too. They both texted Silas often.
Ivy sent him selfies with her culinary creations, and Chase made videos of Rhys and Greta’s new puppy and told him they were asking for a dog for Christmas.
Silas sent me updates from Boston via text. It was hot and there were a ton of tourists. He didn’t mention that he’d seen his ex and her famous beau. He didn’t have to. The three of them made headlines at a Red Sox game, and it was all anyone could talk about in town. Our Silas knew famous people.
He also sent more emojis with hearts.
September began with a flood of incoming permits. A demolition team cleared the overgrown shrubs, cracked cement, and a few dozen trees in the plot behind the mill, and the construction team broke ground for Mill Depot a few weeks later.
Oh, and the NFL season was underway.
We had a watch party at our house for game one—Boston versus Las Vegas. Everyone cheered like mad as Silas took the field. Unfortunately, we lost.
They won game two, lost game three, but we all agreed that he played well. Silas was getting real playing time and had even scored a touchdown. ESPN raved about his return and debated whether he’d ever seriously considered retirement.
“He probably wanted out of LA,” a sportscaster commented recently. “Anderson obviously has juice in the tank. This guy is tearing it up out there!”
Entertainment news was more concerned with the posse of celebrities who showed up in droves to Boston games now. There was speculation Silas was dating an actress. I knew it wasn’t true, but I didn’t ask for clarification.
I still got daily heart emojis. And tickets to game four.
We were friends trying to navigate distance and feelings we couldn’t express. It was frustrating and yet…I supposed the hearts made me hopeful.
“She’s pretty,” Reg commented when the camera landed on the glamorous brunet seated next to Alli and Liam in a private box. “You think they’re…ya know?”
He made a lewd gesture that was difficult to misinterpret.
I snorted, then glanced out the sliding glass door to watch the kids chasing Reg’s manic golden retriever puppy. “Tate’s got your shoe.”
Reg rolled his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want a puppy?”
“Positive.”
I expected Reg to join the merry chase outside, but he didn’t move from his perch on the corner of his sofa.
“Do you still…I dunno…have feelings for him? Silas?”
Poor Reg. His face was beet red. He didn’t do heart-to-hearts well. But I appreciated that he was trying.
“I do, but it’s over.”
Reg sighed. “Are you gonna be okay if that girl really turns out to be more than a friend?”
I stood and patted his shoulder. “I won’t have a choice, will I? Another beer?”
Yeah, distraction was my standard method to avoid conversations regarding my personal life. The people who knew me best had caught on that Silas and I were more than buddies. They hadn’t talked about it while he was here, and they’d been kind enough to let it go now that he was gone.
But lately, not as much.
“I miss Silas,” Aunt Rhona said. “So do Ivy and Chase. They talk about him all the time. Where are your darn spoons?”
I opened a drawer and handed her one and stuck my nose in the pot she had simmering on my stove. “Smells good.”
The kids were next door with Sarah. True to her word, she’d rented the house from Silas’s friend, Vally, twice a month. Our new living situation was going pretty well. No major angst, thank God. But somehow my aunt had gotten it in her head that I’d forget to feed myself if left to my own devices.
“Thank you, dear. I heard your young man sent Chase tickets to the game next week and you’re all going.”
I didn’t miss her sly tone or her verbiage. “My young man? Aunt Rhona, Silas isn’t—”
“Oh, hush. I know exactly who he is, and I think it’s high time you get your butt to Boston and tell him you’re sweet on him.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Rhona skewered me with a fierce once-over.
“Yes. I’m gonna tell you something, and you’re going to tell me to mind my business, but I’ll take a chance ’cause you need to hear this, Coop.
You’re the rock of the family. The steady guy who makes life easier for everyone else.
But sometimes it’s okay to put yourself first and ruffle a few feathers.
In fact, I highly recommend it. That doesn’t mean you’ll get your way, but you might manifest some positivity in the universe, and that’s a damn good thing. ”
I furrowed my brow. “I’m confused.”
My aunt stood on her tiptoes and swatted me upside the head. “Tell him you’re cuckoo for cocoa puffs for him!”
“Just like that?”
“Oh, honey…yes. If you get a chance to dance, always dance.”
I didn’t know how to tell her that while I loved the sentiment, it simply didn’t apply to me.
Not where Silas was concerned. I didn’t see a scenario where a single dad and a professional football player lived happily ever after.
There were kids and contracts at stake. Silas’s place was in the spotlight, on ESPN highlight reels and entertainment sites speculating about his private life.
Mine was here.
Those were cold, hard facts. I’d had my chance to dance, and I’d taken it. But it was over. We were friends now, and that could be enough.