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“I’m guessing he belongs to you,” I tell her.
“Yes, thank you.”
I hand the bouncy boy over. “He would’ve been all the way to the other end if you hadn’t grabbed him. Running is his favorite thing to do.”
“No problem.”
“No!” Will frowns, his little brows squeezing together. “No sit!”
“Yes, sit,” his mother tells him, kissing his chubby fist. “We’re going to watch the game. You don’t want to miss it.”
I look toward the steps as everyone in the bleachers stands up again, cheering over something on the field.
“Were you looking for a place to sit?” She cocks her head toward the announcer’s box. “There’s a spot at the end by us, you’re welcome to join us.”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
I follow her down the row and she sits beside an older couple wearing matching Lakeside High School sweatshirts.
“I’m Callie, by the way. And this,” she tickles the toddler’s stomach, “is Will.”
I press a hand to my chest. “Lainey Burrows.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Are you new in town, Lainey?”
“Yeah, my son Jason and I moved here a few weeks ago from North Jersey. We’re in the old house on Miller Street.”
Callie’s eyes go wide. “Really? That place is . . .”
“Haunted.” I nod. “So I’ve heard. Haven’t seen any 18th century ghosts yet, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled.”
She laughs. “It’s an old legend around here.”
“I’m getting that. You’re from Lakeside?”
“Born and raised.” Will stands up between her legs, holding her hands and bouncing. “It’s a great town—a nice place to grow up, raise kids.”
I look down toward the field at the wall of large, padded football players’ backs and ask Callie, “Which one is yours?”
She points. “The tall, dark-haired one with Coach Daniels written across the back of his jersey.”
I follow her pointed finger to a handsome guy wearing a headset, talking animatedly to two players about to take the field.
“Garrett coaches and teaches history and I teach theater here at the high school.”
Next to Garrett Daniels, facing the field, I spot my son’s teacher-hero from his jersey—Coach Walker. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, wearing his own headset and jeans, which he fills out very nicely. Coach Walker’s got a great butt.
A woman in front of me stands, blocking the view.
“Come on defense! Let’s go, Lions!”
Will steps away from his mother, braces his hands on my knees and climbs up into my lap. And it’s nice—the sweet scent of his hair, his cuddling arms. This time next year, I’ll be holding my own little boy or girl, and I relish that thought.
“Boo!” Will says, cracking himself up.
“He’s a charmer, huh?” I say to Callie.
“Oh yes. Just like his Dad.”
Will holds his arms out toward. the field. “Daddy!”
But the team is too far down for his father to hear him.
“What do you do, Lainey?”
“I’m a lifestyle blogger—interior design, life hacks, that kind of thing. I have a webseries on Facebook called Life with Lainey and that’s why we moved here—I’m redecorating the house on Miller Street.”
“No kidding. That’s so interesting!”
“Yeah, it’s never boring. I’m lucky.”
Callie smiles warmly. “I’m going to check out your videos.”
The gray-haired woman beside Callie leans over and says in a gravelly voice, “I’m going to look at your videos too. Callie, you’ll have to help me with that internet. I want to redesign our kitchen in the spring.”
Callie gestures to the couple. “This is my mom and dad, Anne and Stanley Carpenter. Mom, Dad—this is Lainey Burrows.”
Mrs. Carpenter grasps my hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Lainey. We should talk.”
I smile, nodding. “I just finished the kitchen in the lake house. I could definitely give you some pointers.”
Mrs. Carpenter leans back to her seat, then she takes a cigarette from her purse and lights up.
“Mom, what are you doing?!” Callie snatches the cigarette from her mother’s fingers and tosses it in the cup of soda at her side, waving the smoke away. “You can’t smoke here.”
“We’re outside! What kind of world do we live in that a grown woman can’t smoke outside? So many rules you kids have today.”
“It’s not so many rules—it’s two rules. You can’t smoke around your grandson or your pregnant daughter. It’s not that difficult.”
Mrs. Carpenter waves her hand dismissively and returns her attention to the game.
I glance down at Callie’s abdomen beneath her oversized football jersey.
“When are you due?”
“Late March.”
I put my hand on my own stomach. “Me too. Well—early April.”
Callie puts her hand on my arm. “Congratulations. How’s the morning sickness treating you?”
“Oh my God, it’s so bad.” And it’s pretty great to have someone to talk to—someone who understands. “How about you?”
Will shifts back to his mother’s lap.
“You know, I was sick as a dog with Will, but this time there’s been almost nothing. Garrett thinks we’re having a girl because this pregnancy is so different.”
“This pregnancy is definitely different for me. But it’s been fourteen years since I had Jason, so it could be that I’m just old.”
