“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Hazel murmured cryptically as she climbed from the passenger seat. It wasn’t clear quite what she was referring to.
“This is Tanner—my eldest. I’ve been trying to get him to stay and join us but it’s not working.” Cassidy made the introductions as they neared the front stoop, her arm still slung around her son’s waist.
“Hey, ladies. I was just leaving.” Tanner’s eye socket was swollen, his lower lip split and scabbed. Leah winced in sympathy when he gave them a big, wide smile and he winked when he caught her reaction. “You should see the other guy.”
“Hockey fight,” Cassidy explained, with a long-suffering sigh.
She dragged her son back into another embrace, forcing him to bend so she could place her forehead against his. “Take the trade, honey,” she murmured from the cradle of his beefy arms. “It’s time to come home.”
Tanner rubbed at the scruff on his jawline; there was a slim, stretchy hair tie around his wrist, though his own disheveled hair was nowhere near long enough to need it.
“I’ll let you know what happens.” He rocked on the balls of his feet, gave his mom another squeeze, then pulled away.
Leah and Hazel stepped off the path to let him by.
“I saw Avery Delgado in the diner last week. She asked after you.” Cassidy tossed the words after her son, pushing the front door wide to welcome her guests.
Tanner’s face went from friendly to frozen. He plucked at the band on his wrist, snapping it against his skin. “I’ve gotta run. It’ll take me more than three hours to get to the airport. I’m cutting it fine already.” With a waft of salt and citrus, which tickled Leah’s nose as he passed, he jogged to the car parked in front of her own and climbed in. From the driver’s seat, he wound down the window and called, “Tell Sam I’ll send him the jerseys for the auction. They’ll be more popular if they’re Blackhawks ones. I’ll get in touch with the guys over there and get some signed.”
Cassidy blew him a kiss and Tanner waved, pulling away just as Marjorie and Gerry drew up.
“Come in, lovelies! I’m running behind because Tanner surprised me. It was a last-minute thing.” She waved them into the foyer of her pretty little house. “He’s single, by the way, Leah. And fully housetrained. My boys all cook better than I do!”
“Does he know you pimp him out? Or should I keep this between us?” Leah teased, Tanner’s easy smile losing out instantly to the fiercely guarded one she had to work so hard for. Maybe there was something wrong with her.
Hazel reached for the kettle. “Her tastes don’t run to hockey boys, Cassie. You should try Florence.”
When they finally settled down and the meeting began, it turned out only Gerry had enjoyed the book they’d picked this month—a thriller with a female protagonist.
“Urgh, women written by men are the worst!” Florence’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Just clothes, body parts, and no character.”
“Bring on the Shadow Daddies with chiseled jaws written by women,” Gerry teased. “They’re far more rounded.”
“I can’t decide if I’m more concerned you make a very good point or that you know what a Shadow Daddy is,” Florence admitted.
“He was clueless, honey, but our granddaughter filled him in.” Marjorie topped up her wine glass. “She did us a whole PowerPoint presentation onACOTAR.”
“I drew the female character from our book.” Leah rummaged in her bag and unfolded a scrappy piece of paper on the tabletop. “That bit when she’s cornered in the sewer and the water level’s rising.”
“You’ve gotten her spot on.” Ava Martinez nodded. “All boobs, lips, doe eyes, and ‘Save me! Save me!’ Ridiculous when you see firsthand how tough today’s women really are.”
“You’re so clever,” Marjorie said, reaching for the paper. “It won’t matter how long I go to art classes with Ava, I’ll never be as good as this.”
Leah’s cheeks grew warm. “I love it,” she admitted. “I’m drawing more and more these days.”
“Jackson bought her an electronic thingy that she can use instead of her phone,” Hazel added.
“It’s an iPad Pro,” Leah clarified, when everyone turned to her for more information. “I’ve downloaded a graphics app and watched a million tutorials. It’s unleashed all this pent-up creative energy I didn’t know I had.”
Florence let out a low whistle. “Someone’s getting pricey presents. Sounds serious!”
“He said it was a bonus for the work I’ve done on Esther’s books.” Leah could feel herself flushing even more.
“He took her to the beach too,” Florence told the group.
“I think there might have been kissing,” Hazel said in a stage whisper.
“Can we talk about something else?” Leah asked in desperation, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. Sadly, there was no Ailsa to get them back on track, as she had other plans this week.
