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RYAN
My thoughts are on Harper,like they’ve been ever since she left yesterday. Who am I kidding? They’ve been on her ever since she waltzed back into my life, and I’m annoyed I can’t see her today. But sadly, I can’t postpone the conference call with my agent and a sponsor. I have less than an hour to unwind and eat until I need to park my ass in my office chair.
At least my training went better today. It was a long day, and I’m still distracted but not as badly as I was last week. I close the garage door behind me just as my phone rings in my pocket. My heart skips a beat, hoping it might be Harper, but then I recognize my mom’s ringtone.
I accept the call and head to the kitchen to drop off my swim bag and to get a drink. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, sweetheart. How are you?”
It’s good to hear her familiar voice. “Good. How are you?”
“Your grandmother is driving me insane, but other than that, everything’s good here.”
My grandmother talks in the background, and my mom chuckles.
Some things never change.
My mom and grandma have always been close, despite the fact she’s my dad’s mom. When I decided to take in Zane so he could finish school here, some of the guys told me I had a cockblocker living with me. While that might have been partially true, I also know I was lucky. He’s a good kid, and we all want him to be a good man. If others thought that was a sacrifice for me, to lose opportunities to score, it didn’t matter. There’d be time for that. Right now, it’s my career . . . and a baby.
I grab my drink and walk to the couch. “How’s work?”
“Good. First graders are little turds sometimes, but that’s no news. Every teacher has to deal with that. Your dad has it worse with the teenagers. At least mine are still young and impressionable.”
My mom can’t hide the affection in her voice. Growing up, it was always weird to see them at school, but they’re both remarkable teachers and well-liked by their students.
“I couldn’t do what either one of you is doing, but you know that.”
Neither one of my parents have to work because I made sure they’re set for the rest of their lives. But they wanted to continue it anyway because they love it. According to my mom, they’ve both always wanted to be teachers and bonded over their mutual devotion when they met in college.
“Neither one of us could do what you’re doing.” She shushes my grandmother. “We all have our strengths and weaknesses which is a good thing, or everyone would be doing the same things in life. Now how boring would that be?”
“Goodness. Ask him already.” This time, my grandmother is loud enough for me to hear.
“Ask me what?”
I lean back on the couch and close my eyes, drowning out their bickering until my ears catch the end of my mom’s sentence. “. . . hot blonde.”
My eyes pop open, and I freeze. “Sorry, what?”
She clears her voice. “I talked to your brother earlier, and he mentioned someone coming to the house last week looking for you, a hot blonde. His words, not mine.”
I’m going to punch him. That little bastard. Did I just think he was a good kid? Why on earth would he tell something like that to our mom?
“I’m not getting any younger, Ryan. I want some great-grandbabies.” My grandma sounds closer than before.
Are they huddled around the phone? Or . . .
“Am I on speaker?” I relax again, beyond exhausted after my two training sessions today. Having to deal with the outcome of my brother’s gossipy mouth definitely wasn’t on my to-do list for tonight.
My mom sighs. “No. But I swear your grandma has better hearing than a bat, no matter how much she pretends to be hard of hearing.”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, because she isn’t wrong there. Selective hearing seems to run in the family since my brother suffers from it as well.
A noise sounds on my mom’s end.
“Sorry, I went into a different room.” She stays quiet, and I’m not sure if she’s trying to find the right words or waiting for me to say something. “Welllllll?”
“Yes, Mom, a woman was here. Her name is Harper. We met in New York, and she’s here to visit some family.” I hate keeping secrets, but I can’t tell her more at this point. There will be fuss, lots of fuss, and I’m not ready for that yet.
