When we make it and sign in, Ainsley pulls on my shirt sleeve and blinks up at me. I know what she’s thinking. “He’s an old friend of me and your dad’s.”
Her eyes widen a fraction.
I don’t tell her they stopped talking.
Or that Danny never mentioned her.
What’s the point? People go their own ways. It’s natural—a part of life. I should have let that factor into my opinion of Carter when he stepped into the classroom the first day. It shouldn’t have taken Mable to tell me not to be a bitch to somebody just because they weren’t close with Danny. I should be happy. In a way, it gave me Danny for myself.
“That was a long time ago,” is all I say, giving her a sad smile. I want to tell her that people change, but that’s something she’ll have to figure out for her own when the time comes.
The class is harder than I expect, and Ainsley and I share more than one lost look as the teacher goes over the basics of the two-month course. Every Saturday we’ll meet in the same spot and learn the basics of American Sign Language, from the alphabet to simple sentences. Then after the two months are up, we’ll move on to more advanced classes until we can communicate more clearly.
I yelp when Carter pushes off the wall outside the room when Ainsley and I walk out, heart racing over the unexpected presence of him. The front of his shirt is sweaty, and his hair looks wet. “What are you doing?”
He falls into step with us. “Sign Language?” I don’t answer. It’s not really a question and I owe him nothing. He clears his throat and grabs the back of his neck. “I have a class starting in about ten minutes.”
“Cool.”
“Hey.” He gets in front of me to block me from walking toward the doors. “Meet me at my office early Monday morning. Say eight? We can talk about the schedule for the semester since everything has been approved.”
“I can’t,” I answer slowly, eying Ainsley.
His lips purse. “Right. Well, the class starts at ten, so maybe we can meet before the start of mine.”
I’m not sure he even wants to talk about the class. At least, it’s not the main focus now that there’s a baby elephant in the room. I can tell by the way his stature is tense, and how he tries not to look down at Ainsley but fails. The corner of his eye keeps traveling downward, his jaw ticking like he’s upset. He has no reason to be.
“I can meet you at the classroom around nine-fifty if that works for you?”
His head bobs once. “I’ll see you then.”
My lips rub together. “Okay.”
I walk forward without him stopping me, then squeeze Ainsley’s hand once before turning again to face him. He hasn’t moved. “I’m dedicated to this opportunity, Carter. I’ll make sure to separate my personal and professional life. I promise.”
His brows pinch. “I’m not worried about that, Piper. I just…” He sighs. “I didn’t know he had a kid.”
I knew it. “I thought so.”
“She looks like him.”
“She does,” I agree, smiling at Ainsley. Her thumb is in her mouth again as she looks between me and Carter.
His lips part, but nothing passes between them before he tips his head once and backs away. “I hope you two have a good weekend.”
It feels forced, like he has more to say but can’t get the words out. Something tells me Monday will be interesting when we find time to talk. And based on the way his eyes flick between me and Ainsley for the millionth time, I’ll need strong coffee to get through the conversation.
Because he looks hurt.
And I have no idea why.
The restaurant Jenna and I wind up in after twenty minutes of searching for somewhere to eat has a line longer than the last one we tried getting into. My feet ache from the heeled shin-high boots she made me wear with my tight skinny jeans that she insists makes my legs look longer. I don’t care what she says, my five-two figure isn’t going to match her five-eight one no matter what clothes I slap onto my body.
“If I don’t eat soon, I’m going to go Jeffrey Dahmer on some innocent person,” Jenna complains, slumping into my side.
Laughing, I push her away. “If we left when I said we should have, we probably could have missed the crowd.”