Page 55 of Power Forward

“Not that I can think of right now, but honestly, my brain feels like it’s overflowing. I’ll probably need a few days to figure everything out, and I’ll have to fill Laura in on everything.”

And that’s a conversation I’m dreading the most. No doubt she’ll blame me for something.

“Okay, well, you know where I am if you need me, and I’ll see you in a few days anyway.”

“We can’t wait.” I catch Isabela’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Can we, peanut?”

She hides her giggle behind her toy.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I can hear his smile in his voice. “Are you doing anything fun this afternoon?”

“Just heading to Jacob’s shop, then we’ll probably get hot dogs before we pick up Ryan.”

“Wow, watch you don’t go too wild with that. Coach might have you doing bag skates.”

“If I could flip you off right now, I would,” I warn, but my cheeks are aching with my wide-set grin.

“I’ll let you go and speak to you later.”

“Okay.” I swallow and lower my voice, even though it won’t make any difference because Isabela will still hear me regardless. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Jax. Later.”

We hang up with the promise of speaking later and I pull up outside the front of Jacob’s Delicious Desserts. The bell rings when we walk inside, and I let go of Isabela’s hand. She runs to the glass cabinets and places her hands flat on the glass to peer in.

“Hey, Jackson.” Alex smiles, then rests his elbows on the counter and leans across. “Hey, Isabela. Is your Daddy treating you to a cupcake today?”

She nods silently.

“She was brave today, so I said I’d treat her to either cake or ice cream, and she chose cake,” I say, running my hand over her head.

“Good choice.” Alex stands back upright and props a hip against the counter.

“Hey, Jackson!” I hear Jacob shout from the kitchen. “I’ll be with you in a sec!”

“He’s mid-decorating a custom order,” Alex explains. “So, how’s things? I haven’t seen you since Thanksgiving.”

“All good. Did Blaine tell you we’re going on a toy drive next week?”

“Yes,” he chuckles. “Well, I didn’t find out from him, I found out from Elliot, who isveryexcited about it. Did you ever have those baby harnesses for the kids when they were little?”

I furrow my brow at the change in topic. “Uh, yeah, why?”

“I think you might need to bring them for Elliot because you’ll lose him based on how much he’s looking forward to it.”

I huff out a laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Daddy, I want this one.” Isabela tugs my hand for me to follow. She points at a vanilla cupcake covered in rainbow sprinkles. When I look up at Alex, he’s already on it.

“This one?” He points, and Isabela nods. He puts it on a plate and slides it across the counter. I pull out my wallet, but he waves me off. “You’re family.”

“Alex,” I argue.

“Nope. We don’t charge family.” He waves his hand in the direction of the booths. “Go take a seat. I’ll bring you a coffee over.”

I stuff a twenty in the tip jar when he turns his back, then lead Isabela over to the booths. I help her peel the cupcake wrapper off and grab a handful of napkins because no doubt we’ll end up in a mess. Alex joins us with a steaming hot cup of coffee and a cream-cheese-filled bagel.

“We’re trying something new,” he says, sliding the plate across the table. “If you don’t want it or don’t like it, I won’t be offended.”

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