Chapter 40
~Daley~
My stomach hurts from laughing as Deacon tells me all about his drive home with River over video chat that night.
Each facial expression, each pained breath, and each rub of his temples makes me giggle.
He’s probably exaggerating about exactly how devious my son was, but I’m enjoying the performance so much, I don’t really care.
“You have to give me a proper chance after that, Mama,” he concludes, the phone close enough to his handsome face that I can see the stubble growing along his jawline. “I didn’t go through all that for nothing.”
“You’re very brave.” I use the same tone I use on my students, or on River himself when he was younger, and Deacon’s nose wrinkles.
“Don’t say it like that. I navigated a minefield and you make it sound like crossing a sandbox.”
It’s the first time we’ve chatted like this over the phone, him in his living room and me in mine, and seeing him there after spending the weekend at his house makes me ache to be back there next to him.
How did it feel like home so quickly?
“I’m glad things won’t be awkward between you and River,” I tell him, my tone much more sincere. “At least, not any more awkward than they need to be. Have you heard anything else from your team’s PR?”
The slight hesitation before he answers lets me know the answer is ‘yes’ before he says a word.
“The reporter from channel 11 did make a post about it, but so far, no one’s figured out who you are.
I’m going to address the team tomorrow and ask them not to say anything to the press.
I don’t think they would anyway, but if I make the request, they definitely won’t. ”
As much as I’d like to think that will help, it’s like trying to plug a burst pipe with bubble gum. “All it’ll take is one person in Wikaskwa to see those photos and recognize me and it’ll be everywhere.”
I’m surprised Jane hasn’t shown up at my front door yet, to be honest. Maybe because it’s the weekend, it’s flying under people’s radars.
I can only hope.
“However it plays out, we’ll deal with it,” he promises, his voice gruff with a protectiveness that warms my heart. Anthony threw me under the bus when the unexpected happened. Deacon never would. “You’ll be at the game on Friday, right?”
Like he needs to ask. “My son’s first NHL game? Nah, doesn’t interest me.”
“Smartass.” Deacon grins at the sarcasm. “When are you coming down?”
“Friday afternoon. I’m bringing Jonny and Brayden with me.”
“And you’re planning on staying at River’s?”
There’s no pressure in the question, his light tone letting me know he won’t be upset if the answer is yes, but also making it clear I have another invitation open.
“That’s the plan, but it might be a little crowded since he’s only got one guest room.
I think the boys were going to crash in the living room.
They’d probably jump at the chance for the bed if I had alternate accommodation. ”
“You know you’re welcome here anytime.” His voice lowers into a rumble that makes my thighs clench.
Eventually, I let him go and dial Jane's number instead. “Wine after the kids are in bed?” I ask when she picks up.
“God, yes! I need to hear all about your weekend in the big city. Be there at nine.”
It’s two minutes after nine when she walks through the kitchen door, a bottle of wine in her hand and a smile on her face. She finds me at the table, doing prep for the coming week.
“It must have been incredible if you can’t wait until tomorrow morning to tell me about it,” she squeals in greeting.
“Yes, and not so much.”
After I grab two glasses from the cupboard, we head into the living room where I fill her in on the good stuff, like Deacon’s amazing house, his cooking, and our day together on Saturday, before breaking the news about the leaked photos.
“How did I miss that?” she gasps, pulling out her phone and immediately starting to scroll. “I swear someone in the algorithm thinks I’m stalking Deke, I watch so much stuff about him.”
“There’s not a person… that’s not how an algorithm works… never mind.”
She’s not listening to me so there’s no point in trying to explain.
With me watching over her shoulder, she scrolls, and scrolls, and scrolls, until she finally comes across an item reposted from the channel 11 reporter. We both squint down at the photos, which look smaller than they did on Deacon’s phone this morning, before she zooms in.
“Well, that’s definitely you, but it wouldn’t have jumped out at me if I wasn’t looking for it.
In the comments, people are both happy for him that he’s dating again and hoping it’s not serious so they still have a chance.
” We share a giggle over the crying emojis left by various women.
“But there’s no witch hunt to figure out who you are. Not yet, anyway.”
“So, we panicked over nothing?” I feel a little silly over my impromptu trip to see River if it wasn’t necessary, but mostly, I feel incredibly relieved.
“I’m not saying it won’t still blow up,” Jane warns. “But it hasn’t yet. And at least you got the talk with River out of the way. How did he take it?”
By the time I fill her in on my conversation with River and his drive home with Deacon, Jane is starting to yawn.
“It’s not you, I promise. The kids had me up at six this morning.”
“Go home and get some sleep.” I practically push her off the couch. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The ticking time bomb that feels like it’s been hanging over me since the photographer snapped our picture in the car yesterday hasn’t completely disappeared, but it certainly sounds a lot quieter by the time I fall asleep that night.
Even if it does go off, with Jane, Deacon, and now River on my side, I feel a lot more confident that I might be able to get through it unscathed.