Page 27 of Broken Grump

Her peering face smudged as my vision narrows. “What?” Us lying here? I hope that’s what she meant.

From there, she doesn’t waste a second telling me about her theory about the clearing sky.

“It’s like the planet is telling us it isn’t giving up on the dreary, coldness we experienced in the past.”

Try as I might to forget, I often think about that on days like today.

“Don’t you see, Hayden? Life is full of hope!” she reiterates while bending over and shaking my shoulders.

A smile crept across my face as I reminisced about those two clueless kids who had so much to learn.

“Hayden?” Steven roots me back to reality.

“Sorry.” I peel my shoulders back and straighten my back. “I’m a little spacey today. I didn’t get much sleep.”

“Oh, I hear you. That thunder was just treacherous.”

“Indeed. Anyway, we’re all set then? You’ll go round up Addie—”

Steven chuckles on the other line. “She isn’t cattle, Hayden.”

I look straight before rolling my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I will go pick her up, yes. Although, I’m not sure I understand why we can’t just all drive together.”

“It’s strategy,” I confess.

“. . . Okay?”

At least that’s what I’m telling myself. The truth is that I’m kind of afraid to face her. I know I can be a hot head at times. And I thought I’d done enough work to control that part of my personality, but apparently not.

I was like a screeching kettle yesterday, and I let every feeling and thought I had spewed out of me like boiled water.

I can’t believe I insinuated her daughter was mine. To top it all off, I even threatened her with a paternity test.

By her drained demeanor, I knew it was effective and did exactly what I wanted it to do. Scare the crap out of her.

But that wasn’t right. Sure, the kid may resemble me a bit, but the same could probably go for any number of other children.

***

Like the coward I am, I hoped they’d arrive before me. But when I got to the land over an hour later, I was all alone.

To distract myself from my feelings of dread, I scoured the property and double-checked that it was marked off in accordance with our final draft of the plans.

“Perfect,” I say to myself as I check off the last thing on my list.

Within a few moments, I hear the sound of car doors opening and closing. And when I hold the clipboard that was just in my hands above my eyes, I can see clearly that it’s Addie and Steven.

Unlike the adorable overalls she was sporting yesterday, she went for a more professional look. She has a light blue shirt under a black suit jacket with a big bow sewn onto the lapel.

As for her dark hair, it’s securely tied back in a low ponytail. The hairdo makes her high cheekbones even more pronounced.

It’s a bit of a walk, but once she finally approaches me, I awkwardly kick the loose dirt beneath my shoes.

“Hayden,” she says without much emotion.

“Addie.”

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