She tickles her son. “This guy loves it on his waffles and pancakes. It’s so strange too, because we had like a full bottle, then suddenly it disappeared. “
A light feeling hits me because I know exactly what happened to it.
“How much longer?” I indicate to her belly.
“Too long, still another month… but you didn’t come here to make small talk or discuss hockey with Ford, did you?” She gives me a pointed look.
Wyatt points to me. “Paper bird.”
“What?” Brielle asks her son, grabbing his little hand.
“We made paper animals together that one time, didn’t we, buddy.” I smile at him.
He proudly nods his head.
“Oh yeah, I remember that now. The weekend we all want to forget.” Brielle exhales a long breath.
Except me, I kind of enjoyed that weekend a lot.
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs is slightly daunting. I’m not sure what mood Ford is in, but I need to talk to him if I have any chance of saving a friendship and possibly more.
“Hey.” His tone is neutral as he walks to Brielle and takes Wyatt from her arms. “Connor is asking about laundry. Really, he can do it himself, you know that, right?” he tells Brielle.
She grins and pats his shoulder. “But then we end up with destroyed clothes. Trust me, it’s better this way. He’s probably asking about his jersey. I’ll go.” She begins to walk away but pauses and clears her throat. “Be nice.” She smiles tightly at her husband.
We both watch her leave, but then I notice that Ford has an affectionate smile tracing his lips. “It never gets old, this chaos,” he states fondly.
“I can only imagine.”
He looks at me cautiously. “What brings you by?”
His calm demeanor catches me off guard, considering last time I saw him he wanted to rip me to shreds. Then again, that’s a talent many hockey players have; we eventually cool off after outbursts that are mostly warranted. I sit up on the chair. “A few things. An apology, a request, and a use of the friend card.”
Ford chortles as he grabs a box of animal crackers sitting on the counter. “Ballsy, but that’s just you.”
“Ford, I owe you an apology for going behind your back.”
“You’re not sorry,” he informs me matter-of-factly, with the corner of his mouth twisting.
I tilt my head to the side in contemplation. “You’re right. Sneaking behind your back was never an issue for me, nor would I have sought out your approval.”
His face turns serious. “I’m not going to go in circles about that. What matters right now is that my sister has a broken heart and that’s all your doing.”
My shoulders drop, and I sigh. “That’s why I’m here.”
Ford slams the box of animal crackers on the counter rather abruptly. “Gentle, Daddy,” Wyatt reprimands him.
Ford smiles sweetly at his little boy. “I’m sorry, sometimes Daddy is so strong that he doesn’t recognize his force, something other big boys should be aware of.”
I roll my eyes at his humor. “Remember I’ve taken you down a time or two.”
“Let’s stay focused. Are our future dinners going to be awkward as…” He glances at his son. “Duck? Or is this the part where you try to tell me that you’ve seen the light.” Ford snaps up a cracker with his mouth when Wyatt offers one.
“A bit of both.”
He raises one brow at me. “Let’s discuss this in the living room so this one can play.”
I nod, and we walk to the living area where Wyatt runs straight to his blocks, Puck walks to me to deliver a tennis ball, and Ford gets comfy in his big chair as he continues to snack on animal crackers.
