Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

NOVA

Gigi had pushed me into a corner. Literally. Then she settled her hands on her hips and raised her white eyebrows. She was like a garrison leader burdened with the personal conviction that I needed protecting at all costs. It hardly mattered that I’d lived in Texas for weeks now and was finding my own routine.

The kids were growing used to their new school and making friends. Ben’s flag football practices took place three days a week in the evenings, sometimes shifting—I learned recently—with Dusty’s schedule. The boys had two coaches, so they maintained a steady routine, but things changed sometimes.

Like now. It was Tuesday, not a regular practice day, but a text had gone out saying Jake had been called to Dallas for a work thing and Dusty started his next shift at the firehouse in the morning, so practice was tonight. They’d get the next two days off.

Gigi, watching me read the text in the diner’s kitchen, pressed her lips together and positioned herself as commander of my protective forces. “I will take Ben to practice. You go home and finish those cookies for your New York friend. ”

Friend was a loose term when it came to Trish. I was one hundred percent doing this for the money.

Gigi knew my deadlines, she knew my schedule, and she’d known I was overwhelmed merely from whatever my face did when I read Dusty’s text. It was hard for me to accept help. Aside from being a woman and a mother—there was nothing like female determination to prove we can do it on our own—I had come to Texas because it was the only way I could maintain a semblance of independence while trying to get back on my feet.

But my choices were to stay up all night with the cookies for Trish or make Ben miss his practice.

“You aren’t needed here?” I asked, glancing at the swinging door that led into the diner’s dining room.

Triumph shone in her eyes. She knew I was weakening. “It’s my diner, love. I can leave if I want.”

“Which isn’t actually answering the question.”

“Vicky will be here soon. Between her and Tyler, they have the floor covered. Bonnie will take over for Dal.”

“Who’s washing dishes?”

“I’m trying to hire someone for that. Phyllis can’t do evenings anymore.”

“I’ll come back tonight and help, then,” I said.

Gigi shook her head, making a disgusted noise. “You’ll run yourself ragged.” Taking me by the shoulders, my short little aunt forced me to look down into her eyes. “Let me help you, Nova. Your mama would if she was here, but she isn’t. She’s trusting me to do what I can.”

When she said it like that, it made me want to sink into her arms and let her hold me. But I was a grown woman with too much to do today, so instead I nodded. I couldn’t open my mouth or the burgeoning, threatening emotion would take control.

Sagging, I nodded. “Okay. Thank you. ”

“Have the kids ready to go, and I’ll be by to pick them up in an hour.”

“Practice isn’t until seven,” I reminded her. It was just after three, and I was about to head out to walk them home from school now.

Gigi’s eyes twinkled in that way aunts had, knowing they were slipping Hershey’s Kisses to the children while the parents remained unaware. “I know. Have them ready.”

The door swung closed behind me as I walked into the crisp sunlight. I missed my mother right now more than I had for the duration of this whole ordeal. She’d always been a stalwart support, to the point of offering to cancel the mission trip to remain behind and take care of me. But I wasn’t going to stand in the way of something my parents had worked for and sacrificed for and looked forward to for so many years.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to the group chat with my mom and dad.

Nova

Love and miss you.

I found my kids on the far side of the lawn at what we’d dubbed our “pickup tree”—very original—and started walking back to the apartment.

“How are things going with Penny and Kendall?” I asked carefully. It was hard being the new girl and trying to find her place on the playground.

“We’re all BFFs now,” Alice said simply.

Well, that didn’t sound like a good idea. Penny was clearly a volatile component here. “I’m glad you’re getting along.”

“Sarah wants to invite all of us to her birthday party, so we’re going to go together. Can we, Mom?”

“When is the party?”

She wrinkled her nose. “July, I think.”

Months away. There was time for all of them to find new BFFs. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. “We’ll chat about it when the invitation comes in, okay?”

My phone buzzed with a text from Dusty, which was a first. He only had my number in the group chat for the flag football team.

Dusty

Heads up, you put that in the wrong chat. Unless you meant for it to go out to all the parents on the team

I swore, swiping out of the message and into our group chat. There it was, my blasted text to my parents. I pressed and held it, but the chat was a mix between iPhones and Androids so it wouldn’t let me unsend. I typed out a quick message.

Nova

Sorry, all! Wrong chat

“Mom, why is your face so red?” Ben asked, peering up at me.

I reached over and ruffled his hair. “Just told your whole team how much I love and miss them.”

His mouth dropped open. “Mom!”

Wow. Was he old enough to be embarrassed now? This was kind of a first, and it cracked a hairline fracture in my heart. “I didn’t mean to,” I said, defending myself. “I thought I was texting my parents.”

Alice wrinkled her little, round nose. “How can you mix those people up?”

“With extreme skill.” Honestly, I didn’t know how I’d done it either. It seemed like sometimes my brain was so full, keeping up with the important things, that trivial details fell by the wayside, like checking the top of the chat to make sure my finger had hit the proper thread. “I corrected it though, so don’t worry. They know it was an accident. ”

Ben huffed, then ran ahead of us.

Alice slid her little hand around mine, and suddenly my mistake really didn’t seem like a big deal. Her small fingers squeezed. I would do anything for this girl.

I texted Dusty separately with my free hand.

Nova

Thanks

Dusty

I would say anytime, but I’m guessing you don’t want it to happen again

Nova

Preferably not, but it wasn’t the first, and it probably won’t be the last

Dusty

I’ve got your back

My stomach did a weird leap. I shoved the phone in my pocket and tugged Alice closer. “Tell me about your day, little sprite.”

