by Rye Hart
It was uncanny, their similarities.
“Come on. She won’t bite, I promise,” Grace said.
I got out of the car and Harper started hiding behind her grandmother’s leg. The disapproving look on her mother’s face told me she remembered me from all those years ago. She had disapproved of our relationship back then and it didn’t look as if time had changed her mind about that at all. If I was not half in love with her daughter for the second time in my life, I would have stayed in the car and sped off into the sunset as soon as Grace stepped out.
But I wanted Grace’s mom to like me.
“I see where these two girls get their beautiful looks,” I said. “Ryan Park.”
“I know who you are,” she said curtly.
“Mom. Be nice,” Grace said.
“She can be whatever she wants. She’s got a beautiful daughter and granddaughter to look out for,” I said.
“Don’t think that I don’t know that the two of you dated in high school even though I forbade it,” she said.
I looked over at Grace, unsure of what to say to that, and she groaned.
“Mom, come on. That was eight years ago,” Grace said.
“Doesn’t change the fact that you went behind my back,” she said.
“
Her mother studied me and I found myself growing more and more nervous. It was like standing in front of an all-seeing oracle waiting for it to tell me the day I would die. She sighed and held out her hand and I took it within mine, then brought it to my lips to kiss.
“It’s nice to see you, Ryan,” her mother said.
“The pleasure’s all mine. I want you to know that I have nothing but respect for your daughter. I have enjoyed the time I’ve spent with her, and I want to thank you for any hand you’ve had in that.”
I looked down at the girl standing behind her grandmother’s leg. Bending down, I smiled, then offered my hand to her. I waited for her to peek out and she looked at my hand, then her eyes fluttered up to her mother.
“Only if you want,” Grace said.
Harper took my hand and shook it, then she pushed it up to my lips. I chuckled and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand before she darted over to her mother. Grace gathered the girl in her arms and I thanked her mother one last time, then the three of us started for my car.
“Harper, have you eaten lunch yet?” I asked.
I watched her nod her head as Grace buckled her into her car seat.
“Have you eaten, Grace?”
“I did. Have you?”
“Yes, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t need to stop and get us something before we headed to the park,” I said.
“That’s sweet of you. Looks like we’re all fine for now,” she said with a smile.
Harper was quiet the entire ride and I tried to give her enough space to process what was going on. We got to the park and Harper made a beeline for the slides, then started climbing them like she was a professional. She slid down them with a smile on her face, giggling and laughing as she tumbled into the sand.
Over and over again she went, up and down until she was panting up a storm.
“I take it the slides are her favorite?” I asked.
“What gave it away?” Grace asked, with a grin.
“You think she would be okay if I went over there and tried to go down with her?”
“Only one way to find out.”
Grace and I got up from the bench and walked over to the slide. The smile fell from Harper’s face and I kept my distance as much as I could. I walked up the slide and went down it, showing her I could go down it as well.
And that seemed to drop her barriers a bit.
First, she wanted me to go before her. Then, she wanted me to catch her coming down. I’d pick her up before she hit the sand and I’d swing her around, watching as her hair billowed out around her tiny face while she giggled uncontrollably.
Then, she wanted me to come up and go down with her.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Ready,” Harper said.
“One. Two”
“Three!” she said.
We slid down the slide and bounced onto the sand. I held onto her tightly so she wouldn’t get hurt. Grace was clapping and cheering us on and I was sweating before Harper wanted to do something else.
She took my hand and dragged me over to the swings where I proceeded to push her for as long as she wanted.
I could see the shock on Grace’s face as Harper and I continued to play. We swung next to one another and we played tag. We went down the slide a few more times and climbed the jungle gym. There was a dog walker there walking a bunch of puppies. Harper wanted to pet them, then we walked over to the bridge and sat down to toss rocks into the water.
“I like you,” Harper said.
“Well, I like you too,” I said.
“Do you like Mommy?”
“I enjoy spending time with your mommy, yes.”
“So you’re her boyfriend,” she said.
I was shocked at the word, but I was also shocked at my own reaction. I didn't recoil like I usually did, nor did I feel uncomfortable with it.
It actually sat well with me, being considered her boyfriend.
“I am a boy that’s a friend, yes,” I said.
“Are you going to eat dinner with us?” Harper asked.
“Do you want me to?”
“Yeah. You’re lots of fun. Mommy said she would get ice cream.”
“Oh, I can never turn down ice cream.”
“What’s your favorite?” she asked.
“Cookies and cream. What’s yours?”
“Strawberry!’
“Do you like actual strawberries in it?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. Strawberries are my favorite fruit.”
“You know what mine is?”
“What?”
“Honeydew melon.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Oh. I’ll have to bring you some the next time I come over. It’s like a watermelon, but with a different taste.”
“I like watermelon.”
“Yes, you certainly do,” Grace said.
