Page 66 of Possessive Ink

“Maybe,” she says noncommittally.

Not wanting to push the issue, I file away the idea of looking into classes for her as I gather her more fully into my arms and enjoy a moment of calm with her.

More time must pass than I thought, because when my cell starts to ring it’s after lunch. “Sorry, Princess,” I say, lifting her off me enough that I can slip out from beneath her and cross the room to retrieve my cell from the counter.

“Hey,” I say, answering the call without checking the caller ID.

“Hey, baby,” Mom’s voice says through the speaker.

“Hey, Ma. How you doing?”

“I’m good. When are you and your brother flying in?”

“Ma, we road tripped. You know Felix doesn’t like to fly. We got to town a couple of days ago.”

“Oh yes, I think I remember you telling me. Are you at a hotel? Why don’t you come and stay at the house? Hotels are always so impersonal.”

“Ma, we bought a place. We moved in already.”

“You bought a place? In Rockhead Point?”

“Yes, Ma. We bought a warehouse, then we had it converted into a loft and a studio space for Felix.”

“So you’re not staying at home?”

“No, Ma.”

“Oh,” she says, sounding disappointed. “What about Jude and August? Will they be coming home? I made up all of your bedrooms.”

“No, Ma. The team has apartments for new members to use while they find places to rent or buy close to the rink. But they’ve already started looking for a house here.”

“In Bozeman?” she asks hopefully.

“No, Ma, in Rockhead Point.”

When she sighs sadly again, I start to feel a little guilty that for the first time in years we’re all back in Montana, and instead of settling near them on the outskirts of Bozeman, we’ve chosen to stay close to where Tori has planted roots here in the tiny town of Rockhead Point.

“Do you have plans tomorrow night? We could come and visit you and Dad. I could see if Tori is free, and all of us will come over.”

“Jude and August too?” she asks hopefully.

“I’ll have to have a look at their game schedule. If they’re not playing, I’m sure they’ll come too. Plus, I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

“A girl?” Mom whispers.

“Yes, Ma, a girl. My girl. Her name is Lemon.” Turning, I glance at my princess and find her looking at me, her eyes wide. “She’s gorgeous and perfect. You’re going to love her.”

“I’ll cook,” she says excitedly.

“Saturday is pot roast,” I remind her.

“Oh, I was thinking we could grill. Your dad just got this enormous new grill with a smoker and everything.”

“You can make a pot roast on the smoker. I’ll send Dad a link to a recipe,” I tell her.

“Okay, baby,” Mom says, the entire timbre of her voice changed with her excitement.

“See you tomorrow, Ma.”