Page 30 of Sparrow

“Her phone is disconnected,” I admit with defeat.

“Goddamn. Are you that bad in the sack? Look, I can give you some pointers. I always leave the ladies satisfied and begging for more—OW! Fucker.”

I pull back from the swift punch I landed to his shoulder. “I didn’t sleep with her. And for the record, I’ve never had a complaint, only requests for repeat performances.” I dial her phone again; same stupid voice telling me it’s disconnected.

“So she turned you down then?”

“No! It’s not like that with Mills, okay? I mean, well, it is, because God knows I want to, but it’s just—different.”

Cadence runs by, holding her hands out in front of her like she’s holding on to a steering wheel and shouts, “Hi, Uncle Case! I’m a race car driver!”

“I bet you’re the fastest driver there is,” he says, causing her to smile and take off again. “I know she’s different, Grayson. I remember how you talked about her. I’m just giving you shit. I’m sorry.”

“Everything is diff—” I look down at my phone as it buzzes in my hand, a number I do not recognize calling me, so I answer it immediately. “Hello?”

“Gray? It’s me. Me, Mills.”

“Miss me already?” I know Case sees me visibly relax and laughs at my expense, as I try to play it cool and act like I wasn’t just coming apart at the seams like a pussy because I thought she was avoiding me.

“Terribly.” She laughs. “I just wanted to let you know that I have a new phone number now. I mean; you obviously see that. I called you.”

“Did something happen with your old number?”

“It was just—” she pauses briefly, “time for a change.” She doesn’t give me any more information than that.

“Change. I can understand that.” The sudden urge to see her again, to be in her presence again overwhelms me. “Listen, I’m at Forsythe Park with Cadence. Why don’t you make the trip out here and meet her? We’ll all go to lunch.”

Case nearly chokes on his coffee. I never see women outside of Saturday, and I definitely never let them near my daughter. But this is Mills.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to overstep or confuse her.”

“We’re friends, Mills. She can meet my friends, right?”

I swear I can hear her smile through the phone. “Right. Okay then. I’ll get dressed and be there soon.”

“I can’t wait. Drive safe.”

“I will. See you soon.”

I end the call and plaster a shit-eating grin on my face.

“You, my man,” Case says with a shaking head, “are pussy-whipped.”

***

It’s amazing how in the span of thirty minutes, you can go from calm, cool, collected, and excited to an absolute nervous wreck over a woman meeting your daughter.

It was an exercise in futility to get Case to leave the damn park, so that I didn’t have to worry about him saying something stupid. I love the guy and all. He’s like my brother, but he’s a bit of an asshole, in the best way of course.

I move to a spot on a bench just inside the play area, so that I can keep an eye on Cadence, and that’s when I see her. Her red hair is hard to miss, especially when the sun hits it.

I stand, waving at her when she spots me, and then walk toward the gate, meeting her halfway. She’s in a white sundress that touches her toes, with thin spaghetti straps wrapped perfectly over her shoulders, and there is not a stitch of makeup on her face. Fuck. She’s pretty.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi.” She smiles. “Are you going to open the gate for me or just gawk at me all afternoon?”

“I’m not opposed to gawking when there is a beautiful woman in front of me.” I unlock the gate and pull it open.

---