“Jason, you have Brooke and seem happy. Can you find a way to do that for me?”Natalie asked.
Jason’s shoulders relaxed slightly. He looked at me, then at Natalie, and finally nodded. “I can try.”
Natalie gave him a small smile. “Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way… The book is nowhere to be found.”
I spoke up. “I can call Kelly and see if Ivy has a copy we can borrow.”
Jason glanced at me, looking uncertain. “If it’s not a problem…”
“It’s not,” I assured him.
Natalie grabbed her bag. “I’m going to head out with James. I’m confident you two can figure this out,” she said, her tone light but firm as she looked between Jason and me.
I stepped outside and called Kelly.
“Hello, Will,” she said, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Hi, I was wondering if you had a copy of ‘The One and Only Ivan’ that Ivy is working on for her book report?”
“Why?” she asked, her tone sharper than I expected.
“Well, uh, Bebe can’t find her copy. She may have left it at school before the break,” I explained.
“Are you serious, Will?”
“Kelly,” I said, lowering my voice so Jason and Bebe wouldn’t overhear. “It’s for Bebe.”
“You mean Natalie,” she replied curtly.
“Look, Natalie isn’t here with me right now, I’m with Bebe’s dad, Jason. Don’t punish Bebe because you’re upset with me about my relationship with her mom.”
“Relationship?” Kelly said, her voice rising slightly. “I thought I made myself clear about how I feel about her.”
“Kelly, if her ex-husband can accept this, then you can try too. Please, Kelly. Do the right thing here.”
“Don’t patronize me,” she snapped. “I’ll have Madison drop it off at your house.”
Before I could even offer to come pick it up myself, she hung up.
I went back in the kitchen to find Jason. “My daughter, Madison, is going to bring the book to my house. You are welcome to come over and wait for it or I can drop it off.”
“I’ll follow you over to your house,” he said, sounding uncomfortable.
Jason held his car door open for Bebe, while I climbed into mine. As we pulled out of Natalie’s driveway. It was a strange dynamic—one I never thought I’d be part of—but here I was,leading Natalie’s ex and her daughter to my house to borrow a book.
Halfway to my house, my phone buzzed. It was Evan.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Where are you? I’m at your place. Door’s locked, alarms are on… Did you forget about our plans?”
I groaned inwardly. “Sorry, I got caught up. I’m on my way. Just go in through the garage, I’ll disarm the alarm remotely.”
Evan hesitated. “Caught up with what? Are you with Natalie?”
“No, Jason and Bebe are coming over to grab a book for her report. Madison’s stopping by too,” I said quickly, hoping to keep it brief.
Evan laughed. “Jason, as in Natalie’s ex? And Madison? Sounds cozy.”
