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“Rose told me he passed away a bit ago. I’m so sorry.” She placed a hand on his arm for a moment then reached for a water bottle Drew had placed near her when he’d unpacked the baskets. “My dad died not long ago too. My mom moved here with me from Texas.” She shrugged. “I guess we both needed a new start. She’s a huge help to me too.”
“Do you have siblings?”
She nodded. “A sister. Lizzie. She’s still in Texas. Mama goes back to see her every few months. Lizzie understands us moving away. We miss each other a lot but it’s what we needed. It’s what’s best for us.”
She took another bite of her cracker and noticed Drew hadn’t touched any food. “Are you gonna eat any of this? I could certainly try to do so myself, but I fear that isn’t the best course of action for me.”
He smiled and looked down at the food but made no move for it.
“Can I make you a plate?”
“Sure. Load me up.”
*
Baylee piled foodon a plate and handed it to Drew. So lost in his thoughts about Baylee, his mind hadn’t once wandered to the gourmet buffet his mother had put together. The woman was a wonder with food.
The woman beside him, however, had him mesmerized. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d spent any time with a female where he wasn’t worried about her only wanting him for his fame and money or thought he’d rather be at home watching an old movie or clips of old baseball games. With Baylee, it was… nice. No. That wasn’t the right way to describe it. Being with Baylee was the sunshine on his face, the sound of her voice with that slight Texas twang to it, her perfume floating over him in the breeze. It was calm. Easy. Heaven.
“Thank you.” He gave her a nod and put a cracker with meat and cheese piled on top into his mouth. The different flavors danced on his tongue, but they were no match for his heart rate increasing at the twinkle in Baylee’s eye.
He chewed then took a pull from the water bottle he’d opened when they sat down.
“Good, isn’t it?” Baylee popped another olive in her mouth.
He nodded in agreement. “What made you choose Silver Bay?”
She tilted her head and pouted her bottom lip for a second before answering, the gesture stirring in him a desire to kiss said lips until they were both out of breath. He put another bite of cracker in his mouth instead. Definite deterrent to that plan.
“Well…” She looked out at the water again as if deciding whether to tell him something or not. “They have schools here that are good for Casey.”
“What do you mean?”
She took a deep breath and let it out, the twinkle in her eye dimming. “To make a long story short, doctors think Casey may have some learning disabilities. Possibly Asperger’s Syndrome.” She shrugged. “We don’t know.”
Ah. The pieces began to fall into place in Drew’s mind. She was guarded about her son that was clear. And now he knew why. But why didn’t she just say that from the beginning?
Answering his unspoken question she continued. “I don’t tend to talk about it right away with people. I love my son and in no way feel there’s anything ‘wrong’ with him, but the world doesn’t think the same as me.” She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I’m protective.”
“You’re his mother. It’s your instinct to be.”
“Maybe.” She looked at him again. “But probably more than I should. He’s still too young for a full diagnosis, but there’s a private school here that works with kids with Asperger’s. And a small town has been a nice change of pace.”
A private school couldn’t be cheap. Questions about Casey’s father ran through Drew’s mind. Where was the guy? Was he financially stepping up for his son or was Baylee going it alone? But it wasn’t the time to ask and it wasn’t Drew’s business either. He barely knew Baylee and hadn’t even met Casey. And yet, his first instinct was to pay every penny for Casey to attend school. Hell, he had money sitting on top of money in the bank with no one to spend it on.
“Anyway, that was one draw to Silver Bay. I’d also driven through here once with a friend on a road trip of Northern California and I loved it. It felt right. I could open my bakery and start over, Casey could go to a good school, and we both have distance from…”
He searched her eyes for what she was about to say but, quick as a whip, she hopped up and ran towards the water. Before Drew could blink, she’d run into the pond up to her knees. She snatched up the little girl who’d been feeding ducks and had fallen face down in the water.
“Oh, my gosh!” A woman not far from them came running and swept the child from Baylee’s arms. “Thank you so much. I looked down for just a second and she was gone. Thank you!”
Baylee nodded. “Of course. They’re so quick at this age.”
The woman hugged Baylee, her daughter now clinging to her mother like a baby monkey. The two of them walked out of the edge of the pond, Baylee coming back to Drew, the woman carrying her daughter back to their blanket.
Drew was on his feet by then and moving towards Baylee, but still trying to catch up to what had just happened. His team’s outfielders didn’t even move that fast.
“Are you okay?”
