Chapter 3
ISLA
It’s been two weeks since the day everything changed. The day I interviewed for a job with a man who has starred in far too many late-night fantasies since then.
“Mom, where are my skate shoes?” Charlie yells from the front door.
“Breathe, darling,” my mom murmurs to me, rubbing my shoulder as she walks past. She’s been a godsend.
Not just with helping me pack up our life again, finding a place to live in Cedar Creek, and navigating the million and one little tasks associated with relocating a preteen in the middle of the school year.
She’s also run interference between me and my boy more than once.
When Charlie was born, I was still in high school, and still living with my parents.
We stayed with them for several years, even after I managed to graduate.
That led to them having a really close relationship with my son.
When my father died, it was hard on all of us.
Most of all, Mom. So when she moved just over a year ago to Dogwood Cove, a small town close to Cedar Creek, we supported her the whole way.
Now she’s repaying the favour, helping me make the move.
I can’t wait to be closer to her again. It certainly helps that housing prices are way cheaper outside of the larger cities, meaning Charlie and I won’t be crammed into a tiny apartment any longer.
Still, I’m already riddled with uncertainty about this decision, and the off-and-on guilt trips Charlie is piling on aren’t helping.
Combined with his apparent lack of attention or memory to just about anything to do with the move—including the fact that he himself packed his skate shoes into a box yesterday—and I’m at my wit’s end.
I realize I’m luckier than most single parents in that I’ve always had my own parents’ help and support. Even so, this shit will break even the strongest. And I’m close to that point.
I take a few deep breaths before finding my son haphazardly rummaging through one of the boxes of his clothes I painstakingly packed for him last night.
“You put them in the box marked garage,” I reply, proud of how calm I manage to keep my tone. “And that box is already on the truck.”
“But I wanted to go skateboarding,” he says, his voice bordering on petulant.
The defiant stare he gives me isn’t fooling anyone.
He’s anxious about the move, even if it is only a couple of hours farther up Vancouver Island.
Upset at leaving the only home he’s known outside of my parent’s house.
At the same time, I know he’s also grappling with feeling a bit excited and relieved.
At least, that’s what I overheard him saying to my mom the other night.
He might not admit it to me, but at least I know he’s not as mad about this upheaval as he seems.
There’s hope.
“Then you’ll have to skateboard in your regular shoes.”
That statement earns me a sigh of annoyance that only a twelve-year-old boy can produce. “Fine.” He turns to go, skateboard and helmet in hand, and I call out a reminder.
“I’m leaving with the moving truck in half an hour. Nana will bring you up to Cedar Creek before dinner. Listen to her, please.”
“’Kay.”
At least he acknowledged me.
I turn and walk back to the kitchen where my mother is putting the last of our dishes into a box.
She walks over and folds me into a hug, the warm, comforting type that only a mother can provide. “It’s going to be okay. You and Charlie will adjust, and if it all flops, you know my door is always open. And I’ll be a lot closer now.”
I squeeze her tighter. “I know.”
A couple of hours later, I pull in behind the moving truck I’m definitely glad Mom insisted on paying for.
I’m in the driveway of the cute little house I was actually able to afford a small down payment on.
It’s close to the stadium, so my commute is pretty decent.
Best of all, the mortgage is the same as what I was paying to rent an apartment back in Victoria.
My best friend Juniper is waiting in her car in the driveway, and as soon as I climb out of mine, she races over and pulls me in for a hug.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re finally here!
This is gonna be so great. You’re going to love working for the team.
And if you don’t, I’ll get Cal to beat up whoever gives you a hard time. ”
I laugh and shake my head at her. She’s the reason I knew about the job opportunity with the Thunder in the first place, thanks to her friendship with Cal Prescott, a player on the team.
“Trust me, that won’t be necessary. I’m sure the job will be fine, and even if it’s not perfect, it’s only temporary, right? ”
She pulls me in for another hug. “But your move isn’t, right? You’re here to stay?”
I nod into her shoulder. “That’s the plan. As long as I can find a permanent job before the contract with the Thunder runs out next year or somehow do a good enough job to make them hire me permanently.”
