“Come here, I have to whisper so your mommy doesn’t hear.”
Mila skipped over to me and put her hand on my shoulder, tugging me down to her level. “Tell me! Tell me! I love secrets!”
Claire just watched on with amusement as I whispered some very valuable advice into Mila’s ear. When I was done, she covered her lips and giggled.
“Don’t ever forget that, okay?”
She held out her pinkie finger and wrapped it around mine. “I pinkie promise, Aunt Cassie.”
My heart squeezed.
“Oh, baby, she’s not your aunt. She’s just Uncle Thatch’s friend,” Claire interjected, flashing me an apologetic look.
“Yeah, but her and Uncle Thatch are gonna get married and have a baby and they’s gonna take me and my new baby cousin to Disney World! We’re gonna have so much fun!”
I wasn’t sure how in the hell to respond to that, which was a first for me. I generally had a retort to every-fucking-thing.
“Mila!” Claire laughed in horror.
“What?” she asked, not the least bit concerned she’d just planned out my future. “Uncle Thatch said it was a really good idea!”
“Of course, he did,” I muttered and met Claire’s tickled gaze.
“Tenacious,” she mouthed with a wink.
“Mila! It’s time for presents, baby girl,” Frankie called loudly enough that we heard him. Mila ran out the door at a dead sprint, straight for the picnic table covered in pink wrapping paper and sparkly ribbons.
As Claire and I followed her outside, she whispered in my direction, “What’d you tell Mila?”
I grinned. “Everything you probably wanted to say but didn’t because you’re a good mother.”
“I hope you told her to kick that little asshole in the nuts.”
I winked. “Oh, don’t worry, it was definitely something along those lines.”
She laughed, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. “Remind me to tell Thatch he’s not allowed to come to our house unless you’re with him.”
“No doubt, I’ll tell him while I’m buying our future child’s and your daughter’s plane tickets to Orlando.”
For now, I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.
I watched as Cassie took off down the street, knowing her foot must have been nearly to the floor. She’d excused herself while I was saying my good-byes, her plan only evident when I heard the little hamster engine of the Fiat roar to life.
I shot out the front door at a jog, but she was already pulling away from the curb, my bag still inside.
“Looks like you’re going to need a ride,” Frankie said as he slowly came up beside me.
I forced a shrug as her fading taillights burned in my chest. “I probably should have warned her about coming here when I begged her to come bail me out this morning.”
A woman like her only puts up with so much.
“Yeah, what’s that about?” he asked.
“It’s not important.”
“Ah, okay. I’ll take that to mean the opposite. Our friendly hometown is still giving you hell about my sister.”
I nodded even though it wasn’t a question, but I said nothing else. He didn’t need to know it wasn’t a remark about Margo that had upset me the most. It had been the comment about him that crawled under my skin. I turned to head into the house just as Mila came running out the front door. The sound of tires screeching to a stop filled the void behind me. Craning to look over my shoulder, I found Leadfoot Leann right back where she’d started.
“Thatcher!” Cassie yelled, apparently having circled the block. “Get over here and get in the car!”
Her smile was ear to ear, and there was nothing I could do to stop it from spreading to my own face. Cassie winked, but it wasn’t at me. Curiosity made me turn around to find the source.
Mila stood there giggling and pointing at Cassie as Cassie pointed back at her.
“What did I say?” Cassie yelled through the open window of the car.
Mila’s little voice was shrill as she shouted back. “Give boys hell!”
“Mila!” Claire admonished, but Frankie just laughed.
“Okay, now I really like her,” he said, referring to my crazy driver. Safe to say he wasn’t the only one.
I’d thrown her into the lion’s den, for fuck’s sake, but she’d flourished. Socializing and mingling without me and owning her yoga pants and T-shirt like a motherfucking gown. I still couldn’t figure out the birthday gift she’d managed to pull from her purse.
She wasn’t actually upset with me over my deceitful directions and unexpected stop; she was just checking in to the game.
With one final kiss to Mila’s and Claire’s cheeks and a fist bump for Frankie, I ran for the car and closed my hand around the door handle just as Cassie gassed it two feet and slammed on the brakes. Her laughter echoed throughout the neighborhood.
“Okay, Mary, let me in the car.”
“Mary!” she shrieked and floored it again.
Frankie, Claire, and Mila looked on, laughing a little more with every exchange.