“Thank you for your help, Nicole,” Rowdy told her as he pulled back from her embrace. “Kari and Cindy told me to let you know that they’re over at Shannon and Grunt’s house now and they’re not going to wait on you before they open the wine.”
“In that case, I better hurry,” Nicole laughed as she rushed out the door. “Those lushes won’t leave me a drop!”
After Nicole passed him, Rowdy leaned one shoulder on the door frame and crossed his feet at the ankles. “I told the girls that I’d take y’all to dinner. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“Thank you,” I told Rowdy as I slid off the exam table. “For everything - not just your dinner offer.”
Rowdy smiled at me as I got closer to him, “What would you like for dinner?”
“I’m not sure.” I chuckled uncomfortably. “We haven’t been out much since we moved here.”
“Ever been to Gabby Gator’s?” Rowdy asked as Leia squealed with excitement.
“No.” I said, curious now.
“Pizza buffet and a great salad bar. But the best part is the arcade attached to the place. The kids can go play and we can talk about what happened at the store.”
I nodded my head, unsure exactly what I had said in my moments of weakness. I hoped I hadn’t mentioned Jackson to him or that Lexi hadn’t said something about him. The fewer people who knew about my ex, the better as far as I was concerned. They asked less questions if you didn’t start off giving them details, in my experience.
Leia was talking a mile a minute telling Lexi about this restaurant Rowdy was taking us to and I was glad to see that my daughter had made such a good friend. I had to remind myself to keep things platonic with Rowdy so I didn’t accidentally cause problems with that friendship.
“I talked to Kari on the phone just a little bit ago. She told me I can trust you,” I said quietly when I stopped in front of him. “I believe her.”
“You can.” Rowdy nodded as he stood up and away from the door frame. “But for now, let’s just get some food. We can talk about it over ice cream while the girls play, then I just might challenge you to some skee ball.”
“Oh, a challenge?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll try and go easy on you, but my competitive nature might take over.”
“Winner gets the spider ring?”
“And the pencil eraser!” Rowdy laughed.
“Oh, it’s on now, buddy!” I taunted as I walked past him to head through the lobby and out the front door, the girls still chattering behind us.
“Leia,” Rowdy interrupted them as we walked. “Use my phone and call over and see if Holly wants to join us.”
Leia and Lexi both erupted into squeals and I saw Rowdy flinch at the high-pitched noise. He unlocked my door and helped me in before he did the same for the girls. I watched as he walked around the hood of the truck and wondered just what I was getting into.
Nothing. It was just a chance for my daughter to hang out with friends and for me to have a conversation with a new friend of my own.
And maybe if I said that 50 times I’d start to believe it.
The ride across town to pick up Holly was filled with chatter from the backseat. They were discussing what games they wanted to play and what kind of pizzas they were going to try. I was content to let them fill the silence and apparently so was Rowdy.
When we pulled up in the driveway of a strange house, Leia and Lexi both jumped out as soon as the truck came to a stop. Rowdy and I laughed at their excitement and followed at a much slower pace.
The front door flew open and all three girls started squealing as they jumped up and down.
“Why do girls do that?” Rowdy asked me as we both watched the excitement.
“Which part?”
“Well, that ear shattering scream for one. And then this ‘I haven’t seen you in ages’ greeting they’ve got going on, when really they were all three together not even two freaking hours ago!”
I just shrugged my shoulders because even as a female myself, I had no answers for him.
The girls piled into the house and I heard a man’s deep voice order, “Drop it down to a manageable level.”
Rowdy and I laughed as I followed him into the house. I was surprised to see a very fit, very large, black man standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living area.
“You want some muzzles or something, man?” he asked Rowdy as they shook hands. “You’re taking three of them and no one has a gun to your head. You must be nuts.”
I had seen a man with Holly before and I was almost positive he was her father, so I wasn’t sure who this guy was.
“Sierra, this is Marcus Hamilton, Holly’s other dad. I think you’ve met Reagan at practice, right?” I smiled and stuck my hand out to shake Mr. Hamilton’s realizing that Rowdy just answered my questions without me having to voice them. “Marcus, will you be around when we bring Holly home after dinner? I have some things to talk to Sierra about at dinner and we might need some advice from you.”
“I’ll be here,” Marcus assured him and glanced over at the girls. “The boys are at my brothers house for the night, so Reagan and I are going to sit here and enjoy the peace and quiet for a while.”
“Want me to keep Holly for the night, give you two some time alone?”
“Nah. She sleeps better at home, but she’d probably like to have the girls over for a sleepover sometime.”
“We’ll make some plans for that. Right now, I
