“Thank you,” I say to her as she sets a glass down in front of me. I don’t care if it’s rude or not, I pick it up and put that straw in my mouth so damn fast and start . . . Nope, can’t do it. I decide to drink directly from the cup itself because I don’t need Hawk getting any more ideas. After she leaves, he reaches forward for my glass, taking it away from me.
“I’m afraid I’ve offended you.”
My head twitches in a half-assed attempt to say no. “N - not at all,” I stammer.
“I did and that wasn’t my intent. I was simply making a joke because, like I said, you’re not like most women and I don’t know . . . I’m not even sure why I said that. I’m sorry. Sometimes my mouth gets the better of me.”
“Apology accepted.” Except now there seems to be nothing but awkward silence between us. He’s focused on his glass of water and I’m fiddling with my fingers. Every so often, we look up at each other and make an attempt at a smile, but nothing more.
“This is stupid,” I say.
“What, dinner?”
“No, this . . .” I motion between the two of us. “This weird pregnant pause we have going on. I get that women probably throw themselves at you, and they should . . . you’re gorgeous.” Instantly I feel my cheeks heat up. “And part of me wants too, because of what you did for my son today.”
Hawk leans his good arm on the table. “Let me get this straight. You’re somewhat attracted to me . . .” I start to talk, but he holds his hand up, silently asking me to let him finish. “Because of what I did for your son?”
I let his words sink in while I gnaw the ever-loving crap out of my inner lip. “Chase’s dad is absent. He has a new family and didn’t really say much when I told him I wanted to move back to Montana. I think . . .” I sigh, taking a deep breath. “My decision was easier for him, too, because it’s what his new wife wanted — all of the attention to be on her and their daughter — Chase was just in the way. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, as a single mom, knowing that a man took time out of his day to make my son happy makes him the most attractive man to me.”
He seems to ponder what I’m telling him. I didn’t say those things about Chase’s dad to make Hawk feel bad, but to let him know where I’m coming from.
“I don’t know if it was just playing catch with him or if it’s something you said, but when my son came home from the park today, he was riding his bike with some boys who’ve never come around before and he was laughing. He was so happy.” I pause and inhale deeply to calm my emotions. When I glance at Hawk, he’s staring at me intently. I clear my throat and lean closer so my voice doesn’t carry to the other tables. “I don’t remember the last time Chase laughed so much, and now he’s off with Nolan like they’ve been best friends forever.”
Hawk looks over his shoulder toward the arcade room and then back at me. “I’m going to have to let what you’ve told me sink in before I respond. I have a real hard time understanding how children can be so mean to each other.”
“Me too, but around here parents are extremely divided.”
“I’ve gathered.”
The waitress comes back with our pizzas and salad and after she sets them down, without any warning, Hawk whistles so loudly I fear my eardrums are bleeding.
“What the hell?”
“Watch,” he says, cocking his head toward the arcade. Within seconds, Nolan and Chase are walking back to the table.
“Mom, I’m going to go wash my hands. Come on, Nolan.” And just like that both boys are running toward the bathroom.
“How did you do that?” I ask in amazement.
He shrugs. “My dad taught me how to whistle when I was younger than Nolan. Living on the ranch, there’s all these hidden threats and while my dad didn’t mind my sisters and I roaming, if a ranch hand saw something, they or my dad would whistle. If we didn’t whistle back right away or appear quickly, they’d mount up and come look for us. Now, you tell me how you got my nephew to wash his hands so easily.”
“I’m a germaphobe, which means I need to go wash mine as well.”
I stand and take a step to leave but Hawk’s hand clamps down on my wrist. “Are you talking like OCD levels?”
“No, just the level that a restaurant is never truly clean.” He sighs, almost as if he’s relieved that I’m not extreme. In the bathroom, I take care of business, wash my hands and check what little make-up I have on to make sure my eyeliner isn’t running. The door opens and normally I ignore whoever is walking in, but something tells me that I need to see who it is.
Annie Larsen is standing there, staring.
“Hi, Annie,” I say, smiling.
“My husband told me that you propositioned him. That you’re willing to sleep with him in order to get your son onto the team.”
I turn to face her and really study the woman in front of me. Her clothes are loose fitting, like she’s lost some weight, and there are bags under her eyes. She doesn’t look like the refined and posh version of her normal self.
“Annie . . .” I pause and gather my thoughts. “I had dinner with Brett, at his suggestion. I thought it would be all of us, including Matty, but he insisted it be only us. I know you don’t want to believe me, but I have the text messages to prove it. My phone is at the
table I’m sitting at if you’d like to come read them.”