Page 10 of Small Town Secrets

Despite the light dance of his gaze over her face and the soft smile on his lips, his comment suggested he’d half expected her not to show. Not that she could blame his skepticism.

“Yah well, good assumption.” She nodded to the playground, hinting that they should walk on. “I drove anyway, there’s no knowing when Whit will get tired, and her legs will suddenly refuse to work. There are bags of cement lighter than a toddler who doesn’t want to walk.”

Though she cringed at already shifting the conversation to her child, he gave nothing but an encouraging chuckle. “I bought us coffee from Main Street. Seems you might need it. They might even still be warm.”

He tilted his head to the bench he’d been seated on, two paper coffee cups indeed waiting here. Despite not needing caffeine to prod extra life into her already racing heart, she gave a grateful groan all the same. “You’re a saint.”

He reached out and took over the duty of dragging Whitney’s scooter along, meanwhile, Laila drew a breath and absorbed the sweet, mid-summer Minnesotan air. “I can’t remember the last time I did something like this.”

“You mean, went on a date?” He turned and raised a brow her way, and she gave a small laugh.

“Well, yeah, that, but I also mean just getting out of the house to meet other actual adults.”

“Didn’t I just see you at a wedding?”

She laughed again and swatted gently at his bicep with the back of her hand. “As fun as that was, weddings don’t count. I kinda have to show up to those.”

“Whereas this was a choice?” His smile grew, revealing that he knew he had her and she’d inadvertently admitted too much.

He quietly parked the scooter near the bench and collected the two coffees, handing one to her.

“All I mean is, I feel like my life revolves around dropping Whit off at her grandparents, then racing away to work or study.” She eyed her coffee cup’s black plastic lid and ignored the obvious dip to her voice. “It’s just nice to have a change of routine.”

Even if this is very likely temporary.

“Yeah, I get that.” Even if she didn’t look up at him, his deep tone made the understanding in his statement sound genuine. “Though it seems Whitney is lucky to have you.”

Her body turned rigid, and she instinctively jerked her chin up, a confusing fluttery feeling taking hold beneath her ribcage. “It never feels like that. It always feels like she never has my full attention, and that she’ll wake up one day and lay into me over all the ways I’ve failed her.”

He narrowed his eyes at her in a thoughtful look and shook his head, soon turning his focus to Whitney who currently ran between playground equipment with two older kids. Even just that small gesture gave Laila the rare sensation that, for this one short moment, she wasn’t carrying the sole burden of watching over her child.

“She won’t remember it like that.”

Once again, the steady certainty in his words left her gaping at him, while the muscles over her chest locked up in inexplicable defense. His certainty left the impression he knew something she didn’t. “How would you know what she’ll remember?”

His gaze flicked to her, but only for a second, before he went back to watching ahead. “I’m the kid of a single mom too. I have a little experience on my side here.”

A neutral silence lingered now, and still, his gaze didn’t meet hers—almost as though he didn’t want to look at her—perhaps because he’d revealed something of himself. Or maybe because he’d managed to best her once again. So, she buried her thoughts by taking her first sip of coffee, and then mumbling a few limp words over the rim. “I guess that figures.”

Is this just a pity date? Or does experience make him a little more understanding than most?

“I remember my mom being forever busy as well.” Again, his focus stayed forward, as if he still wasn’t ready to face her, though his husky tone expressed more than any look could. “But I also remember feeling really lucky. Unlike my dad, she stuck around.”

He turned to Laila and shrugged, his brow creased at the center and heavy. “She was my lifeline, Laila. Yes, her inability to be everywhere all at once frustrated me at times, but life and maturity sorted those memories out soon enough. More than anything, I look back and just admire her. She could have given up, but she never did.”

Once more, silence swallowed the exchange, but for a whole other reason than awkwardness. His words stirred something within her, something she’d never really acknowledged as being important, and so she found herself blinking up and seeing him with an entirely new light.

What happened to the overly smooth bonehead I thought I’d be meeting with today?

She gave a lighthearted scoff of laughter and dredged her ability to splutter out a reply. “Wow. You might have just given me a glimpse down the end of the long and dark parenting tunnel.”

He offered another laugh, one that gathered the golden skin over his cheekbones, even as he took a drink of coffee and offered her his side-long stare. Yet another rare moment passed here. One where she actually did believe him. Where she felt like maybe she was doing an okay job.Even though she had no shortage of her own family saying so.

Hearing those words from someone still so new to her—a child of a single parent at that—she pulled her attention away from him because the swelling sensation in her chest threatened to overwhelm.

Next, she cleared her throat and set to reprise a casual air. “I’m assuming your mother is still with us?”

“Still in LA and living it up with her friends.” One corner of his lip rose with a bashful looking smirk. “Though not too busy to call most days just to chew me out over when I’m gonna make her an abuela.”

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