Thank you, she mouthed back.
“That’s fantastic!” April was a touch too cheerful sauntering to see what her daughter had uncovered. “Oh my gosh, she left you a twenty-dollar bill.” April didn’t sound so excited about that.
“Usually, I only get a dollar.” Harmony waved the bill toward Jack. “She must’ve gottenreallyconfused this time.”
“Hey, it happens to the best tooth fairies.” Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m sure she doesn’t mind if you keep it all.”
“How many more teeth do you think I can rip out of my mouth today?” Harmony asked, eyes glittering.
“Let’s let them come out when they’re ready,” April said. “Now go eat your breakfast, Toothless.”
Harmony and Rohan went back to the kitchen and April whacked Jack on his arm with the back of her palm. “You can’t just leave atwenty,” she whispered. “That’s setting a precedent for all future teeth—times three kids. That’s a lot of cash.”
“Maybe next time she won’t be confused. She’ll leave the correct amount.”
See? Problem solving and a spin at the same time. He had this crisis management thingdown. Did his chest puff up? Yes. Yes, it did.
Though it’d never felt quitethisgood to solve an issue. This one seemed to matter a whole lot more than the others he’d worked through.
Which was odd, given that this one had nothing to do with the things that usually mattered to him most. No life coaching, no hanging drywall…
“Confused, huh?” April gave a sly smile and nodded. “Maybe.” Then she turned backward as she got to the doorway. “And thank you. For saving the day.”
…
The difficulty in reconciling who he believed himself to be with who he was becoming when he was with April was getting harder and harder as the hours turned to days. He worried that as the days turned to weeks, the man he thought he was would disappear. Well, maybe it wasn’t so much a worry but an understanding. Because the thing was, he wasn’t sure he would mind.
They’d made it through most of their time together. At this point? His hours in Denver were numbered. Only a handful more days untilPractical Parentingand then he’d be back in the land of sun and ocean and…office. Boardroom meetings. Lunches that didn’t really matter with sandwiches that weren’t cut into fun shapes.
Denver was a great place. Rachel was here. His nephews. His brother-in-law.
April. Harmony. Rohan. Lola.
The kids had grown on him. He wasn’t ready to touch their yanked-out teeth, but he’d had more crayon-flavored water than he cared to admit.
He could work remotely from anywhere. Perhaps Denver could be his permanent anywhere? Rachel would be over the moon about it.
Jack should just communicate with April about how he was feeling. That’s precisely what he should do. He paced from his bedroom to the hallway to do just that. Then he paused.
He would not do that.
Over the past few days, things had changed for him. Things he’d like to explore. The feeling that he’d prefer to stay for a while longer.
Not forever. No. Nuh-uh. April had been clear about wanting nothing permanent.
He didn’t necessarily want to be permanent, anyway. He just…wasn’t ready to leave.
He paced back to his room and shut the door, leaning against it.
He had nearly completed the work here. Her accounts had gone through a thorough scrubbing by his team. She’d worked up a plan for an abundance of new content that was Calm Mom perfection. Ethan Greene would come by to show her some tricks for keeping it all together during live feeds. They’d talk cookbooks. The MyTube channel was in the works. And then the granddaddy of them all—Practical Parenting—would propel her right where she needed to thrive.
The plan was on track. Honestly, if it was any other account, he’d already be moving on to the next job.
But the thought of driving away, getting on a plane, and going back to how things were before made his cotton T-shirt itch like a cheap suit.
A quick trip to the Cherry Creek mall had provided him with casual clothing more fitting to April’s home than his suits. These clothes were comfortable. So it made little sense why his fingertip seemed to search out the collar all on its own and yank it away from his skin.
Though maybe it madesomesense. He wasn’t there for her anymore. Now, he stayed for himself. To give them a shot as athem. A temporary them was still a them.
