Page 68 of The Weekend Crashers
“Well, when you put it that way, I feel a little used,” he says, grinning back at her.
Her phone rings. She glances down, certain it’s Piper checking in on her. But it’s Belinda.
Strange. She mentally runs through the day’s itinerary. Is she late for something?
She flashes the phone screen at Aidan, mouthingodd, before answering.
“Hi, Belinda,” she says. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m actually trying to reach Piper but I don’t have her number.”
Maggie’s confused. “Why do you need Piper?”
“There’s a woman here... says she’s her manager?”
Maggie sits up all the way. “What do you mean byhere?”
“Standing in the lobby. With a very impatient look on her face.”
What the hell is happening? There must be some mistake.
“Can you put her on the phone?”
She hears the thunk of the landline receiver on the hard wooden desk, and then muffled background noise. After a moment, a strange voice says, “This is Gretchen.”
After all the years of hearing about Gretchen, after the giant opportunity she gave her daughter, this is the first she’s ever spoken to her. She imagined one day when she met Gretchen she’d have the opportunity to thank her. Somehow, she feels like instead she’s going to be dealing with something unpleasant and messy.
She texts Piper.
Call me ASAP!!
“Gretchen, this is Maggie Hodges, Piper’s mother. Is there a problem?” She keeps her eyes on her phone for a response from Piper. Nothing.
“Yes, there’s a problem. I have a job for her, and she’s not returning my calls.”
What? There must be a misunderstanding. Piper wouldnever blow off her manager. At least, not on purpose. But then, Gretchen was no longer her manager. None of this makes sense,
Maggie looks at her phone, willing a response from Piper. Still nothing.
“Gretchen, if you can just wait there for a few minutes,” Maggie says, already looking around for her jeans. “I’ll find Piper.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Aidan snuck back into his own tent before the other guys noticed he’d ever left. The one benefit of Maggie having to run off back to the inn so early was that they both avoided a walk of shame.
For someone who always prides himself on being discreet, last night was a big risk. One he surprised himself by taking. Maybe it was the whiskey, or maybe it was just the simple fact that he’s attracted to her. She’s beautiful, sure. But the world is full of beautiful women. It’s more the connection he feels to her, how easy it is to talk about the one aspect of his life that, after all these years, he still feels uncertain about: fatherhood.
Maggie’s situation with Piper is different in the details, but similar at the core: Single parenthood is a bitch. It’s isolating as hell. Maggie gets it because she’s lived it.
That doesn’t excuse his behavior last night. The bushcraft weekend is to celebrate his nephew’s impending nuptials, not to have a fling of his own.
He rolls up his camping quilt and shrugs off his jacket. The morning is warming up already. Bucks County in the fall is perfection.
“Uncle Aidan, you in there?” Scott calls out. Aidan can see his silhouette framed by sunlight outside the tent.
Aidan unzips the front tent flap and steps out into the sun, shielding his eyes with his hands.
“Morning, Scott.”
