Wrecked (Clayton Falls #3)(31)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Mom had the door opened before I knocked. “Come in, come in.”

Emily had gotten to Noah before me because his seat was on her side, but he had reached out for me as we walked up the front steps. I was holding him when Mom opened the door. She got a kick out of it. She didn’t say it, but I could see it in her smile.

Emily held out her hand to Mom. “Hi, Mary. It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s wonderful to see you too. And this must be Noah.”

Emily smiled. “That’s him.”

“He’s precious.” Mom patted his head.

“Thank you.”

“I pulled out some of the boys’ old toys.” Mom led the way into the den. She wasn’t kidding. There were all sorts of trucks, cars, and plastic dinosaurs on the carpet.

“You kept all of these?” I set Noah down. He went right over to a yellow dump truck.

“I knew we’d need them for grandchildren someday.”

“You must be excited that Molly’s pregnant.” Emily smiled. From what I gathered, she and Molly had hit it off. They’d even been talking on the phone a little. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it—but I knew it was probably a good thing.

“Very. It’s still months away, but we can hardly wait.”

“I bet. Are you hoping for a girl?”

Mom smiled. “It would be a nice change, but little boys are wonderful too.” She nodded toward Noah. “Jake mentioned that Noah spent the summer with his grandparents.”

Mom took a seat on the couch and gestured for Emily to sit next to her. I sat on a chair closer to Noah. He’d moved on from the truck and was currently pulling leaves off a plant.

Emily moved to stop him, but I took care of it. I tried to distract him with a T-Rex. It didn’t work until I added in the sound effects. He got a kick out of that and ended up balled up on the floor laughing.

Emily looked at me, and I just shrugged. “What? I’m kind of an expert on dinosaurs.”

She smiled and turned back to my mom. “Yes. I think he really liked it. It was nice that they got to spend more time with him, and I got to work some extra hours. But it was hard.”

“I’m sure.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mom turn to Emily. “It’s never easy to be away from your children.”

They started talking about kids, and I tuned them out. Watching Noah took all my attention. He’d been pretty timid at my place, but the kid wouldn’t stop now. He got up and ran into the kitchen. “I’ve got him,” I called, assuming Emily would want to follow him.

I stopped him just as he started to climb into a chair. “I’ve got you.” I picked him up and he leaned back. I figured out he wanted to be held upside down and swung. He made this high-pitched squeal so I assumed I was doing it right.

I heard my dad laugh and righted Noah.

“Is this Noah?” Dad asked. I guess Mom had told him his name.

“Yeah. He’s a handful.”

“A cute one though.” Dad ruffled his hair.

“Is he okay, Jake?” Emily called.

“He’s fine.” I put Noah down and he immediately raced back into the den. Dad and I followed.

Emily stood up when we entered. “Hi, Mark.”

“Hello, Emily. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Same to you.” She shook his hand, but she had her eyes on Noah as he once again went after the plant. I decided to just move the plant onto the book case. Noah pouted for a second but then went back to the trucks.

“You have a cute little guy.” Dad watched Noah with amusement.

“Thank you.” Emily beamed at Noah.

“So when are you two heading out?” Dad turned to me.

“Oh…anytime I guess.”

“Why don’t you go? I promise he’s in good hands.” Mom smiled.

“Are you sure?” Emily asked. “I really don’t want you to feel put out. He can be a lot of work.”

“Of course. It will be fun. We’re used to energetic little boys.”

“Okay. I have diapers and wipes in this bag.” She showed Mom where everything was. “And please call if you need me. Be good, sweetheart.” She gave Noah a huge hug.

“We’ll be fine. And don’t rush back. We’ll think you don’t trust us if you do.” Dad smiled. I could tell he liked Emily.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked as I led her out to her car.

I leaned over her, pushing her against the car gently. “I show you what you’ve been missing.”

“That’s a good plan.”

“I hoped you’d think so.”

***

We went to dinner at a pizza place in the square. It wasn’t anything fancy, but when I asked Emily what she was in the mood for, that’s what she wanted. We ordered a large sausage and pepper pizza to share.

“This is nice.” She looked around at the simple restaurant. “It’s got a cozy feel.”

“If you want cozy, we’ll have to go to Marney’s after this for coffee.”

“Marney’s?”

“It’s a little coffee shop a few stores down from here. It’s owned by this sweet old lady named Gail. You’ll love it.”

“Okay, sounds great.”

Before my accident, I would have suggested we go to the local bar, Gill’s, for a drink. It was still strange trying to get used to the idea that I didn’t drink anymore. I knew no one would stop me if I did, but I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the reality that I almost died. I wasn’t stupid. I knew I had trouble with alcohol sometimes. I’d been a heavy drinker since high school, and it only got worse after I turned twenty-one and could get it legally.

“Did you have a part-time job in high school?” She pulled me out of my thoughts.

“I worked for my dad during off seasons. What brought up that question?”

She smiled. “My brother worked at a pizza place kind of like this.”

“Oh yeah? Did he like it?”

“Not really, but it was a college hang-out and he made good tips especially his senior year when he looked older than he was.”

I laughed. “Charming the college girls out of their money, huh?”

“Exactly. He played football too. You remind me a little of him.”

“Yeah? Is that a good or bad thing?”

“Good.” She took a bite of her pizza. “This is exactly what I was in the mood for.”