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“Where did I put that damn towel?” Amber used her free hand to slap at the cushions as if she were really searching.
“Mom time steals all the me time,” he said. “I get that. So your ex is the last man you…”
“Played scrabble with, yes,” she said with a smirk. “I’m not really a bar hopper go out on ladies night, so no flirting or dancing or hand holding.”
“The bigger question, for me at least, is would game night be something you would be interested in?”
“In keeping with the whole scrabble theme, yes, but I’m not big on busting out the board and tossing my tiles willy-nilly.” She set down her glass of wine and let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Well, one doesn’t lay out oxyphenbutazone on the first draw.”
“Oxy what?” she asked leaning forward.
“What? I thought everyone knew the highest scoring word in scrabble.” Mountain shook his head. “You do need to get out more and play games.”
“That’s not a real word.” She laughed.
“You challenging me?” He said shifting a bit closer to her. “Where’s your dictionary?”
“How would you know that word?”
“Don’t let the stripper body fool you baby.” He moved his hands over his torso and swiveled his hips on the couch. “I’ve got a brain too. Paying my way through college on a pole just frees me up for study groups.”
Warmth washed over Amber as stared at him and then laughed.
Once again, they both relaxed against the back of the couch. This time Amber put her hand in his hand that laid on the couch. He flipped his hand palm side up and gripped hers slightly.
After several minutes into the movie, Mountain asked her, “So Amber where do you work?”
“Well…” Her eyes brimmed with tears.
“What’s the matter babe?”
“I got fired or laid off today. A crazy mix to come on a random Saturday morning. It’s why Callum had the lemonade stand and all that. Maisie caught me searching for jobs and that led to her starving in the cold as we all piled into one box to live.” A shiver tore through Amber. “It’s not that bad, she’s a tad dramatic at times, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do now. Even if Callum drops out of school and runs a lemonade stand full time, I’m pretty sure today was a fluke brought on by a very sweet group of people.”
“Um, that just sucks. Why were you fired?” Mountain couldn’t believe she had a pink slip dropped on her.
“They used the excuse patient volume was down, but I know they weren’t happy when I had to call in sick with Callum.”
“A sick kid? Really?”
“I know he looks good now, but Callum has a rare condition call JDM,” she explained. “Juvenile Dermatomyositis.”
“And you said oxyphenbutazone was a fake word,” he teased, hoping to lighten the mood a bit and set her at ease.
“Actually, I know it by its brand name,” she countered. “Tandearil. We discussed putting Callum on it when he got older.”
“It’s a drug?” he asked only knowing the word because he searched it out and memorized it on the off chance he could actually beat Valter.
“Yes.” She smiled.
“Just because I use a shovel as a weapon doesn’t mean I know the practical uses of it,” he said with a shake to his head.
“Anyway, Callum had been good all winter, taking his meds. Even during the summer, he found things out of the sunlight or at least put on sunblock. When Maisie signed up for soccer, he saw there was a team for first graders and I want him to have as normal a childhood as he can have.”
“Was it the soccer or the sun that hurt him?”
“Why do you say that like you’re going to kick the ass of whichever of the two hurt my child?” she questioned.
