We eat pizza and ice cream while Jack talks about slip-n-slides and a Harry Potter-themed party.
It’s the best family dinner I’ve had in,
well, ever.
13
Nora
When the front door opens, I lean my head back and smile at Grayson.
“Beer?” he asks, sitting beside me on the porch swing. “I’d offer you wine, but this is all I have.”
“This is perfect. Thank you.”
It’s nine o’clock. After lunch we played a game of hide and seek, which turned into a game of whiffle ball, followed by four-wheeler rides, and ended with grilled burgers for dinner. The kids talked me into watching a movie, and then Emma asked me to read her a book before bed, and I can’t tell her no.
So, here I am. Still at Grayson’s house. When I called Nick earlier to tell him I wouldn’t be home until late, he was silent at first.
And then he said, “Okay.”
“You’re not mad?” I asked.
“You’re a grown woman. It’s good for you to have friends. That is all you two are, right? Just friends? Because if you’re screwing around with Gray, I might have to kill him.”
I laughed. As much as I wish we were screwing around, we’re not.
“We’re friends.”
“Good.”
Nick was happy with that, though I’m sure Jessa has some thoughts of her own, which is why I didn’t call her. I figure Nick can pass the memo on and she can corner me sometime tomorrow.
I take a swig of the beer and curl my nose up at the stale, bitter taste.
Grayson laughs. “You could’ve just told me you don’t like beer.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it; I’ve never had it.”
His jaw drops. “You’ve never had beer?”
I shake my head.
“Your brother is going to kill me,” he says, reaching for the bottle.
I evade his grabby hands. “Oh, no. My brother is not my keeper. If I want to have a beer, I’ll have a beer.”
“Fair enough.” Grayson digs a toe into the porch and gives the swing a push.
“It’s beautiful out.” There’s a nice, warm breeze and tons of stars in the sky. “We don’t see stars like this where I live.”
“Where exactly do you live?”
“I have a place in Calabasas, but I’m hardly there.”
“So, what exactly brought you to Rock Springs, Nora? Or should I call you Slugger?”
My head whips to the left, my eyes wide. Grayson has the beer bottle pressed to his lips, but I can still see his smile.