When we reached the apartment, I helped the kids empty their folders and sort their homework. Ben beamed over the perfect score on his spelling test and munched on pretzels. I laid out his clothes and rubber cleats for practice, then filled his bottle with ice water.

He went into the room he shared with Alice, and I sat beside her at the table, helping her finish her math page.

“Alice!” he called. “Where’s my Chewbacca?”

“I don’t have it,” she yelled back.

“It was on my bed and now it’s gone.”

“Quit yelling,” I yelled at them both. “Ben, come out here if you want to talk to your sister.”

He stomped from the room, his brow furrowed. “I told you he couldn’t marry your Barbies. Where did you put him? ”

She looked outraged. “I didn’t want him to marry my Barbies. I was using him as Bob’s brother .” Bob, her Minion.

“What about Stuart?” Ben asked.

She kept a straight face. “He’s in the hospital. He had an accident.”

Good grief. “Did you take Chewbacca?” I asked her.

She focused on the bumblebee she was supposed to be filling in on the page, different colors coordinating to different math problems.

“Alice,” I said sternly.

“No.”

“Can you help Ben look for it?”

“Fine.” Alice hopped up and ran into their bedroom. Ben let out a long-suffering groan before following her.

When she came back to the table a while later, it was after a series of somersaults, one of which landed her back against the wall. “Can I do tumbling with Kendall?”

“Maybe,” I said, my whole body tightening. How much did it cost? Those classes could be pricey. “I can ask her mom where she goes and look into it. For now, let’s worry about your math. Gigi will be here soon to pick you up.”

And then I had cookies to decorate.

Once the homework was finished, Ben was in his uniform with his shoes and water in a bag, Alice had packed exactly three toys—one Barbie and two Minions, one of which was mercilessly covered in Band-aids—Gigi arrived. It only took a few minutes to get the tornado of children and their belongings out the door. Gigi didn’t look the least overwhelmed. Was it her unflappable nature that lent itself to running a diner for so many years, or had the diner given her this unruffled calm?

It was no matter. Closing the door and faced with a mess left behind by the kids, I breathed out my relief. The house was quiet and they wouldn’t be back for hours. Time to decorate some cookies.

Bent over the counter, holding a large piping bag of dark gray royal icing, I squeezed shadow outlines on a few of the moon’s craters. I’d opted to avoid buying new cookie cutters and did the same planets, astronauts, and rocket ships we had last year. All of them were now outlined and flooded, and I’d moved onto the details I was able to do before the first layer of icing hardened.

The door swung open and Alice raced inside holding her pink monkey, her eyes wide. “Ben’s hurt.”

“What?” I dropped the bag of icing on the counter and hurried toward the door in time to jump out of the way, avoiding a collision with Dusty, who held my son in his arms. My stomach turned over.

Together, they filled the doorway. Dusty must have seen the panic covering my face, because he was quick to speak. “Twisted his ankle in a hole in the grass.” He shook his head. “This is why I prefer to practice at the school.”

Ben’s face was pinched, his brown eyes squinting.

“Where should I put him?” Dusty asked.

Since we didn’t have a sofa yet, or any other furniture really, I motioned to the bedroom he shared with Alice. “His mattress is in there.”

Gigi came through the door and closed it behind herself. “He’s dirty, Nova. Maybe put him on the kitchen chair—” She looked around and grimaced at the lack of kitchen chairs. “Maybe a bar stool?”

“Bring him to the bathroom,” I decided. “I can change his clothes in there.” I walked ahead and put the toilet seat down, picking up a towel from the floor and kicking aside Alice’s discarded pajamas. I didn’t love Dusty being in here and seeing the mess, but he followed me in and lowered Ben slowly to the toilet seat .

Looking at the bathroom through his eyes, though, all I could see was evidence of children and a tired mom. Blue toothpaste dotted the sink bowl and water spots covered the mirror. Toys littered the tub floor and the bathmat was bunched up against the wall.

It took everything in me not to straighten the room more.

Dusty looked from Ben to me, then jerked his head to the side a little like he wanted to speak to me in the hall.

I crouched in front of my son first. “I’ll grab PJs and a bag of ice. Just sit tight for a minute.”

“Okay.” His blond hair was darkened with sweat and sticking out on top. His eyes were red and his cheeks were streaked with dried tears. “Mom, it hurts.”

I pulled his shoulders in for a squeeze and felt his arms tighten around me. “I’ll be quick,” I said, kissing the top of his head.

Dusty was waiting right outside the door. “I don’t think it’s a bad sprain. Probably just rolled it.”

“Are you a paramedic too?” I asked, hoping he had medical training.

He gave me a half smile. “No, just a basic EMT. Billy’s dad is a doctor, and I asked him to take a look before we left practice. He told me to let you know you don’t need to bring Ben in for an X-Ray unless he can’t walk on it in the morning.”

My shoulders deflated, carrying a heavy breath. That was money I didn’t want to spend and an injury I didn’t want Ben to suffer. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He hesitated, then a glint flashed in his eyes. It felt like the moment he chose to forge ahead. “Gigi was going to carry him home, but I thought I might as well show Ben exactly what firemen are good for.”

My eyebrows lifted of their own accord. “You’re never going to change his mind about that, you know. ”

His head fell a little to the side, a curious line forming above his eyebrows. “Why not?”

I started toward the bedroom to get Ben’s pajamas and tossed over my shoulder, “Because Ben’s hero is a cop.”

“Oh yeah? Who’s that?”

I smirked, walking away. “My dad.”