Okay, so her sassy kid wasn’t wrong. She did have a mild obsession with the word fuck.
“A horse-drawn carriage ride. Nice.” Catriona let Elliott help her up into the wagon before Clare pulled herself up behind her.
Just as she heaved herself into the air, Eli grabbed her ass and made her squeal.
Mason guffawed while Cat muttered “gross.” She seemed to flip-flop on whether she wanted Clare to be dating or not. She went from encouraging Clare to “have fun,” hell, she even gave Elliott her number at the pharmacy, but now they were together it was suddenly gross. Clare hoped she was joking, but made a mental note to check in with her daughter about whether or not she really was okay with Clare dating Elliott.
Cat turned her attention back to her phone. She was spending way too much time glued to that thing lately. Clare suspected there was a boy involved, but she was trying not to pry.
Cat would tell her when she was ready. But that didn’t stop the burning curiosity. Did she have a boyfriend? Who was he? And how had he survived Cat’s caustic wit long enough to get past her prickly defenses? So many questions.
“Everyone ready?” Their guide handed out lap robes to guard against the chill.
Marble, their horse, whinnied like he was impatient to hit the road. He knew his role and he couldn’t wait to fulfill it. As they pulled away from the Nicollet Island Inn for their hour-long tour, Clare couldn’t help but grin. She was excited like a kid at Christmas over marking #30 off their joint bucket list after so long and could barely keep still in her seat.
Their guide, Eric, was very informative on the history of the area and had a great sense of humor as he told them about their city. He managed to somehow educate them without it feeling anything at all like a history lesson.
The views of the Mississippi River and Minneapolis skyline were stunning. She didn’t remember the last time she’d simply existed and took in the world around her. Musicians were scattered along their tour route, and their songs carried on the breeze. She’d lived there for many years and seen many things, but on their journey, she saw things she’d overlooked because she’d always been too busy running from A to B.
Eric clearly enjoyed his work, and as they drove through the streets, people stopped to wave and say hi.
The hour passed in the blink of an eye, and before she knew it they were having a delicious family meal back at the Inn. Family meal. That’s what it felt like. It had been a couple weeks since Elliott had told her about coming back during high school, and in that time things felt different somehow, more.
It was as though airing out their history had brought them even closer together. Things were easier between them, and every time he smiled at her she felt it all the way to her toes.
When they’d finished their food, Eli suggested they head out to Izzy’s ice cream parlor for dessert. “Izzy’s was once rated the best ice cream shop in the US.”
“The whole country?” Mason’s eyes were wide, and despite the fact he’d eaten a huge dinner, she was sure she could see the anticipatory drool trickling already down his chin. “It’s that good?”
Eli ruffled Mason’s hair, something he’d become fond of doing. “The. Whole. Country.” He nodded. “Over a hundred flavors to choose from.”
Mason’s jaw dropped. “Shut the front door.”
“And they give samples.” Eli shrugged. “But if you’re too full…”
“No!” Mason grabbed Elliott’s arm. “My dessert belly is totally empty. Can we go? Please? I love ice cream.”
“You do?” He winked at Clare. “I had no idea. I thought you hated it.”
Mase shoved Eli with a grin, but turned to Clare. “Can we, Mom? Puh-leeeeeeease?”
She giggled at how much Mason had taken to Elliott in a relatively short time. It helped that he coached hockey, he was basically hanging out with his hero on the regular. They’d even played NHL on Mason’s games console for a couple hours. Elliott could do no wrong.
Mase had even stopped talking about moving to his father’s house, but it was still at the forefront of her mind that he was even considering the shift. With Cat basically living elsewhere already, losing Mason at home would crack her heart wide open.
She nodded. “Of course. But you’re not going to try all one hundred flavors in one sitting, Mase-Mallow. You’ll make yourself sick.”
Elliott nudged Mason as they walked toward the car. “But what a way to go, eh?” They laughed like they’d been best friends their whole lives, and Clare couldn’t help but wonder how Elliott had settled with a woman who didn’t want kids.
He was so good with younger kids, and, as it turned out from watching him with his players, older kids as well. He had so much love to give, it hurt her insides that he’d been forced to smush it all down and keep it to himself for so long.
She rubbed her tummy as Elliott opened the car door for her.
“You okay?”
“Hm? Oh. Yeah. I’m good, thanks.” She slipped into the seat.
His raised eyebrow suggested he didn’t believe it for a goddamn second. She tried to reassure him with a smile.
