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“Do you think Jesse would like it? It’s a bit rich, it might be too much for him?”
“We can let him try it and see.”
“Good point.”
“What am I trying?”
I smiled at my son, stumbling into the room with his hair all over the place, and only one sock on.
“Eggs benedict,” Ally answered, piling the ingredients on the counter.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to swear.”
“Huh?” Ally’s confused frown was pretty adorable. “I didn’t swear.”For once, I grinned to myself.
Jesse shot me an uncertain look and because I thought I knew what he was getting at, I gave him a slight nod of permission.
“Eggs bene…dicked.”
“Oh, har har, very funny.”
“What is it, anyway?” Jesse flopped down in the chair next to me, resting his chin in his hands.
“It’s poached eggs on toast. The benedict part is the sauce, made with butter, eggs and lemon juice.” Ally turned around just in time to catch Jesse making a face. “Tell you what, I’ll make them, and if you don’t like them you can have pancakes. How does that sound?”
“Good. Can I watch?”
“Always.”
I resumed scrolling on my tablet, listening with half an ear to the conversation in the kitchen. Ally had cooked with Jesse enough times that they’d fallen into a comfortable pattern. There was some humorous teasing, a fair bit of gentle guidance, a lot of mess. It was wonderful, and I loved every second of it.
A flare of longing hit me so hard it took my breath away: I wanted this. Exactly this. Me, Ally and Jesse. Every day.Ridiculous. Don’t even go there. Forget it.A text from Jake caught my attention, which thankfully meant I was able to push my sudden, stupid longing forcefully to the side.
“Hey, Jesse.”
“Yeah?”
“Jake just texted. He’s wondering if you’d be interested in learning how to hit a baseball.” Tension hit him instantly. I could see it in the lines of his shoulders and the way he kept his face averted. Shit. I’d had no idea it might upset him, so hadn’t really framed the offer properly. “But only if you want to, bud.”
Ally looked from Jesse to me, a question in the slight raised eyebrow. I nodded permission, even though I wasn’t exactly sure what she was asking. She put her hand on Jesse’s shoulder, speaking to him in a low voice. He listened carefully, giving a quick shake of his head and whispering something. Ally leaned closer and although I still couldn’t make out the words, her tone seemed more insistent as she rubbed his shoulder encouragingly. “Well, I can ask him for you, but you know he’s gonna say yes.”
Keeping his eyes downcast, Jesse said, “Okay.”
“He’s worried that he won’t be able to do it, that it’ll make him cough and feel sick. I said you’d stop if that happened. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course.”
“See? No one’s gonna make you do anything you don’t wanna, kiddo. But you’ve got that puffer now, so maybe it’s time to give it a shot. If you don’t like it, or you’re bored, or whatever, we’ll just stop. How does that sound?”
“Okay. I guess.”
“Awesome. Maybe I’ll even throw a pitch and then we’ll really see how good you are.” That made him laugh, and my heart squeezed again. “Go wash your hands, this is nearly ready.”
“How did you know it was his asthma that was making him say no?” I asked when Jesse had left the room.
“Lucky guess.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
