I turn and walk back to the kitchen where my mother is putting the last of our dishes into a box.
She walks over and folds me into a hug, the warm, comforting type that only a mother can provide. “It’s going to be okay. You and Charlie will adjust, and if it all flops, you know my door is always open. And I’ll be a lot closer now.”
I squeeze her tighter. “I know.”
A couple of hours later, I pull in behind the moving truck I’m definitely glad Mom insisted on paying for. I’m in the driveway of the cute little house I was actually able to afford a small down payment on. It’s close to the stadium, so my commute is pretty decent. Best of all, themortgage is the same as what I was paying to rent an apartment back in Victoria.
My best friend Juniper is waiting in her car in the driveway, and as soon as I climb out of mine, she races over and pulls me in for a hug. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re finally here! This is gonna be so great. You’re going to love working for the team. And if you don’t, I’ll get Cal to beat up whoever gives you a hard time.”
I laugh and shake my head at her. She’s the reason I knew about the job opportunity with the Thunder in the first place, thanks to her friendship with Cal Prescott, a player on the team. “Trust me, that won’t be necessary. I’m sure the job will be fine, and even if it’s not perfect, it’s only temporary, right?”
She pulls me in for another hug. “But your move isn’t, right? You’re here to stay?”
I nod into her shoulder. “That’s the plan. As long as I can find a permanent job before the contract with the Thunder runs out next year or somehow do a good enough job to make them hire me permanently.”
Except that would mean working for Luca permanently. And that temptation might be too much for me.
We break apart and walk into the house, stepping around the movers who have already begun bringing in boxes. Coming to a stop in my new, very empty living room, I let out a low whistle. “Okay. We need to turn this place into somewhere Charlie won’t turn his nose up at when he gets here in a few hours.”
We make quick work of unloading my car, and once the movers finish, we get to work on settingup the living room, kitchen, and Charlie’s room. Those were the spaces I deemed a priority to hopefully make things easier for Charlie. I can handle sleeping on my mattress on the floor for a few nights until Juniper or my mom can come and help me set up my bed.
“I can’t wait to hit the town with you,” Juni says excitedly as she tosses a throw pillow on the couch we’ve just set down. “There are some awesome boutiques downtown, and my favourite diner, and we can take Charlie on a day trip to Dogwood Cove. It’s a super cute town. Oh, and there’s an amazing winery, too!”
I lift my hands up to slow her down with a smile on my face. “Juniper, can we please remember I’m a single mom of a grumpy preteen who’s just moved to a new town and is about to start a new job? I’m not going to have a lot of spare time on my hands.”
She scoffs and comes over to stand in front of me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “You’ve got me, Isla. You’re gonna rock the new job, and Charlie is gonna fall in love with this place. Everything is going to work out. You’ll see.”
I let her gather me in for a brief hug. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am. Now, let's finish up here, then take a lunch break. When I was unpacking the cooler, I saw your mom put in a container full of her pasta salad, and I’m hungry.”
Just as we finish unpacking the last of the dishes in the kitchen, Juni gets a call from the office manager at the Cedar Creek Wildlife Rescue that she runs.
“Crap, I gotta go. Someone’s found an injured femaledeer near the highway. We need to make sure there isn’t a fawn nearby. Tell Charlie and your mom I’m sad I missed them and we’ll do dinner soon.”
“Go rescue Bambi. Love you and thank you for your help.” We hug quickly before she dashes off to her car.
A couple of hours later, I walk in from the back deck where I’ve just set up the patio furniture, and see my mother in the kitchen, smiling fondly at Charlie, who’s looking around with wide eyes. He turns to me, and my soul sags in relief when I see an excited—yet guarded—expression on his face.
“Hey bud,” I say, pasting on a wide grin. “What do you think? Have you seen your room yet? Aunt Juni and I set it up for you.”
“I guess it’s okay,” Charlie says, his shoulders slouched. It’s then that I pull out my secret weapon.
“Did you drive past the skate park on your way here?”
His eyes widen, and behind him, I see my mom’s grin as she flashes me a thumbs-up. I held onto this piece of information, knowing it could be the clincher in getting my boy on board with the move.
“No, where is it?”
“Close enough for you to go by yourself.” I hold up my hand when he starts to visibly bounce with excitement. “As long as you have your phone with you and are back at whatever time we agree on.”
“Deal. Can I go now?” he asks, then his face falls. “Oh wait. It’s almost dark.”
“The park is lit,” I say gently, “but why don’t we have some dinner with Nana, then you and I can go theretogether since it’ll be your first time. I promise not to be too annoying.”
I get the first genuine smile I’ve seen flashed my way in weeks. My boy, the light of my life, walks over and gives me his perfect one-armed hug. “Sounds good.”
He scampers off after our all too brief embrace, calling over his shoulder, “I’m gonna check out my room.”
