Page 31 of Bleeding Hearts

“I do. Sorry.” There’s a sincerity to Bethany’s expression. “But I’m free for dinner. The boys have school events tonight. Felix has a meeting with his robotics team and Finn has a scrimmage at another school. And my sister can take care of herself. I guess you have the girls, though.”

“Actually, their grandmother is coming over tonight. So that would be amazing. I planned to go to Cora’s to escape, but she’s not very good company at the moment.” Bending down, I kiss her forehead. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Does that work?”

“Yep.” Her fingers brush against my shirt as she reaches for me. “Again, thank you. What should I wear?”

With a smirk, I arch my eyebrows, the gesture a silent challenge. “Something with easy access. See you tonight.”

Chapter 15

Nolan

What the fuck was I thinking making plans with a woman when my bitch of a mother-in-law was coming over? From the moment she steps into my house just after six, the interrogation begins.

“Why are you so spoofed up?” Susanne doesn’t even get through the door before she makes me wish I’d offered to drop the girls off at Stacy’s. “I’m not here so you can go out with some young thing and act a fool.”

The only reason I didn’t offer to drop them off was because I figured Stacy and Levi needed a break. I’m sure she’s been lovely to live with. I can take one for the team. At least I’m leaving in twenty minutes and won’t be back until it’s time for her to go home. Three hours. Back in time to get Mollie and Kellie to bed. But not enough time to do all the things I’d love to do with Bethany.

“The girls are finishing up their homework.” I make a conscious decision not to respond. “They’re really looking forward to hanging out with you tonight. Dinner is on the stove. If you’re hungry, help yourself. Kellie made chicken and dumplings.”

Susanne, her face a mask of disappointment, kicks off her shoes. “Your daughter cooks dinner for you? That’s terrible.”

“No. I was planning on making something else. Enchiladas. She didn’t want them and told me she wanted to try to make her mother’s dumplings. Once we checked the cabinets for all the ingredients, your granddaughter shooed me out of the kitchen while she and Mollie got started. She used the chicken I cooked for the enchiladas, so all she had to do was make some broth and dumplings.” Closing the door, I plaster on my best smile. “She loves cooking. She and Cora do menu planning using Stephanie’s old cookbooks. It’s a way for her to feel close to her mother, who also loved to cook. And she’s pretty damn good at it.”

Before I lose my temper, I turn and head to the kitchen. “Girls, your grandmother is here.”

Standing in her chair, Mollie lets out a high-pitched shriek that’s excruciating to my ears. She loves her grandmother, and I would never do anything to keep them from spending time together. And at four, she’s oblivious to so much of the animosity between Susanne and me. Her love for them is the biggest reason I said yes when my mother-in-law called and asked if she could come tonight, nothing else.

Kellie, on the other hand, is old enough to know things are tense. She also remembers how things were when Stephanie was alive. Things between her and Susanne werenotpleasant and sometimes there would be yelling, mostly from my wife, when her mother said hurtful things and pointed out what she was doing wrong—in her eyes. She’s overheard her grandmother bash me and her father, grouping us together as loser men Stephanie got involved with. So, while she loves her grandmother, she’s learned to walk lightly around her.

“I’m almost done with my homework.” She’s working on her math, using a calculator to check her work.

“Are you supposed to be using a calculator?” Placing her bag on the table, Susanne scoops Mollie into her arms. “You can’t learn how to do it if you rely on that to do the work for you.”

Kellie’s eyes widen as she looks between me and her grandmother. “Our teacher said we could.”

“Yes, but?—”

“She’s fine. Trust me when I tell you Kellie can add and subtract faster than that calculator. She’s just checking her work.” I cut Susanne off, not about to let her put my daughter down by making her feel like she’s failing because she’s using a device we all used once we finished middle school math. “Mollie, why don’t you show Grammy your room? She hasn’t been here since we painted it. I bet she’s gonna love it.”

“It’s purple with one pink wall.” Mollie wiggles out of Susanne’s arms and then grabs her hand. “Come on. I have a pony house too. And fairies in my closet.”

They leave, and I can hear Mollie chatting it up with her all the way to her room on the second floor. Her presence is the much-needed distraction, a calming buffer against the evening’s potential anxieties.

“Don’t let her get to you, Kellie.” I take a seat next to her and wink. “She has good intentions, but not the best at knowing how to voice them without judgement.”

“It’s fine.” Closing her spiral notebook, Kellie tosses it and her calculator into her backpack. “I heard her start in on you, too. Ignore her. You look nice. Are you taking Miss Bethany out?”

“I am. Are you okay with that?” It seems like something I should ask.

I’ve never gone out with someone since Stephanie’s death. Haven’t really wanted to. It felt like I was cheating. The thought of moving on doesn’t sting as much as it used to. Though I’m moving forward with my life and exploring a new relationship,it doesn’t diminish the memories I have of Stephanie. I could never forget her, nor would I want to. And the person I may end up with shouldn’t want me to.

Kellie lights up in a way I haven’t seen her do in a very long time. “Remember when you and Mom started dating?”

“Like it was yesterday.” The absolute truth.

Stephanie was at a bar out with her friends. I approached her and asked her to dance. She did, but added that dancing was as far as things would go. Flat out said she wasn’t some easy fuck, so if that’s what I was looking for, then I should move on to someone else. We danced all night, and I never once tried to do more than dance with her, which I think surprised her given all the drinks we were consuming. When the night was over and her friends were ready to go, I gave her my number. Told her I wanted to go out with her again and if she wanted that too, to text me. Three days later, I received a text from an unknown number.

UNKNOWN:

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