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“Tonya, we have to go. I thought you were with my parents.”
“Sorry, I was talking to Ms. Nickels.”
“You get going, and we will talk again soon.”
“Okay,” she said, and then Michelle and Tonya raced off together. I watched Tonya run, and my heart ached. I missed seeing Lauren run like that. I missed seeing Emmy period.
Maybe Ishouldbring them down for Memorial Day. I could take them home the day after. They’d miss a day of school, but it was the end of the year. It wasn’t like they were learning anything right now. I’d have to speak to Kayley and see if that would be alright to do.
* * *
Igot my chance to talk to Kayley that next weekend as she and Cameron helped me install the new cabinets that were delivered.
“Hey, Kay, I wanted to talk to you about the picnic.”
She gave me a stern look. “Don’t say you aren’t coming because Brad is going to be there.”
I had told Kayley that Brad and I had parted ways, but the only reason I gave her was that we wanted different things. She had known there was more to the story, and if she wanted to ask her brother, she could. I didn’t want to cause tension in his family because I was a neurotic mess.
“No, I’m going to be there. I told you, Brad and I are friends.”
“Yeah, when is the last time you spoke with him?”
I waved a hand. “That’s beside the point. The reason I was bringing up the picnic is that I’d like to know if I could bring the girls.”
“What? Of course! They are always invited, but I thought you weren’t bringing them down until later this summer.”
“I was thinking about bringing them down for the weekend and taking them back Tuesday morning.”
“That would be great. I bet the girls would love to see the house too.”
“We might need to crash at your place. I’m not sure if Emmy would be able to deal with the house without furniture in it, and so much still being worked on.”
“Absolutely! I’ll have Becky stay at my parents’ house for the weekend, and you can sleep in her room. That way, the girls will have the guest room to share.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. You are family, which means they are family. My parents will be thrilled. I’ll let them know.”
I almost said, can you not tell them, but I kept my mouth shut. If Kayley told her parents, Brad would find out, and I didn’t want to make him or his kids uncomfortable. “Great,” I replied finally.
By the end of the day, we had most of the cabinets in place. The counters were coming on Monday, and I hadn’t been able to get off work or out of coaching, so Kayley said she’d oversee the delivery. With her here, I wouldn’t have to worry about it. She knew more about the installation than I did.
I stood back and looked at my kitchen. Tuesday afternoon, the appliances would be delivered, and I couldn’t wait to cook my first meal in my kitchen. I had no pots or pans yet, but I was pretty excited about using my fancy new microwave.
That night as I lay on my air mattress, I wondered if I should reach out to Brad and say hello. Maybe mention that I was going to bring the girls to the picnic. I even started typing a message but realized that it would send the wrong message. I had already told him it wouldn’t work, so why tease the man?
I plugged my phone in to charge and rolled over to sleep. As I closed my eyes, I imagined Brad next to me, his arms wrapped tightly around me as I drifted off. I was so tired and lost in the dream that I never even felt the tear slip from my eye as I fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bradley
It was the Saturday before Memorial Day, and I was sitting outside on the back porch sipping my coffee. Like I had been doing all week, I was dwelling over what might happen at my parents’ house on Monday.
Kayley had shared that Nolan had driven to New York last night after work and was coming back today with the girls. I wished that I could meet them today and see their faces when they stepped into their new home—but no.
Hell, I wished that I knew what the inside of their new home looked like now. I was pretty sure that after several weeks, it would be completely different. The kitchen was complete, and Kayley said it was beautiful, plus the stone was up in the entryway, the porch replaced, and most of the painting completed.
