Dean didn’t answer for a long time. Which made me nervous about what he might say.
“You’re the mother of a seven-year-old. I would never, ever play games with you.” He looked almost mad about it.
“Then why do you flirt with me? Why did Knead flirt with me?”
“Because I like you. I’m gonna go dance.”
He pushed off the wall and walked back in like that was all the information I needed, when it was woefully, woefully, not enough.
Chapter 6 – Five Years Earlier – Dean
I knocked on Grace’s door with the groceries aggressively in view. When you show up to keep someone company and you’re not sure how they’ll feel about it, it’s best to come bearing gifts.
My best friend was going out of his mind with worry over his sister, and somehow he thought I could help. “Just be there,” he kept saying. And I got it. He was six states away studying for finals.
Grace had always intimidated me, though. In some ways, she treated me like a sibling, with the teasing and the long-time jokes, but we didn’t have the closeness of a sibling bond. I didn’t throw my arms around her just to make her squeal, and she didn’t call me during the night if she heard a strange noise. We hadn’t shared Christmas mornings, or the flu, or had times where we’d broken something after a wrestling match and sworn not to tell Mom. At least, I assumed that’s what a sibling bond was like. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters.
The door cracked open, and Grace peered out at me. “Isaac put you up to this, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. But that doesn’t mean anything because he’s not the boss of me.”
She smiled at that, and then covered her mouth because she was still swollen from having her wisdom teeth pulled. Poor thing.
“I really appreciate this, Dean. I do. I promise I’m fine though. I’m a lot better today.” She reached out for the groceries with the hand not shielding her face, but I pulled them out of reach.
Groceries couldn’t keep her company, not even the excellent stuff I’d picked out after scouring the internet for what to get. “I’m glad you’re better. That’s why I only texted yesterday. I figured if I came over while there was gauze and ratty bathrobes and loopy confessions going on, you’d kill me where I stand.”
“Some of that is still happening.”
“Which part?”
“Not the loopy confessions, Dean. That’s the only fun part, and you missed out.”
I was pretty sure she was smiling again, but she still had her hand in the way of her mouth so I couldn’t be sure.
“You don’t have to hide your face from me. I know what getting your wisdom teeth out looks like.”
Reluctantly, she dropped her hand and turned her head back and forth for me like she was modeling, tucking her hands under her chin.
It was an invitation to laugh at her, but if I did, I’d be labeled a terrible person. Only Grace would set a trap like that. I went with a diplomatic, “Looking pretty good for day two.”
“Thanks. I’m so lucky these teeth decided to show up in my twenties. This is karma for all the gloating I did when Isaac got his out at sixteen.”
“Is Piper with her dad?”
It was the wrong question to ask, or maybe the right one, because while it made her shoulders drop and her smile fade, she also gave up fighting me and opened the door all the way so I could come in. “Yeah. This is the longest I’ve ever been away from her. I’m not a fan.”
“I’m sorry.” I had a million questions about it, but none of them were my business, so I put my bags down on her kitchen counter and started pulling things out. I was here to help, not pry. “I brought you some soup. There’s this café in North Phoenix that everybody swears is the best. They even pureed their favorites for you, but if anyone asks, they don’t do that.”
I glanced over at her, saw that she was still fighting her emotions, and continued talking like I hadn’t noticed. “I figured you’d be tired of ice cream and chocolate pudding by now and would want real food. But just in case you weren’t tired of ice cream and chocolate pudding, I also brought those.”
Yep, that was a sniff I just heard. Grace never cried. Not even the time she slammed her hand in the back door while chasing us boys. If Grace cried in front of me, the world as we knew it might end.
She cleared her throat and said rather thickly, “That’s sweet of you to assume I’d ever tire of eating ice cream.”
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“A little. Will you eat with me?”
