“Love you,” Ramon said before flying to his cage. Seconds later they heard him singing, “Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are.”
He was still singing when Jax logged off the camera. She handed the remote to Gentry, then put her arms around her children and pulled them close. This, she thought happily. This was all she needed.
During her lunch break on Monday, Ryleigh found herself scrolling through the pictures on her phone. She knew she was being ridiculous but she couldn’t shake the sense of sadness that had gripped her since the non-proposal. She’d been so sure, so ready, so clear on their future. But what if she’d been wrong about all of it? What if Dustin didn’t see them moving in the same direction? What if he didn’t want to marry her?
Questions that had no answer and even if she was willing to ask them, he was at a conference for the next few days. Since their weekend away, they’d only communicated via text—a medium that made it difficult to get information in a meaningfulway. She didn’t think he was avoiding her, but she was feeling paranoid enough to not be completely sure. Worse, she didn’t like how a relationship she’d once seen as easy and comfortable had just gotten complicated.
She was about to drop her phone into her bag when it buzzed with a text.
I’m getting takeout. I know I should be a better father and cook all the time, but that’s not happening tonight. Want to join us?
She smiled, then hit the call button. Alex picked up immediately.
“You’re going to tell me it’s not about cooking all the time,” he said, his tone cheerful. “It’s about Noah knowing I love him.”
She laughed. “So you don’t actually need me to have a conversation.”
“I prefer when I have you to talk to but I seem very capable of talking to myself.”
“I’m not sure your clients would be comfortable knowing their lawyer is having little chats with himself, so you might want to keep that quiet.”
“Good advice. So yes on tonight?”
“Yes and yes.” Not only did she enjoy hanging out with Alex and his son, Noah, she appreciated the chance not to spend another evening alone. She’d done the “dwelling on the past” thing for too many days already. A distraction was called for.
“Want me to pick up Noah from camp?” she asked.
“That would be great. I’ll be home around five.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
She was still smiling when she put her phone away.
A little after four Ryleigh drove to the after-school camp Noah attended. The popular business had opened in town about five years ago. It was located in a remodeled barn a coupleof blocks from her elementary school. The grounds were big enough to give the kids a place to play outside and the barn itself was large and open, with areas for activities like art and doing homework. The camp was open after school and into the early evening as well as on Saturdays—a convenience for working parents or those needing emergency childcare.
Several of her students went to the camp, so when Kim, Alex’s late wife, had gotten sick, Ryleigh had suggested it for Noah. Since Kim’s passing, Noah had become a regular, staying there until his dad was done with work.
Ryleigh parked, then walked inside and rang the bell at the front desk. One of the camp counselors greeted her by name, then waited until Ryleigh signed out Noah.
“I’ll go get him,” the fortysomething woman said easily. “But I have to warn you, he’s out in the fort, so it may be a minute.”
“Not a problem.”
Ryleigh was grateful Noah was having fun with his friends. The first few months after his mother’s death, he’d been so quiet and withdrawn. Understandable, of course, but still concerning. Now he was the happy, outgoing kid she remembered.
She’d had Noah in her kindergarten class two years ago before she’d started teaching first grade, and through him she’d gotten to know his parents, Alex and Kim. She and Kim had become friends, so the following year, when Kim had been diagnosed with cancer, she’d stepped in to help where she could. Around the same time, Kim had introduced her to Dustin, so in a strange way, falling in love with Dustin and Kim’s illness and death were somehow linked together.
When she’d died, they’d all been devastated. Ryleigh had done her best to be supportive and there for whatever Alex and Noah had needed. Slowly, over the past fourteen months, she and Alex had become good friends. She enjoyed hanging with him and Noah, doing the occasional “mom” thing like taking Noah shopping for clothes or making cupcakesfor the bake sale. Now, as she waited, she wondered how it could have been fourteen months since Kim died. She still missed her friend but knew she would be pleased to know her son was thriving.
Rapid footsteps had her smiling in anticipation. Seconds later Noah burst into the waiting area. He grinned when he saw her.
“Ryleigh! Dad didn’t say you were picking me up.”
“It was a last-minute thing. I hope it’s okay.”
Instead of answering, the seven-year-old flung himself at her and hung on tight. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing just as hard.
When he released her, she put her hand on his shoulder as they walked to her car.
