Page 65 of Everlasting Promises

I hit the ball, and it goes flying through the air, landing way beyond our hole in the shrubs on the next green. The guys practically fall over laughing, and I roll my eyes but can’t stop the giggle that bubbles its way up my throat. It really was a terrible shot.

“Cookie … that’s the best hit of the night!” Ben calls out and I think maybe I like having a nickname after all.

“The best. Mom should get a trophy for that one,” Evan splutters between bouts of laughter.

“Ha, ha, boys. Laugh it up at my expense. I don’t care.” And I don’t mind because I haven’t seen my son smile and laugh so much in years. I trudge across the course in search of my ball as I chuckle, feeling so much lighter than earlier.

We play the next hole with the guys behaving in much the same way, continuing their smack talk and jokes as we each take our shot. Of course, I take the most number of shots to get the damn ball in the hole. To be expected, I guess, since I have the coordination of a baby panda.

This next hole’s a little trickier. I have to hit the ball beneath a waterfall and around a bend, which then goes up a slight slope. There’s no way I’m going to get this ball in the hole. The guys couldn’t do it, so I’m not holding my breath. I line up the ball and whack it hard. It has a long way to go, and I want to make sure I have a slim chance of getting it close to the hole. It rolls beneath the waterfall with speed, then ricochet’s off the rocks, sending it around the bend and disappears from view. I make my way to the green and can’t see my ball anywhere. “Great. It’s disappeared again, only this time I have no idea where it could be.”

Evan races up to me. “It’s okay, Mom. We’ll help you find it.”

I ruffle his hair. “Thanks, Ev.” The four of us search, pushing back shrubbery, but turn up nothing. “Darn it, I’ve lost my ball this time.”

“Uh, Hope,” Ben calls. When I turn in his direction, he’s crouched near the flag. With a surprised expression, he points to the hole. “Found it.”

My heart picks up speed with excitement and disbelief. “No way!” I race over and peer into the hole and sure enough, there’s my ball. I leap around the guys like I’ve won the million-dollar lottery. “Oh, yeah!” I shimmy my ass with my hands raised in the air, enjoying my fluke shot. “Take that, boys!”

Even while I’m celebrating, I know with all my heart there’s no way in hell I could replicate it. It was a totally lucky shot. It’ll never happen again, so I make the most of it.

Ben scoops me up with his thick arms wrapped around my thighs and runs around the course like a maniac! “Oh, yeah! She did it! That’s my girl!” He jostles me as he runs, and I’m laughing so hard that I fall over his shoulder. My hands land on his tight butt, and in the heat of the moment, I give it a firm squeeze and a slap.

My hair flies all over the place, and I bet my face is as red as a tomato with my hysterical laughter, but it feels so good to laugh this hard. It’s been such a long time since I’ve had anything to laugh about.

Finally, we settle down and finish the last hole of the night. I’m actually sad the evening is over. “Thanks for inviting us along tonight. We had so much fun,” I tell Sebastian. “Right, Ev?”

“It was all right, I guess.” He toes the ground with his shoe.

I press my mouth into a straight line to hide my grin. Such a sore loser. “I know you had fun, too, Ev.”

Sebastian leans in to hug me goodbye. “We’ll have to do it again some time.”

I return his friendly embrace. “Definitely. Just maybe not on a school night next time.”

He nods in agreement, tucking his hands deep into his jean pockets and making the fabric stretch across his thighs. When these two go out together, they must get a ton of attention from the ladies. A strange pinching feeling occurs in my chest at the thought of Ben being the center of female attention that isn’t mine. I don’t like the thought of women looking at him, and I certainly don’t like the feeling the image evokes in my body.

“We’ll work out when our schedules align next.” Seb says. He and Ben exchange a bro-hug, and Seb climbs into his truck while we climb into Ben’s.

I can’t wipe the smile from my face as we drive home. I’d forgotten what it was like to have fun. To laugh. To be playful. To be in the moment.

“Seb’s really cool,” Evan blurts.

The glow of the dashboard highlights Ben’s grin. “He is. He’s been my best friend since kindergarten.”

“Woah! You’re really old, so that’s a long time,” Evan says.

I nudge him with my elbow. “Evan, don’t be rude.”

Ben chuckles. “I’m only twenty-seven. I’m notthatold.”

Twenty-seven? Yikes.

He’s so much more mature than his twenty-seven years. I sort of calculated his age when he told me about Tahlia, but hearing him say it out loud makes me feel old at thirty-four. I shouldn’t be noticing his tight butt and firm abs. If I only consider his age, he’s too young for me, but I can’t deny the pull I feel toward him.

30

HOPE

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