Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was the first week of school vacation and Maeve had to work.
But for the first time, rather than scrabbling around for childcare, she had Brodie.
He would saunter up the path five minutes before she was due to leave, never early but never late, although she would say he was cutting it close, with his sunglasses on, baggy pants, expensively disheveled T-shirt, ready for his day.
Maeve would say, “There’s a list of—”
“Emergency numbers on the fridge,” he’d cut in. “I know.” Then Zoey would bound to the door dressed in whatever took her fancy that day, huge smile on her face about what was to come.
Throughout her shift at the hospital, Maeve would be updated with pictures of Zoey eating ice cream, Zoey feeding penguins at the zoo, Zoey climbing Starlight Mountain.
Sometimes, Brodie would be in the shot, too, and Maeve would try hard not to look at his smiling face and his perfect white teeth and the way clothes just hung beautifully off him.
He had a knack for making life seem so effortless.
When she came home, sometimes he stayed for a while, sometimes he left right away.
She hated to admit that those times, she felt a pang to see him walk off down the path.
During the tiny snatches of downtime she had at work she realized she felt a warmth in her chest about going home, about Brodie being there.
Sometimes she wondered if he left on purpose to make her feel exactly that, but no one could be that calculating, that adept at reeling a person in, could they?
A couple of weeks into Zoey’s vacation, when Maeve came home, Zoey was bursting to tell her, “Someone asked for Dad’s autograph! Isn’t that amazing!”
Maeve hardly heard past the word Dad. “Yeah, isn’t it?
” she agreed, less convinced. It was a reminder that the guy she could see sitting casually at her kitchen table making models out of air-dry clay was actually still a celebrity.
That one day he would have another lavish wedding and live in a beautiful, expensive house like his brother, and her daughter would go off and stay with Dad.
She swallowed, felt suddenly, unexpectedly, like she wanted to cry.
“He was so cool, Mom, he just took the pen and he signed and they took a selfie, I was just like wow!” Zoey couldn’t get enough of the topic.
Maeve followed her through to the kitchen. “That sounds very exciting.”
Brodie glanced up, the corner of his mouth tilted in a wry smile as if he knew she thought it was anything but.
“Can I just say the whole thing lasted less than a minute! The rest of our day was spent doing very educational things, wasn’t it, Zoey?
” It seemed important to him that Maeve knew this. Because of course, she was sensible.
Oh, for goodness’ sake! What was wrong with her? She didn’t want him unsettling her life, but then she wanted him to be there when she got home. She didn’t want his flirtatious attention, but then she didn’t want to be seen as sensible. He was driving her crazy.
She went to make herself a cup of coffee just to calm herself down.
Brodie stood up from his chair.
He was leaving?
“We went to the museum, didn’t we? And we went to the library—”
Zoey wasn’t having any of it. “And then when we were in the park the lady came right over with her piece of paper and a pen, it was super cool.”
Maeve switched the coffee maker on and turned back to face them. Brodie was waiting, watching with his hands in his pockets. “Did you have a good day, Maeve?”
No one ever asked her that, not that she needed it, but it threw her off-balance. “I did, thanks for asking.”
He shrugged a shoulder like it was no big deal. Then he said, “Okay, kiddo, I’ve gotta go.”
For a second, Maeve thought about asking him if he wanted to stay for dinner. Then she thought if this was all an elaborate plan, it was working.
Zoey had gone back to her clay modeling. “Bye, I’ll see you at the weekend.”
Maeve frowned. Her shifts at the hospital were so frantic at the moment, she barely knew what day it was. “What’s happening at the weekend?” she asked, puzzled.
“It’s the Redemption River Fair.”
Maeve went to look at the calendar on the fridge. “Is that this weekend?”
“Yes, Mom!” Zoey said, exasperated by Maeve’s inability to keep track of such deeply important events. Then she pointed at Brodie and said, “Brodie’s running it.”
To which Brodie waved a hand modestly and said, “I’m not running it, Zoey, I’m emceeing it. I’m the ringmaster—I introduce stuff.”
Maeve laughed at the idea. “You are not!”
“Such little faith.” Brodie raised a brow. “I’ll have you know that Mrs. Hernandez asked me very politely the other day and I, of course, agreed.”
Maeve tried to keep a straight face. “It seems very un-you.”
“And what, pray tell, is me?” he asked dryly.
“Not emceeing the Redemption River Summer Fair! I just can’t see you introducing the jelly competition and the costume parade. More likely running a mile the other way.”
Brodie kept his eyes on Maeve, a flicker of amusement in his deep blue gaze. “I find that very insulting. I’ll have you know that I love nothing more than the Redemption River Summer Fair.”
Maeve tried her hardest not to smile back. Not to let it radiate out her eyes. The casual banter in her kitchen with this man feeling more and more natural every day.
“I’m going to go as a duck,” Zoey piped up.
“What an excellent idea,” Brodie replied, still with half an eye on Maeve.
As they walked down the hallway, Maeve plucked up the courage to say, “Did you want to stay for dinner? It’s only fish sticks but…”
“Love a fish stick,” he said, “but—” he winced “—I’ve got plans.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, quickly covering up both the disappointment and embarrassment at having asked and been turned down.
“Truthfully,” he said, clearly able to sense the change in her, “I would have totally stayed, but—” he glanced at his watch “—I, er … I’m running late as it is.”
“Going anywhere nice?” she asked, imagining him meeting one of his brothers at the Firestone. Or maybe he was going on a date…
Don’t Maeve.
“I’m actually meeting some friends in Vegas.”
Maeve spluttered. “I’m sorry, you’re what? Going to Vegas? But you’re going to the fair on Saturday?”
“Yeah, it’s just one night.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
Maeve’s last vacation had been driving upstate to a theme park for the weekend.
Naively—wishfully?—she had pictured Brodie settled in Autumn Falls.
Zoey—maybe even Maeve herself—keeping him tethered.
But no, of course he’d been jetting off on the days she didn’t see him.
Carrying on his free-spirited, very untethered existence.
The news, while obvious, made her feel foolish.
To think they—she—had been worth staying for.
“That sounds fun,” she said as nonchalantly as she could. “Anytime you need to go away for longer, Brodie, feel free. I can always get Carole. There’s no obligation to be here all the time.”
He narrowed his twinkly blue eyes so knowingly that she feared for a moment she had inadvertently said some of her thoughts out loud. “It’s no obligation, Maeve. I’m enjoying it.”
That was the problem, she thought. It was fun for him. He hadn’t dealt yet with the tantrums or the drudgery.
She was aware always of the intransience behind his being here.
That they were still a novelty, still shiny.
She didn’t want to think that of him but it was impossible not to, especially with the notifications that came through constantly on his phone that made him smile as he read them, giving the impression there was always more excitement to be had somewhere else in his world.
What would happen when the fun of the park and the milkshakes wore thin? Where would Brodie go then?