“I wanted to thank you again.You got me through a rough patch.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”Her heart rate was in overdrive.
“You and Cody made a big impression on Delilah.”
“A good one, I hope?”Was she flirting?Was she as terrible at it as she thought she was?
“I’d say so.”He chuckled again.
If she kept smiling like this, her cheeks were going to hurt.“That’s nice.”
There was a moment’s pause before Braden said, “Montana is still pretty new to Delilah.I was thinking about taking her on a hike.Would you and Cody be interested in coming with us this weekend?”
Maggie was clutching the chocolate-stained kitchen towel to her chest now, pure anticipation flooding her insides.This phone call was making her far too giddy.“This weekend?”Did it matter if it was this weekend or next weekend?She had zero plans on this month’s calendar.Next month was pretty free and clear, too.As long as she paced herself, a hike would be good for her.
“If that works for you.If not, I understand.”He cleared his throat again.“You can think about it first—”
“Would Saturday morning work?Around ten?”Why take time to think this through rationally when she could just spit out the first words that popped into her head?And there was no way he’d missed the excitement in her voice.
“Saturday at ten works.”He gave her detailed directions on how to get to the park.“I know it’ll mean a lot to Delilah to see you and Cody.She’s been asking for a playdate since we met.”
She had no reason to feel a twinge of disappointment.Braden was handsome, really handsome, but that didn’tchange her reality.She knew, with 100 percent certainty, that she was in no way ready for any sort of romantic entanglement.From what she’d seen and heard from Braden, he was in the same boat.“We probably shouldn’t call it a playdate in front of Cody.He’s too old for that.”
“That makes sense.”She could hear the amusement in his voice.“Delilah has been going on about how much older he is.Smart and tall, too.”
It was Maggie’s turn to laugh.“All that?”
“Like I said, you two made an impression.”
Meaning she’d made an impression on Delilah, too?That made her happy.“The feeling is mutual.I’ve never wanted to go buy some fun knee socks as much as I did that day.”
“She’d love that.But good luck finding any.Pretty sure I’ve bought every pair in Montana for her.”
“That’s a lot of knee socks.”
“You’re telling me.And every time I do laundry, one or two goes missing.Not that she’s bothered by wearing socks that don’t match.”
“It means she’s confident.That’s a good thing, believe me.Encourage that.It’ll make life easier for her if she grows up knowing her worth.Compliment her on what she does, not just how she looks.If she wants to wear mismatched socks, don’t make a big deal out of it.Tell her you like them.What the people we love most say has the biggest impact.Cody will repeat stuff that I said years ago so I try to weigh my words before I say them.”She broke off, mortified she’d gone on so long.“Unlike now, apparently.I bet you’re regretting you called.Ugh.That’s all the unsolicited parenting advice I’ll give you today.”
“Maggie, don’t apologize.I’m listening… Hell, I’m taking notes.”He sighed.“I’m serious.I have a notebook.”
“You do?”Hearing that made her heart flip over before it went back to beating at the speed of light.
“Yes, ma’am.As you know, kids don’t come with manuals.Why is that, exactly?”
She laughed.“Wouldn’t that be nice?”She paused a second.“Well, I should let you go.I’ve kept you from work long enough.”
“There’s always work to be done, but you’re not keeping me from anything.I called you.”
“Right.”Like she could forget?“Well…”
“I appreciate your time, Maggie.And your advice.I’ll see you and Cody Saturday?”
“We will see you then, Braden.”She swallowed against the tightening of her throat as she set her phone aside.That’s when she realized she wasn’t alone.“Mike.”She sighed.
“Maggie.”He walked to the stove, peered into the pot and frowned.“Making some sort of spackle to patch up a wall or something?”
She flipped off the burner and put a lid on the pot.“You guessed it.”