I turned around and saw her sitting on Harper’s other side. She shook her head as she ran her fingers through Harper’s hair, then gave me that shocked look again.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“She just doesn’t usually take to people like this. I figured we’d be out here for two, three hours before she started talking with you.”
“Are you shy, Harper?” I asked.
“Sometimes,” the little girl said. “But not with you.”
“Why not with me?” I asked.
“Because you’re a good person. I like good persons.”
“People,” Grace said. “The plural of person is people.”
Her sentiment tugged at my heart. I wasn’t a good person, but I wanted to be. The three of us sat on the bridge and tossed rocks into the water, talking and laughing until the sun started to go down. We all piled back in the car and I took the girls home, informing her that Harper had invited me to stay for dinner.
Grace seemed amused by it but wasn’t opposed.
“Whose car is that, Mommy?” Harper asked.
“I’m not sure,” Grace asked.
“You girls stay here. I’ll go see who’s on the porch,” I said.
“Grandma!” Harper said. “That’s Grandma, Mommy!”
“But that’s not Grandma’s car,” Grace said.
“Just stay here. I’ll figure it out,” I said.
I watched Grace’s mother step off the porch. It didn’t look like she was with anyone else, but my senses were still on high alert. I walked over to the woman as Grace got out of the car, and I turned to look at her as her mother cleared her throat.
“Ms. Keats?” I questioned.
“Please, call me Donna,” she said.
I nodded and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Is everything ok Donna?” I as
ked. “I apologize for my demeanor earlier, Ryan,” she said, taking me by surprise.
“For what it’s worth, it was warranted. I was a terrible kid in high school.”
“You were raised in rough circumstances. That isn’t the fault of the child. Though it’s good to see you’ve changed.”
The guilt was like a punch in the gut.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Grace asked.
I felt Harper come up and take my hand as Grace’s hand fell on my shoulder.
“I see my granddaughter’s taken a liking to you,” Donna said.
“I’m lucky she has. She’s a great kid,” I said.
“Whose car is that?” Grace asked.
“It’s a rental. My car is still in the shop and they gave me one to ride around in until it’s finished up.”
“What’s wrong with your car?” I asked.
“Something to do with one of the firing pistons in the engine. I’m not really sure. It’s an old car, so this will be the only time I funnel this kind of money into it,” Donna said.
“If it happens again, let me know. I can take a look at it,” I said.
“You know about cars?” Grace asked.
“One of the few things I did with my dad as a kid was take apart cars and put them back together. I can fix just about anything,” I said.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Donna said. “I hope you don’t mind, Grace. I went ahead and cooked up some dinner.”
“What did you make?” Harper asked.
“Hot dogs,” Donna said with a smile.
“Yeah! Hot dogs and ice cream!” Harper said.
Harper led the way as the four of us went inside to sit down for dinner.
The dinner was nice. It felt almost familial. Donna kept asking me questions and I batted them around as much as I could. I talked about the construction work I supposedly did and tried to keep my cover as much as possible. She tried to talk about my father, but I skirted the subject, instead landing on Jason and how I was trying to prepare him for college. That seemed to impress her a great deal, and by the time dinner was over I had Donna smiling and laughing.
Mission accomplished.
“Mommy, can your friend stay the night?” Harper asked.
“No sweetheart. Mr. Ryan has to go home,” Grace said.
Grace led me out to my car before she backed me into it. My hands gripped her waist and pulled her close as her lips collided with mine. I loved how she took control. I loved that she wanted me enough to push up against me. My legs spread to accommodate her and she fell into me, her hands pressing into my chest as I held onto her lower back.
My tongue massaged hers, our lips pressing together in a chorus of lust.
“I had a really good time today,” I said, pulling away before I ran out of air.
“Thanks for coming with us,” Grace said. “And I’m sorry about my mother.”
“She has every right to be protective over you, considering what you’ve been through. You would do the same for Harper, because you’re both good mothers.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile.
“I love it when you blush.”
Her eyes met mine and I went in for one last kiss. It was soft and delicate, and I could feel her hands rising to cup my cheeks. My hand smoothed up her back and I allowed my fingers to fiddle with the ends of her soft hair. I nuzzled my nose against hers, breaking the kiss as she sighed into my lips.
I left her house that night feeling really good about where things were with us.
All I had to do was get through the damn heist and things would be perfect.
CHAPTER 10
GRACE
“So, how do you feel about how things went yesterday?” my mother asked.
“I feel really good about them. Harper’s never taken to someone like she took to Ryan,” I said.
“That’s good. I’m glad she likes him.”
“Why do I get the feeling this is leading into you still not liking him. Even though you were belly-laughing by the end of dinner?”
“You know me. You know I’m a good judge of character, you said so yourself. But I’m still concerned,” she said.
“Why can’t you let go of his past, Mom?”
