Page 35 of Lucky in Love
“But they’ll never get your quality. And name familiarity.”
“Yeah, well, apparently that’s a risk they’re willing to take.”
“Hmm. So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna look into staying here for a while. Maybe write a book, start a vlog, or do my own thing online. I don’t know yet, but this seems like a nice place to figure it out.”
“So, you got dumped and fired in the same week?” She may have moved out of New York, but she hadn’t lost her tell-it-like-is attitude.
“Same night actually. I didn’t want you to worry, so I omitted the firing part of my Chloe breakup story. She was hooking up with my boss, so it was convenient for them. Killed two birds with my one visit.”
“What?” Loud sigh. “I never liked that Chloe.”
“I knew it,” he muttered.
“I have a great idea!”
Brody stiffened. He and his mom were close, but rarely agreed on what constituted a “great idea.”
“I am not growing a mustache,” he said.
“Ha. Ha.” He pictured her eye roll. “I was going to say, I should come visit you.”
“That’s not necessary, Mom. I’m thirty-five years old. I can handle being fired.”
“And dumped,” she reminded him helpfully.
“Yes. That too. Anyway, I just wanted to keep you in the loop.”
“All right. Well, next time you come to visit me, there’s a nice gal from the neighborhood I want to set you up with. She’s here taking care of her parents. I think you two would really hit it off.”
Brody groaned. “Nice gals” was another example of how their opinions seldom coincided.
“I haven’t planned very far ahead yet,” he said. “But I’ll come see you soon.”
After hanging up, he felt even better about his decision. It was easier to breathe here. Yes, this quiet, cold place in the woods would be his refuge for the foreseeable future.
As he sipped his coffee and gazed out over the water, something caught his eye. He picked up his camera and zoomed in. Through the lens, he saw it was Daisy, the one-winged duck, swimming in circles and going nowhere.
Shoot. Alex had promised to feed her after her run yesterday. But of course, she never finished her run. And the string of events after Alex’s injury surely meant the poor thing was on day three with no food.
Brody went back inside and set his camera and coffee cup on the kitchen counter. They could wait. So could his deep dive into his life’s failures. Anything to postpone the scathing, long-overdue self-evaluation.
He grabbed a handful of bread slices, put on the new boots and wool hat he’d purchased from The Outdoor Outpost, and walked to the boathouse. He sat on the steps, tearing the bread into little pieces as Daisy made her way back to land.
“Here you go,” Brody said, tossing crumbs to the grateful animal. Daisy scarfed up every last morsel. “Don’t make yourself sick.”
“What are you doing?”
Brody jumped at her voice. “Geez. Where’d you come from?”
“How could you not hear me coming?” Alex asked. “These crutches are hardly inconspicuous.”
“Must have been lost in thought,” he said. “Anyway, I remembered you’d planned to feed her after your run, but your plate’s been pretty full since then.” He shrugged.
“Oh, well. That’s very nice of you. Thank you.”
“How’s the ankle? What’d the doctor say?”
