Chapter Five
Grant
All four kids run around Cole’s backyard with full bellies and happy smiles. This isn’t the life I imagined when I graduated medical school, but nights like this make me realize all the hardships were worth it.
Every Sunday night we meet up at Cole’s house for dinner.
We tried rotating between our houses, but Cole’s is by far the nicest. His backyard is the perfect setup with a large green yard with a playset for the kids and a covered patio with a TV mounted above the built-in fireplace.
The kids can wear themselves out while we watch football or baseball, or whatever is on.
Now if only Hazel were sitting in my lap, things would be perfect.
Thinking of her has me hiding the grin that pops on my face whenever she crosses my mind, which is often, especially after the other night.
The whole drive to Wells’ house was spent trying to calm my raging erection.
It didn’t help that every time I looked at the empty seat next to me, I’d remember Hazel melting at my touch.
“What’s got you lookin’ like that?” Cole kicks my foot off the coffee table to nudge his way past me before plopping on the couch.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Wells leans forward pointing the neck of his beer bottle at me. “It’s the same look you had the other night when you picked Harrison up.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Cole sits up. “What am I missing here?”
“Yeah, Grant. What are we missing?” Wells usually isn’t the shit-stirrer, but tonight’s my lucky night.
My two best friends glance at each other before fixing back on me. They’re not going to let me get away with not telling them about Hazel. I didn’t tell Wells why I needed a babysitter Friday night and my parents don’t ask questions when I need them to watch Harrison.
“Look, I’ve got nothing to say.” I hold out my hands to protest my innocence, but they’re not buying it.
“Like hell, you do,” Cole laughs. “I’ve known you for a helluva long time and you’re hiding something.”
“Time to tell us about the woman whose perfume you came home smelling like.” Wells leans cockily back in his seat knowing he opened up a metaphorical highway for Cole to exploit.
I rub my forehead at the headache I feel coming. “Here we go.”
Cole leans forward, all business. “Oh, a woman? Is it one of those handsy moms at the office?”
I laugh in denial. “Seriously? What are you, a teenager?”
Cole squints his eyes as he stares at me ignoring my comment. “You didn’t tell us, so I’m thinking it's someone we know. Who has he talked to recently?” he shoots his intimidating gaze over to Wells.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Wells snorts.
A squeal of pain has all three of us sitting up, our attention turning to the lawn. The three older boys stand in a group looking guilty as Marie turns her tear-filled eyes to her dad and wails from the ground.
“Boys!” The sound of Cole’s voice has all three boys looking at the ground.
“This is all you,” Wells adds before taking another drink as Cole makes his way to his daughter and to deal with our guilty sons.
Grateful that something more important than my love life has their attention, I breathe a sigh of relief.
A chorus of arguments rings out from the yard drawing a sigh from Wells.
Our sons are like brothers and they sure as hell fight like ‘em. It’s clear they’re willing to blame anyone as long as they avoid punishment.
What they haven’t seemed to figure out yet is that they’ll get punished no matter what.
Cole comes back, Marie resting her head on his shoulder, her hiccups making her whole body shake.
“Our sons decided to play keep away and smacked Marie in the face with the ball. They’ve had a stern talking to.
One of you can dole out punishment.” He lowers himself into the chair with an exhausted sigh.
Apparently, it’s been a long weekend at Cole’s house.
The seven of us are our own family, chosen and forged through years of friendships and challenges. It doesn’t matter who gives the punishment, the two men beside me are my team.
Right on cue, all three boys step onto the concrete porch looking at their feet.
“Take a seat, boys.” With scrunched-up faces, they take a seat on the couch next to me in three different stages of anger and guilt.
As if a flip is switched the moment they sit down, all three start up the argument they began on the lawn.
Jett’s quick to throw the blame on Tristan, who says it was Harrison’s idea to play keep away.
It gives me a headache thinking about what they’ll be like in ten years.
All it takes to get them to stop arguing is a whimper from Marie. The one thing they can all agree on is that Marie got hurt because of their actions.
After five minutes of disgruntled silence, the boys say their apologies, clean up their discarded plates, and get back to playing. Marie stays in her father’s arms fighting sleep with dark circles under her eyes.
“So who is she?” Cole’s like a dog with a bone and he isn’t going to let go easily. It’s what makes him a good lawyer, but a pain in the ass to keep a secret from.