“It’s not about his past, sweetheart. He’s hiding something.”
“We all have secrets,” I said.
“Look, you wanted me to meet him and I did. And yes, he’s a fun man to be around. And yes, he is a good man. But that doesn’t mean he does good things. There’s something about him that doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I think you’re still judging him,” I said.
“You can believe whatever you want. I raised you to be independent and to not have to rely on anyone. But you wanted me to meet him, so there’s my analysis based on the time I spent with him.”
“Thanks. I guess,” I said.
“If you say he’s different, then I trust your opinion.”
“I hate to cut the call short, but Harper’s begging me to go outside,” I said.
“Give my granddaughter a kiss for me.”
“Will do, Mom.”
Harper wasn’t begging me to do anything, but I didn't want to be on the phone with my mother any longer. Why couldn’t she see past his upbringing? Why couldn’t she see him for the man I saw? I didn’t know what she had against him, but I wasn’t going to deal with it any longer. I had really enjoyed the time I’d spent with him so far and watching him interact with Harper yesterday had been the highlight of my life for the past few years.
I wasn’t going to give that up over a feeling my mother had.
“Mommy, is Mr. Ryan coming over?”
“No honey. It’s just you and me tonight,” I said.
“Could we ask him to come over?”
“I think we should give Mr. Ryan a night to himself, don’t you think?” I asked.
“Then can he come over?”
“Sure. I’ll ask him if he wants to come over soon,” I said with a grin.
“Mommy?”
“Yeah?”
“Does Mr. Ryan like to color?”
“Actually, yes. He does,” I said.
“Could we see if he wants to come over and color?”
I giggled and nodded my head as I scooped Harper up into my arms. I pressed kisses into her cheeks and blew air onto her stomach. I tickled her neck and spun her around until she was laughing hysterically. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was panting for air as the two of us collapsed onto the couch.
“Mommy?”
“Yeah honey?”
“I like Mr. Ryan.”
“I like him too,” I said.
“Does he like me?” she asked.
“I’m sure he does,” I said. “He seemed to really enjoy going down the slide with you.”
“That was so much fun! And the swing. He pushes me higher than you do.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed your time at the park with him.”
“Can we go again today?” she asked.
“Sweetheart, Mr. Ryan isn’t going to come over today. But maybe in a few days, he could come back again.”
“Aw, man.”
“I know. Momma’s so mean,” I said.
I cuddled with my daughter on the couch as I turned on the television. Her favorite cartoon was on and she started singing along with the opening lyrics. I kissed the side of her head and thought back to yesterday, recalling how perfect it had been and how natural it had felt to be with him.
Part of me wished it would happen again, the three of us at the park and enjoying dinner together.
My mother could leave her attitude at home, though.
A knock came at my door and Harper jumped off the couch. She raced to the door as I yelled to her, telling her not to open it by herself. But she yanked it open with her eyes wide with hope.
Then she sulked off when she saw it was Amy.
“That was the worst welcome ever,” she said.
“She was hoping
you were Ryan,” I said.
“Mommy won’t let him come over today,” Harper said.
Amy’s jaw was unhinged with shock.
“Okay. Clearly I missed something. Why is she bummed that I wasn’t Ryan?”
“Ryan met Harper and my mother yesterday. He came here to pick me up, then we went to go get Harper and we went to the park. Within an hour, she was talking with him. Full-fledged conversations. They were going down the slides and swinging together. Throwing rocks off the bridge—”
“I couldn't get her to say two words to me for the longest time!” Amy said.
“She really took to him,” I said with a grin.
“What did your mother think?”
“She’s still judging him based on what he was like as a teenager, but she’ll get over it,” I said.
“So that didn’t go well?”
“You know, it actually didn’t suck. She was rough with him in the beginning, but Ryan was a sweetheart. Kept complimenting her and calling her beautiful. He told me to stop getting on her about how she was reacting because she was being a mom, too.”
“. Good job, Ryan.”
“Yeah. And after we got back from the park, we pulled into the driveway with my mother standing on the porch. She came over with her key to cook dinner for all of us,” I said.
“So—that wasn’t a complete intrusion?”
“It was at first. But she warmed up to Ryan and they were laughing together by the end of dinner.”
“And she’s still weird about him?”
“You know my mom can’t let go of things. She’ll come around eventually,” I said.
“How do you feel about all of this? Those are some serious steps in a small amount of time.”
“Save me the lecture, my mother already gave it to me. A few times, actually.”
“No lecture here. I’m the queen of whirlwind romances,” she said. “But still—introducing him to the kid? How do you feel?”
“Yesterday was—perfect. It couldn’t have gone any better. I’m feeling really good about where things are headed,” I said.
“No weird feelings?”
“Nope. Nothing like that.”
“Not even an inkling?”
“Amy, he’s not the same guy,” I said.
“I’m not saying he is. But this is a little fast.”