not my biggest worry. I’ll tell Masey to ignore the small tornado that came through and wreaked havoc.
We were merely supposed to be spending a night together. Granted, it didn’t go as planned, and she probably won’t judge me too harshly for my lack of housekeeping skills. But I’d hate to scare her off already.
“Great.” Masey nods, then heads down the side yard and out the front gate.
I back out into the alley behind Makuahine’s house and come around to the front. As we cruise beside Masey’s rental, my mother looks smug. “You like her.”
“She’s nice. Right now, I’m focused on you. How are you feeling?”
“The pain is awful.”
I wince. “Maybe you should have let me give you some—”
“No. Talking about you and Masey helps me take my mind off the hurt.”
Of course it does.
I try not to roll my eyes as I pull onto the road. Masey falls in behind me.
“Don’t huff. It’s time for you to settle down,” my mother points out. “You’re in your thirties. You have a son now. This frat boy hit-it-and-quit-it mentality is no way for you to date anymore.”
I turn to her, mouth agape. “Where did you hear that phrase?”
“I have the internet, don’t I?”
My mother only gets saucy when she’s convinced she’s right. Honestly, she probably is.
“I’m a little horrified. We’ll talk about this later.” When she opens her mouth to argue, I hold up a finger. “Like after we get you X-rayed and find out what’s wrong with your ankle.”
Makuahine doesn’t look pleased, but she nods. “All right.”
Thank god for small favors.
I fill the otherwise wordless drive with the oldies station on my mother’s car radio. As we approach my house, Foreigner helpfully supplies “Waiting for a Girl Like You.”
My mother sends me a knowing look. “See? Even the universe knows you need to settle down with someone like Masey.”
I send her a quelling stare, but I can’t deny that Lou Gramm isn’t completely wrong. I have been waiting too long. But Makuahine doesn’t know how true it is that my heart has been hurt before, so this time I don’t simply want to be sure, I’m determined to be. When his soulful last phrase croons through her car, begging this woman to come into his life, I’m weirdly moved.
Lord, I must be spending too much time with Maxon’s wife, Keeley. She interprets life through song, and it seems to have rubbed off on most of us.
From what I can tell so far, having Masey around more wouldn’t be all bad. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t know her well. She lives in LA. The pull I felt to her earlier won’t last, right?
It seems to take forever, but we finally pull up in front of my condo. The place is nothing special, but it’s roomy. I’m on the third floor with a big lanai and a banging view of the beach. And my unit is on the corner, so I only have a neighbor on one side, who’s almost never around since it’s his vacation home. All in all, it works for me. Well, it did. These days I’m feeling a little squeezed by all of Ranger’s gear and toys.
I point Masey into my assigned parking spot, then pull in next to a nearby curb and turn to my mother. “Be right back.”
After I hop out, I hoist Ranger’s diaper bag onto my shoulder and lift the sleeping little guy into my arms. He fusses for a few moments, then settles again with a happy sigh.
The love I always feel for him washes over me. I kiss the top of his head. “I’ve missed you, little man.”
“Is he all right?” Makuahine asks.
“Fine.”
When I turn, Masey approaches, locking her rental with a press of her fob. I let the diaper bag with the rocket-ship print slough off my shoulder. She takes it, and I guide her toward my unit. “Everything he needs for a fresh change should be in this bag, but just in case, there’s more in his room. I’ve got formula pre-bottled in the fridge and a warmer on the counter. Just takes a few minutes. He’s a good eater, FYI. He probably won’t need help burping, but if he does, getting him to do it is easy. If he needs clean pajamas for any reason, they’re in the dresser. And excuse my mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”
She turns to me with a smile as I let her inside my condo. “I’m not here to judge, just