What's Life Without the Sprinkles - By Misty Simon Page 0,7
come pick him up for a little? I could take him to the batting cages or out for dinner. Maybe the skate park? I have the night free. You could come, too.”
She sniffed. He hoped to God she wasn’t crying.
“Would you mind?” she asked, her voice stronger. “My mother just called to cancel on taking Justin for the night, and I have a date.”
“Edward?” He did not particularly like the guy the one time he’d met him, but he and Claudia had always stayed out of each other’s love lives. He wasn’t going to interfere now if she wanted to be with some egghead.
“Yes, Edward. He’s going to be here in an hour and a half. Can I drop Justin off now, or is that too quick?”
“Bring him now. We’ll grill and then play some games. We’ll be fine, and I’ll have a little talk with him about cleanliness.” Of course, he should probably clean his house first, before trying to give advice on the topic.
She laughed, and that sounded much more like the Claudia he’d known since they were little. “Yeah, you do that. Let me know how it works out. And thanks for stepping in at the last minute, Nate. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s always my pleasure. It is not my pleasure to tell you something else, though.”
“I’ve had about enough with cryptic today. What else do you have to add to my plate? I’m on my third helping as it is.”
There was that weariness again. It pulled at something in his chest. But he had to tell her. “I saw Peter today in town.”
“Yeah, I heard. May told me he’ll be here for a few weeks helping with their dad’s house. Thanks for letting me know, though, so I wouldn’t be taken off guard. I’ll get through this, Nate, like I always do.”
Weariness sounded almost like defeat. That was not like Claudia. She was a fighter, scrappy to the last. “You know I’m here if you need someone.”
“I know. You’ve always been there for me. It’s only a few weeks. I’ll survive. But first I have to go on this date, and I really appreciate you helping at the last minute. I’ll see you in a few.”
She hung up and so did he, putting his phone on the dresser before pulling out a T-shirt and some jeans that had probably seen better days.
He put the towel around his neck and made a quick trip to the backyard to crank up the gas grill. This would be much better than what he had been planning, which was nothing.
Five minutes later, the front door flew open and Justin came running into the kitchen. “Nate, Nate, Nate!”
“Hey, bud, go put your stuff in the living room. Then go see if the grill is hot, like I taught you before. We’re going to have burgers and dogs.”
“Awesome!” And the kid was off like a shot.
Claudia wandered into the kitchen a second later. “Thanks, Nate. He’s really excited to be here.”
“It’s fine. I like having the guy around. Plus, he’ll save me if my brother calls to invite me out for a beer. So I have my own agenda here, too.” He laughed. “Seriously, it was a long day putting a new coat of paint on Mrs. Finkey’s window frames. Then I had to agree to talk to her grandson about maybe apprenticing with me this summer. It was a headache all the way around, even if he is a good kid. But now I just want to hang out, you know?”
“Yeah,” she said, but she was looking at his cabinets and cleared her throat again.
“Anything wrong?”
“Nope. Nothing new since we talked five minutes ago.” She gave him a big smile, but he wasn’t convinced.
“You’re sure? Do you want to talk about the Peter thing?”
“Absolutely sure, and ‘no’ on the Peter thing. Little ears and all that. It’ll be fine. I should get going, though. I have to finish getting ready for my date, and I don’t want to be late.”
“Okay, have fun with Edward. And don’t think about the other.”
“Will do,” she said, before giving him a mock salute and heading back toward the front of the house.
He hummed as he took some of his mom’s homemade potato salad out of the refrigerator. He didn’t think Claudia would really have any fun with that Edward guy, but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell her she was wasting her time. She needed someone who wanted her to be herself.