“I think so.”She swallowed.“But I don’t know how to fix it.”She pushed off her door.“Not yet, anyway.I will, though.”
“Well, if you want to talk through that at some point, let me know.”
“I will.”But she wouldn’t.Her job was a minefield full of opinions and judgment, and, really, she’d like Braden to be a judgment-free zone.She smiled.“Now, about Friday.”
“If it’s too much of an imposition—”
“It’s not that.He would love to play dino expert for Delilah and her class, but I’m not so sure he’s earned that privilege.”She paused.“His teacher called me in for a conference today.She told me he hadn’t done his really big assignment—an assignment he told me he had done.He lied to me.”
“Ouch.”Braden hissed.“Damn, Maggie, I’m sorry.”
“Right?I know I should be mad, but I’m hurt more than anything.”She blinked away the tears.
“Of course you are.”There was such comfort in those words.“I don’t have any words of wisdom for you.Sometimes you have to listen to your gut, not what others are telling you.I think that’s especially true with your own kid.I could be wrong, though.You know I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“That’s not true.You and Delilah are doing great.”Better than Cody and me.She sat on the edge of her bed.“In case you didn’t know, she is the most adorable little girl I’ve ever met.”
“Don’t I know it.It makes it awful hard to push back when she’s refusing to eat a single thing on her plate, or tryingto wear flip-flops out in fifty-degree temps, or packing her suitcase so she can go back home to Florida.”He paused.“I’ve had nightmares where she did sneak out.Nothing like getting out of bed and running through the dark to check and make sure she’s still sleeping in her bed.”
Maggie’s chest hurt for him.“Those are the worst dreams.I’ve had some, too.Not that Cody ran away to Florida but that he’d tried to find his father—”Oh, no.She rushed on.“Or he joined the rodeo or stowed away on an airplane.As a parent, there’s nothing scarier than losing your child.So these nightmares are our worst fears come true.”
“That’s good to know.”He sighed.“I don’t know anyone else with a kid, so I appreciate you, Maggie.You and Cody making time for Delilah and me means a lot.”He chuckled.“Delilah, especially.She talks about Cody all the time.When are we going to see you two, and what do I think Cody is doing, and would he like it if she drew him a dinosaur picture.In her eyes, your son is basically Superman.”
Maggie laughed.
“You’re laughing.That’s better.”He cleared his throat.
Oh, my.All the tingles.She pressed her hand to her cheeks.As she suspected, they were hot.
“I’m fine with whatever you decide about Friday morning.You can text me, if that works?”
“Sure.”She was still awash in tingles.
“But we are still on for the football game Friday night?”
“Yes.”She answered awful fast.“I can’t do that to Cody.And you gave your word and all.So, we will meet you there.”And just thinking about it made her happy.Too happy.
“Sounds great, Maggie.”He cleared his throat.“I can’t give you much parenting advice but… Well, I’m here.We’re friends now.Friends can rely on one another.”
Friends.She flopped back on her bed and stared up at theceiling overhead.“I really appreciate that.The same goes for me, Braden.I’m only a phone call away.”
“See you soon.”
“Bye.”She disconnected and draped an arm over her face.“Friends, Maggie.Only friends.Stop it.All of it.Now,” she moaned aloud.“Friends don’t tingle over one another.”She took several deep, calming breaths.Friends didn’t get breathless or flushed or lie on their bed overthinking reactions to their conversation—like being breathless and flushed.
You’re laughing.That’s better.He’d said that in that dreamy voice of his.
“Enough.”She shook her head, willing all thoughts of Braden Parker away.
She lay there another minute, mentally preparing herself for what was to come with Cody.Talking to Braden had been surprisingly helpful.Instead of telling her what she should or shouldn’t do, he’d listened.He’d been a real friend.And he was grateful for her.She got up, twisted her hair up into a bun and secured it with a clip, and tried to smile at her reflection.No matter how challenging things were at the moment, her son loved her.And she loved him more than anything in the whole world.That was a good place to start.From a place of love, with a lot of patience, and a dash of parental discipline.
I can do this.And if she needed to decompress later, she had someone she could call who would listen and support her.Overzealous reactions aside, she was truly happy that she and Braden Parker had become friends.
* * *
“Football?”Miles was leaning against the bathroom door frame.
“Uh-huh.”Braden patted some aftershave on his freshly shaved jawline.
