It’d taken him two seconds, maybe three, but it was long enough for Ellie to call him Mr. Magoo and make a crack about him being the one needing corrective lenses. He shouldn’t think it was funny when she took shots at him like that, yet every single time it happened, he had to work on keeping a straight face.
Sarcasm and honesty weren’t for everyone, though, and maybe that was why she didn’t date much; maybe the guys she met didn’t like the way she just laid everything out there. But still, a good-looking woman like that who was smart and funny…didn’t seem right that she didn’t go out more. Regan had laughed about it while she trimmed Brett’s hair a while back, telling him that Ellie’s idea of a date was the half hour it took to meet a guy for coffee.
Weird.
Brett parked his cruiser in the gated area behind the detachment and spent the final hour of his shift finishing up reports, all the while looking forward to their first ball practice with about as much enthusiasm as he would a double root canal without anesthesia.
When Nick first mentioned starting the team, Brett hadn’t hesitated, not even when he found out Ellie had already signed up—but that was before he’d revoked her license and thrown a huge wrench into her life. He’d almost considered calling Nick and backing out, to forgo the headache this was no doubt going to cause the team, but the thought had barely formed in his mind before he completely dismissed it.
He hadn’t missed a ball season since he was four years old, and he wasn’t about to start now.
—
“Three months.” Regan shook her head for the hundredth time as Ellie and Jayne, both freshly shampooed and trimmed, stepped out of her salon and all three looked up at the gathering clouds. “Don’t worry, Ellie. Between Jayne, me, and Maya, we’ll get you where you need to go.”
“Thanks, Reg.” Ellie forced a dry laugh even though none of this was funny. “I appreciate the offer, and I’ll definitely need to hit you guys up for rides sometimes, but I have my bike.”
She really did appreciate their offer, and she knew there wouldn’t be a moment’s hesitation if—when—she needed help, but Jayne was right: it was her own stupidity that got her into this mess, so in good conscience, Ellie would only beg favors from them when it was absolutely necessary.
And now wasn’t one of those times.
“Just park at your house,” she said to Jayne as they climbed back into the car. “And I’ll walk from there.”
“You’re not walking home, Ellie—it’ll take you at least half an hour, it looks like it’s going to rain, and we have to be at practice in an hour.”
“Yes, Mother, I know.” She grinned. “But it’ll give me time to ponder my bad behavior and make me appreciate what a privilege it is to drive.”
“You can ponder it from the inside of your house, where it’s dry,” Jayne said. “Call Nick and tell him to pick me up at your place.”
“But—” And so it began. There was no point in arguing because they were already headed to Ellie’s place.
Reluctantly, Ellie pulled out her phone and dialed Nick’s number. He was just leaving his jobsite and heading downtown, so he said he’d meet them at Ellie’s.
“See,” Jayne said, turning onto Ellie’s street. “We’re here in no time and…”
Ellie wasn’t listening; instead she was squinting through the front window, toward her front porch.
“Shiiiit. This can’t be good.”
“What?” Jayne was busy frowning at the gearshift as she pulled into Ellie’s driveway, so it wasn’t until she’d finally stopped that she looked up. “Who’s that?”
She’d let her hair go gray, but it was still cut in its usual neat bob and tucked behind her ears. Dressed in faded jeans, a green T-shirt, and a plaid flannel overshirt, with her half-moon reading glasses hanging from a silver chain around her neck and a big red suitcase beside her, the woman smiled and waved as though she showed up on Ellie’s front porch every day.
“It’s my mom.”
“Your mom?” Jayne jerked up the emergency brake, shut the car off, and gaped out the window. “Were you expecting her?”
“No.” Ellie dragged her gaze away from her mother and focused instead on gathering herself together before stepping out of the car. Muttering another low curse, she took a deep steadying breath and started toward the porch. Slow, even steps, girl. That’s