“You twirl and bend like one, anyhow,” I add.
She raises her brow but says nothing. I notice her cheeks blush a shade of pink. I pause for a beat and look at April who is watching me intently. “What’s cooking?”
She blinks a few times. “Oh, that. Uhm, just a macaroni cheese bake, and truffle potatoes with chicken for the adults. Didn’t have it in me to make stew or anything pioneer themed.”
“It sounds good. What time is dinner?”
“Should be in twenty minutes, but I’m going to leave you two at it. I'm going to work on some things on my laptop.” She seems to want to avoid us, and for some reason, that disappoints me.
April ignores us for the rest of the night, and it causes me to toss and turn when I should be sleeping.
* * *
When I wake,I seem to run harder for my morning workout, as if something is bothering me, which makes sense considering my current life predicament. Standing on my dock on the lake after my brutal run, I pick up a baseball from the basket of many and throw it out across into the lake. I do this on repeat to relieve stress.
“Whoa, isn’t this a waste of baseballs?” I hear Ford approach me, as he must have been on a morning run.
He jogs in place once he reaches my spot.
“Sorry. It’s been a hell of a week.” I stretch my arms over my head then throw another ball. “This is no different from golfers and their golf balls.”
“Fair point. Nothing to do with the woman who was in your car yesterday? She looked familiar.”
“April?”
“As in Hudson’s niece?” He brings his foot up behind him to stretch his quad.
“Yeah, she’s staying with me for a little bit.”
He makes a winding gesture with his hand. “Hold up. You clearly haven’t told your best friend what the hell is going on.”
“She’s the one.” He looks at me, as if I need to offer up another clue. “As in the one from the wild night I had after Hudson’s and Piper’s baby shower.”
Ford laughs deep. “Oh man, does Hudson know?”
I shake my head. “Trust me, it was one night only.”
“Then why the fuck is she living in your house?”
“A complication arose.”
His eyes grow big. “Like a nine-month-later complication?”
“No. As in 'we kind of did something and need to ensure nobody sees it' complication.”
Ford now laughs hysterically.
“It’s not funny.”
“Yes, it is. Everyone knows that with a good lawyer you'll be fine. I mean, how many guys on my team have done something stupid and nobody ever found out? It is way too many to count.”
Raking a hand through my hair, I know he's right. “Anyhow, it’s a temporary stay, and we argue most of the time.”
“I do remember you mentioning you’re not a fan. But why did you invite her to stay? You never let women near Hadley.”
“I didn’t have much choice. Besides, I can get away with saying she is a friend to Hadley since she's always around Piper and Hudson.”
Ford bobs his head from side to side. “Maybe.”
