He unzipped his bag, talking over her. “The Windhams took me to this cool toy store and I got this robot!”
He removed a large, blue plastic hunk from within his bag that looked like it cost much more than five dollars. He also began to unearth several more items. The package of Legos Saylor had bought for him. The skateboard. A few games, a remote-controlled boat, and several action figures he hadn’t had before.
“You got quite the haul, I see.”
“Santa Claus knew exactly where to come. The Windhams said they made sure to leave him a note and told him to look for the tallest chimney.” Another grin. “They said Santa would know what their car looks like too.”
Just keep smiling. Just keep smiling.
“Sounds like you had a good time. Did you have fun snowmobiling?”
“Oh my gosh, Mom, so fun. It was like, so fast. They all have snow machines, and they drive like this over the snow.” He made some gestures with his small hands, along with revving noises, pursing his lips out just enough to make her smile.
“And they had an Xbox. They said they got it just for me, because I’m their only grandkid. I played so much Xbox. It was the best.” He flopped back against the couch in boyhood delirium. “So many cool things.”
“Sounds like it,” she said, pushing away the rigidity in her chest, and the conflict over whether or not to tell him they weren’t actually his grandparents. She reached for his little hand, and he let her pull him into her lap.
She propped herself against the couch. Parker leaned his head against her shoulder. She brushed the hair away from his face, falling in love with his freckles all over again.
“I like cool things too,” she told him. “But can I tell you one of the best secrets in the world?”
His eyes lit up and he pulled away to look at her. “A secret?”
“You only get to have them with me, right?” she added, thinking of another conversation they’d had about strangers and secrets, about how they didn’t keep secrets if strangers were involved. He nodded, face completely serious.
She tilted in closer, brushing hair away from his forehead. Then she brought her lips to his ear.
“Life is not about having things,” she said.
Parker thought this over for a minute, staring off toward the pile of wood beside their stove in the corner. “But I like things.”
“I do too. It’s okay to have them, but if you had to choose between things and people, what would you pick?”
“People,” he said quickly. “Definitely people.” She laughed and squeezed him. He placed a hand over each of her cheeks, and she placed her hands over his. They shared a silent moment, just the two of them.
“What do you say we have some good old fashioned fun today?”
His brows jumped. “You mean it? You don’t have to work?”
Saylor grinned. “I mean it. Go get your snow clothes on.”
“Yay!” He bounced off her lap and darted down the hall to his room. She followed suit, heading in to squeeze into some snow pants she hadn’t worn in years. Parker trotted in several minutes later, decked out like a puffy red astronaut. Saylor squished the pom on the top of his beanie.
“Ready, Mom?”
“Just about.” She slipped into her coat and coerced a hat over her hair as well. Their boots made heaving thudding noises over the linoleum, and she pushed the back door open.
COLE WOKE UP TO ANOTHER phone call with the screen blaring Brooke’s name.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He considered ignoring this one too, but that hadn’t gone so well last time.
“Hello?”
“Hey, you.” Her voice was as it ever was, wrenching something inside of him. Memories resurfaced of holding her in his arms, cuddling in a hammock while she’d used that exact tone, kissing her soft lips and exploring a new life with her as his wife. The same empty pang joined the memories. Things had been good with her, for a while.
Maybe they could be again.
He pushed the thought away, hating himself for even thinking it. He couldn’t let himself forget how selfish she was. How degrading.
“What do you want?”
“Is that any way to greet me first thing in the morning? What are you doing today?”
“I have plans.” He wasn’t about to tell her they included another woman, a beautiful woman, just as intriguing as Brooke had been when they’d first met.
Warning crept into his thoughts—was he heading for another disaster like his previous marriage? He thought of Saylor’s ex and his vindictive expression the night before. That had been the look of a man who didn’t like seeing his ex-wife, who tolerated her presence because it meant seeing their son. What could have driven her ex to have such a horrible outlook toward her?
Maybe she was flawed in worse ways than he knew. Worse than Brooke was. If he was heading for a trap, it would be better to end things now.
Still, people could change. Saylor didn’t seem to be the type to fake anything, not after seeing how she’d reacted at being confronted by her son and ex. She’d been taken aback, maybe even embarrassed. Usually, those proved to be emotions powerful enough to bring out a person’s true self, and Saylor had handled herself with stability and patience.
No, he couldn’t walk away without finding out for himself who she really was.
“I think you should stop calling me,” he said to Brooke. She barked a laugh as though he made some great joke.
“I’m serious. I don’t know what you want, but—”
“I want you,” she said in her blatant, honest way. He used to admire her forwardness. Then it had turned into exactly what he hated most about her. It had been such forwardness that made her so condescending toward him. She’d hidden exactly none of her annoyance at him and had nagged him like a hungry pigeon.
“You had your shot. We ended it.”
“Too soon,” she said. “Look, hear me