Except that would mean working for Luca permanently. And that temptation might be too much for me.
We break apart and walk into the house, stepping around the movers who have already begun bringing in boxes.
Coming to a stop in my new, very empty living room, I let out a low whistle.
“Okay. We need to turn this place into somewhere Charlie won’t turn his nose up at when he gets here in a few hours. ”
We make quick work of unloading my car, and once the movers finish, we get to work on setting up the living room, kitchen, and Charlie’s room.
Those were the spaces I deemed a priority to hopefully make things easier for Charlie.
I can handle sleeping on my mattress on the floor for a few nights until Juniper or my mom can come and help me set up my bed.
“I can’t wait to hit the town with you,” Juni says excitedly as she tosses a throw pillow on the couch we’ve just set down.
“There are some awesome boutiques downtown, and my favourite diner, and we can take Charlie on a day trip to Dogwood Cove. It’s a super cute town.
Oh, and there’s an amazing winery, too!”
I lift my hands up to slow her down with a smile on my face. “Juniper, can we please remember I’m a single mom of a grumpy preteen who’s just moved to a new town and is about to start a new job? I’m not going to have a lot of spare time on my hands.”
She scoffs and comes over to stand in front of me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “You’ve got me, Isla. You’re gonna rock the new job, and Charlie is gonna fall in love with this place. Everything is going to work out. You’ll see.”
I let her gather me in for a brief hug. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am. Now, let's finish up here, then take a lunch break. When I was unpacking the cooler, I saw your mom put in a container full of her pasta salad, and I’m hungry.”
Just as we finish unpacking the last of the dishes in the kitchen, Juni gets a call from the office manager at the Cedar Creek Wildlife Rescue that she runs.
“Crap, I gotta go. Someone’s found an injured female deer near the highway. We need to make sure there isn’t a fawn nearby. Tell Charlie and your mom I’m sad I missed them and we’ll do dinner soon.”
“Go rescue Bambi. Love you and thank you for your help.” We hug quickly before she dashes off to her car.
A couple of hours later, I walk in from the back deck where I’ve just set up the patio furniture, and see my mother in the kitchen, smiling fondly at Charlie, who’s looking around with wide eyes. He turns to me, and my soul sags in relief when I see an excited—yet guarded—expression on his face.
“Hey bud,” I say, pasting on a wide grin. “What do you think? Have you seen your room yet? Aunt Juni and I set it up for you.”
“I guess it’s okay,” Charlie says, his shoulders slouched. It’s then that I pull out my secret weapon.
“Did you drive past the skate park on your way here?”
His eyes widen, and behind him, I see my mom’s grin as she flashes me a thumbs-up. I held onto this piece of information, knowing it could be the clincher in getting my boy on board with the move.
“No, where is it?”
“Close enough for you to go by yourself.” I hold up my hand when he starts to visibly bounce with excitement. “As long as you have your phone with you and are back at whatever time we agree on.”
“Deal. Can I go now?” he asks, then his face falls. “Oh wait. It’s almost dark.”
“The park is lit,” I say gently, “but why don’t we have some dinner with Nana, then you and I can go there together since it’ll be your first time. I promise not to be too annoying.”
I get the first genuine smile I’ve seen flashed my way in weeks. My boy, the light of my life, walks over and gives me his perfect one-armed hug. “Sounds good.”
He scampers off after our all too brief embrace, calling over his shoulder, “I’m gonna check out my room.”
After he bounds up the stairs, I drop down into the nearest chair. “Thank God he doesn’t know how to hold a grudge.”
Mom bustles into the kitchen, pulling together the dinner she insisted on preparing. “He’s a good kid, and he loves you. He knows this move isn’t meant to be a bad thing, just give him time to adjust.”
And later that night, when I’m sitting on a cold concrete wall, watching my boy skateboard around the dips and ramps of the nearby skate park, I breathe a sigh of relief. Because now that we’re here, I can feel myself finally starting to believe that Mom and Juni might be right.
Moving to Cedar Creek will be a good thing.