Wildcard: Volume Two

“Only if I’m allowed to watch,” he smirks.

I laugh. “I’d extend an invitation for you to join me, but we all know what happened last time.”

He glowers at me. “That was a cheap shot.”

I giggle and duck into the bathroom to run the bath. While I’m waiting, I pour myself a glass of wine from the bottle Ryder ordered with dinner.

“Can I get you a glass?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “No, I think I’m dehydrated from being out in the sun too long today. I swear these next two weeks are going to kill me.”

Opening the fridge, I retrieve a bottle of water and toss it to him. He catches it with ease.

“Drink. How are you liking it?”

“The water?” he asks. He cracks the top open and swallows a mouthful. “Tastes like water,” he smirks.

“No, you idiot. The tennis camp.” I roll my eyes at his terrible joke. He is such a Brit sometimes.

“‘Like’ is a strong word.” He winces. “The girl I’m supposed to be mentoring is a know-it-all brat. I can’t tell you how much she gets on my nerves. And I hate being outside all the time,” he adds with a scowl.

“Hate being outside?” I repeat, my eyes widening. “You’re a freaking tennis player.” I giggle, because this girl sounds just like him. Maybe a dose of his own medicine is exactly what he needs.

“I know, I know. I never said I was easy to understand. I’m a complex guy.” He rolls his eyes and I laugh again.

I carry my wine into the bathroom and turn off the taps. Picking up my phone, I call Penny. It’s after eight and I want to say goodnight to Jake. If I leave it any later, he will be asleep.

“Hi, Mommy,” he says. My heart aches, because he only calls me Mommy when he’s missing me. Any other time he’s too grown up.

“Hey, baby. How are you feeling?” He sounds wheezy, which concerns me. “Have you been doing your breathing exercises?”

“Yep, I got the bubbles all over the floor today,” he chuckles.

I smile. I learned early on that it was easier to get him to do his breathing when I made it into a game. A straw in a bottle of soapy water was one of those games. He loved trying to blow through the straw and send the bubbles overflowing out of the bottle.

“Good boy.” I grin. “I love you lots, and I’ll pick you up tomorrow, okay? We’ll stay in a hotel for a few days.”

“How come?”

“Because Ryder came all the way over to see you.”

“He did? Awesome!”

“Sleep well, and behave for Penny, okay?”

“Yes,” he sighs, which makes me laugh. “Love you, Mommy.”

“Love you, too. Can you put Penny on for me?” I wait as I hear the muffled sound of the phone being handed over to her. “Is he okay? He sounds wheezy.” I know she’s taking care of him, but I can’t help it: I always worry when it comes to Jake.

“He’s fine, Scar. I think he sounds worse because he’s so tired.”

I nod. I trust her judgment because she trained as a nurse before having Max and Lucy.

“Call me if you need me, okay? I’ll leave my phone on.”

“You know I will,” she laughs. “Are you sure you’re okay? Is he still bothering you?”

I glance at the half-open door and smile.