But reality buzzes in my pocket.
“Shit.” Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I go to silence it, but it’s Gran.
Gran
Caleb is starting to fuss and we’re out of Motrin. Any chance you could pick some up on the way home?
Bode
Sure thing
I think it’s his teeth again
Okay. We’ll be home soon
“Sorry.Caleb isn’t feeling too well.”
“Is it his teeth?” Stevie asks.
I love that she knows this and I don’t have to think of some excuse to ditch her. Not that I would want to, but she understands my life.
“She thinks so. Want to finish off the date by stopping by the drug store and going home to snuggle a teething baby?”
Stevie pecks one last kiss on my lips.
“Yes.” Leaning back, she picks up the pizza and finds the bag to dump it into. “And just so you know, this date just went up to six hundred percent.”
“Then next time I’ll try for seven hundred.”
ChapterEighteen
BODE
Finally.
After what feels like hours, Caleb is finally asleep. These last few weeks have been miserable. With his teeth coming in, he’s been in pain and it is a knife through the heart hearing his whimpering cries.
I don’t know if I could have made it through without our grandmas and Stevie’s help. Between my schedule and practice, I’ve been spending every minute at home when I’m not at the rink. And if I’m gone, it’s one of them stepping up.
We’ve got a stretch of home games this next week and I’m thankful. The last thing I want to do is leave a fussy baby with others.
Now that the cooler nights are upon us, I swipe a sweatshirt from my room and jog down the stairs.
Stevie is in the kitchen, pulling a container out of a brown paper bag.
“Hey.”
She startles. “Oh, hi. Looks like Caleb is down.”
Pointing at the monitor I left on the counter, she pries open the lid of a plastic container. The smell of enchiladas wafts over to me and I take a deep breath.
“Got any of that you can share?” I ask.
She glances at the clock. “Don’t you normally eat when you get home from practice?”
“I’m still hungry. Practice took it out of me.”
Stevie smiles, shaking her head as she grabs a second fork from the drawer and hands it over to me. “You’re lucky I have a soft spot for you.”
