“You work all the time. When do you sleep?”
Lucy smiled; she hadn’t really cared about sleep last night. But now…now, she was realizing she was way too old for such late nights. “I get it in. I’m just trying to get everything taken care of.”
“So we aren’t homeless.”
“Angela Lynn.”
“Oops, sorry. You know what I mean.”
“Yes, and yes,” she answered before clearing her throat. “But hey, good news, I have a new office.”
“Woo-hoo!” Angie said, throwing her hands up and doing a little shimmy in her booster seat. “Is it nice?”
“Yeah, um…” She paused. She didn’t have to say her next sentence, but she wanted to. “It’s actually in Coach Benji’s backyard.”
“No way! Can I go hang out with him when I’m not in school?”
Lucy smiled. “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“He’s so freaking cool. It’s so nice he is letting you use it.”
“I’m renting,” she said, more for herself than her daughter, who had no clue what she was talking about.
“Still, he’s so cool. You should marry him,” she said, so offhandedly and annoyingly carefree.
But Lucy, she gasped. “What?”
Angie giggled. “You’re so silly, Mommy. You sound like you saw a ghost.”
She sounded like that because this was crazy talk. “Because you’re crazy! Marry?” she laughed, her stomach going nuts. “Please, Benji wouldn’t want to marry me.”
“Why? You’re so pretty,” Angie said simply. “And he always stares at you.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Yes, he does!” She laughed, smacking her thigh. “I’m gonna ask him.”
“You better not,” she warned, and Angie was full out laughing like they were in comedy hour.
“Ha! Mommy has a crush.”
“Angela Lynn! What in the world? How do you know what a crush is?”
“I’m seven, Mom, not a baby.”
“You are a baby, thank you,” she said, breathless, pulling into the parking lot. “And I do not have a crush.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Angela! No, I do not,” she said, by this point giggling as she parked. Why was she giggling? Stopping, she glared back at her daughter. “And if you say one word to Benji about that nonsense, I’ll ground you.”
Angie only snickered as she threw the door open and got out. Lucy, on the other hand, was shaking her head. Kid was going to give her gray hair before she was thirty. She swore it. She grabbed Angie’s bag out of the back, and Angie met her by the trunk and bounced on her heels.
Wait. Did she say that because she wanted Lucy to get married? Crap. Looking over at Angie as she shut the trunk, Lucy found herself asking, “Do you think Mommy needs to be married?”
Angie shrugged. “Daddy is married to Heidi. And I don’t know, I think it would make you happy.”
Lucy bit into her lip. “But you’re happy, right, baby?”
“Duh, I have the best mom in the world!” she gushed, giving her a half hug. “I just want you to be happy.”
“I am.”
“I know, but I think you need someone to talk to who isn’t a kid, who loves you like I do.”
“You are way past your years, Angela,” she said, squeezing her baby to her side. “Plus, I have my mom, Jude, Jayden, and Jace.”
Angie gave her a deadpan look as they walked up to the rink. “But they are busy with the people they love. You need someone to love.”
“I love you!”
“Mom, come on. You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes. Lucy did, she just hated that her daughter thought this. What did she do wrong? Was she really that pathetic all the time? “There’s Grandma and River!”
Running off like they hadn’t just had a very eye-opening conversation, Angie jumped into River’s arms, him throwing her up in the air before hugging her tightly. Smiling, Lucy made her way to them, catching the very end of River giving Angie a pep talk.
“Play deep, and when you get a chance, shoot. These girls don’t even know what’s in store for them! You know you’re the best, so play it. Okay?”
“It’s the peewees, River, not the NHL,” Lucy sang and he grinned.
Angie giggled happily as Lucy’s mom beamed. “Are you ready, sweetheart? I’m nervous for you.”
“Mom,” Lucy complained and she shrugged.
“What? You know how I am. My baby, come here. Let me hug you.”
Angie went willingly as Lucy and River chuckled at how silly she could be. She was a mother hen, and her babies were just that, her babies. Hugging her grandma, Angie looked back at Lucy. “Mom, is Dad coming?”
Lucy swallowed hard, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I told him the time. But it’s still early, honey. I’ll text and ask, okay?”
She looked dejected as she turned to Autumn. “You have your iPad, right? Uncle Jace and Jude want to watch the game.”
Autumn patted her purse. “Done, River is gonna set it up.”
“I wish they were here. I wonder where Jayden and Baylor are. And Benji.”
Yeah, where was Benji?
Looking around, Lucy saw Jayden and Baylor coming from the concession stand. “There are Jayden and Baylor.”