Wells snorts knowing that I’m not getting out of it.
“Her name’s Hazel.” Saying her name has her face popping into my head.
Cole’s face scrunches. “Why is that familiar?”
“She’s the girl from the birthday party,” Wells says matter-of-factly. “Tony’s sister-in-law, right?”
“The one who called us that club. What’d she call it?” His fingers tap against the arm of the chair. “The single dad’s club. She’s right,” he chuckles, “it has a ring to it.”
The smile on my face is involuntary.
“Well, we’re happy for you. It’s about time one of us gets back into the dating pool. Five years is a long time.” The faraway look in Wells’ eyes is unmistakable. Five years might be a long time, but to him? At times it seems like yesterday.
“She’s special, I feel it.”
“She have any friends?” Cole jokes. “Wells looks like he could use a night out.” Cole ignores the middle finger flipped in his direction with a snort.
“I think you should be more focused on finding a nanny than worrying about me,” Wells shoots back.
The three of us laugh, the conversation about my relationship with Hazel pushed to the back burner as we fall back into familiar territory.
“How’s work going? Things picking up?” A sweaty Harrison crawls into my lap, water bottle sloshing as he brings it to his lips.
Wells’ landscaping business is starting to hit the busy point of the season and he’s constantly on the job. After the frigid winter temperatures, people are bursting at the seams to make their lawns beautiful again.
“It’s starting to get that way. Remind me that I’ll need to do something for myself before the summer ends. Drag me out if you have to.”
During the spring and summer months, we’re lucky to see him at all. Of course, we still have our get-togethers and hang out with the kids, but he’s fully committed to his business during the rush times. I swear he doesn’t let loose often enough despite our prodding.
“We’ll hold you to that.” Marie sighs in Cole’s lap, her little mouth clucking as sleep starts to drag her under. “I’ve gotta go get this one ready for bed.” With a huff, Cole pushes out of the chair and heads for the door.
“Yeah, we should get going too.” Harrison issues a drawn-out complaint, but he has school tomorrow and if he doesn’t get enough sleep, he’ll be cranky in the morning.
“Us too,” Wells says, ruffling his son's hair as he whines, his little shoulders slumping.
With a final goodbye and a round of hugs for the boys, we’re finally home for the night. Harrison doesn’t complain when it’s bath time and is fast asleep in no time.
Me, on the other hand? I can’t stop thinking about Hazel. She’s been on my mind all day. What would it be like to spend a lazy Sunday morning cuddling on the couch and drinking coffee while Harrison watched cartoons? Even something as mundane as grocery shopping would be magical if she was there.
It’s an odd feeling to be thinking of what someone else is doing with their day. Is she having a good day or does she need a hug? I’ve only had Harrison and myself to keep my mind occupied and I find adding Hazel into the mix has been effortless.
We texted earlier in the day—she was going to brunch with some friends—and I haven’t heard from her the rest of the day.
I need to fix that.
Rolling over in my bed, I check the time and decide it’s not too late to call her. If it is, I’ll face the consequences later. Right now, I just need to hear her voice.
My head rests on my pillow, my hair rumpled in my reflection on the screen of my phone. If I’m gonna get in trouble for waking her up, I might as well get a chance to see her face, so I opt for a video call instead. Nervously I clear my throat hoping she answers.
“Hello?”
Hearing her rough voice makes me laugh. “Did I wake you?” Her wild hair is piled in a bun with several loose strands framing her face. The smile on her face will make any anger worth it.
“No,” she sits up, the camera shifting to the sound of ruffling sheets, “I was reading on my phone.”
I don’t know what I was expecting when she popped on the screen, but the satin gold spaghetti strap sleep top that’s barely there has my heart thundering out of my chest. How did I get so lucky?
“Good. I’m glad I didn’t wake you, but I needed to see you. Hear your voice.”
“Oh,” she says playfully with the raise of an eyebrow, “Is this one of those booty calls? I always wanted to get one of those.”
“Seriously?” I laugh, grinning like a fool.
Hazel’s eyes squint adorably as she giggles. “No.”
How have I lived thirty years without having her in my life?
I arch my eyebrows playfully. “We could make it one if we wanted to.” I’d much rather have my hands all over her, but I’ll do anything for her.
She narrows her eyes at me. “Oh really?”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t mind getting a repeat of the other night, even if I don’t get to touch you.”