Without a Net

by Blake, Jill

  “Well, now you won’t have to. Eva volunteered to host the sleepover, and I agreed.”

  Max glanced toward the family room, where Connor and his father lay sprawled on the floor, taking turns firing angry birds at various pig configurations on an iPad.

  Nina headed for the kitchen. “If you’re staying for dinner, you can set the table.”

  Max trailed after her. “Maybe I’ll stop by and lend Eva a hand.”

  “Why? I’m sure she can handle a couple of kids.”

  He frowned at having his own words tossed back at him. “Didn’t you say that the point of having Ben over was to give Eva some time off?”

  “Did I?” She washed her hands, then rifled through the fridge. “Well, maybe Eva decided she’s had enough time off for the moment.”

  Her sharp tone alerted Max to the possibility that his sister knew more than she was saying. He set down the stack of plates and folded his arms across his chest. “What’s going on, Nina?”

  She threw him a glance. “You tell me.”

  “I would, if I knew what you were talking about.”

  “I saw your car parked in front of Eva’s house the other day.”

  “So? You were the one who suggested I hire her. We’re working on the marketing for my book.”

  “At six o’clock in the morning?”

  Oh. He tried to gauge how much trouble he was in. On the one hand, he was Nina’s brother, and that had to count for something. On the other hand, Eva was her best friend, and that was a bond most men would be wise not to test.

  “I run in the mornings,” she said, keeping her eyes focused on the cutting board. Max winced as the knife sliced repeatedly through a pile of raw vegetables. “The neighborhood isn’t that large.”

  “Spit it out, Nina, whatever you’re trying to say.”

  She set down the knife and wiped her hands on a nearby towel. “Eva’s going through a rough patch right now. Her husband was a class-A jerk. Treated her like shit. The only person who didn’t see it was Eva. Now she’s left with a son to raise by herself, and a mountain of debt that she’s trying to work through. She’s vulnerable, and she doesn’t deserve to be hurt again.”

  Max sucked in a breath. “I wasn’t planning on hurting her.”

  “I love you, Max. But I’m not blind. Word gets around. You don’t plan on hurting anyone, but then you move on and it happens anyway.”

  The silence lengthened. Max unclenched his fingers. “What if this time I don’t want to move on?” he said. “Is it that inconceivable that Eva and I might be happy together?”

  Nina stared at him. “What about Ben?”

  “I think it’s time I got to know him. Don’t you?”

  Chapter 18

  Max arrived with an extra-large take-out pizza, an assortment of specialty salads, and a box of triple chocolate chunk cookies from the Honey Rose Café. He hoped the edible bribes, purchased from the café Eva was helping promote, would get his foot in the door. Plus it didn’t hurt to personally check out the competition. Even though Eva said the café owner was married and not in the running for her affections, Max subscribed to the “trust, but verify” philosophy. It had saved his ass multiple times while mountain climbing and scuba diving—activities that in retrospect seemed far less risky than his evolving relationship with Eva.

  Reassured at least on one front, Max rang the bell, prepared to talk fast as soon as the door opened. Turned out he didn’t need to. There was the sound of running feet, and then two faces appeared in the side window.

  “Mom, it’s Connor’s uncle!” The door swung open. “And he’s got pizza!”

  Eva emerged from the kitchen. “I was just about to start dinner.”

  “Then I came right on time.” He extended the cardboard box toward her. “Half cheese, half pepperoni.”

  “Pepperoni?” Ben’s eyes lit up. “That’s my favorite!”

  Connor bounced on his toes. “Mine too!”

  Eva accepted the box and shooed the boys off to wash their hands. In an undertone, she said, “This is cheating.”

  Max shut the door and followed her to the kitchen. “Would you have let me in otherwise?”

  “No.”

  “Then I did what I had to do.” He grinned and set the bag with the remaining food on the counter. “You know what they say about love and war.”

  She shook her head. “Here, make yourself useful.”

  He accepted a stack of plates, topped with napkins and silverware. “You weren’t exactly playing fair yourself when you switched tonight’s venue.”

  “Fine. You can stay for dinner.”

  He didn’t push. One step at a time, he reminded himself.

  Ben and Connor kept the adults entertained through most of the meal with commentary on the Franklin Follies, which had taken place in the school’s “cafetorium” earlier that day.

  “If you want to see the show,” Connor said, “Aunt Eva filmed it.”

  Max blinked. Having his nephew refer to Eva as “aunt” made him realize just how intertwined their families were. If his relationship with Eva didn’t work out, the fallout would extend beyond just the two of them. No wonder his sister was nervous.

  Ben piped up. “Mom said we could help her edit the movie tonight!”

  At his raised brow, Eva shrugged. “This is my third year doing it. It’s good publicity for the school, helps with fundraising. I couldn’t say no.”

  “Can I watch?”

  “I’m sure you have better things to do with your evening.”

  “Can’t think of a single one.”

  The boys enthusiastically seconded his request.

  Everyone pitched in with the cleanup before migrating to the living room, where Eva hooked up a computer to the big screen TV. Surrounded by the boys, who called out suggestions of where to fast-forward, and what to trim, Eva manipulated the video images, transforming nearly two hours of raw footage into a smooth montage of show highlights.

  It was getting late by the time the boys scampered upstairs to brush their teeth and change into pajamas.

  Max watched Eva pack away her equipment. “I’m impressed.”

  “It’s pretty easy, once you get the hang of the software.” She smiled. “I’m making you a book trailer this weekend. It’s all the rage these days for book promotion.”

  “Can I help?” He rose from the couch, wishing she’d stop moving long enough for him to sneak a kiss while the kids were otherwise occupied.

  “I work better alone,” she said. “But I’ll forward it to you once it’s done. If there’s something you want changed, you’ll let me know.”

  Footsteps clattered down the stairs. Max sighed and sat back down, adjusting his suddenly too-tight jeans. “Okay. I forgot to mention, I got the proof copy from CreateSpace a couple days ago.”

  “I thought you weren’t going to do a print version.”

  He shrugged. “I changed my mind after you said it would help at readings.”

  “That’s great. It definitely will. Your first reading is on the twelfth, by the way. At the Main Library on 6th and Santa Monica. It’s the day after the online launch party. Will the books be delivered in time?”

  “Probably.”

  She nodded and turned to the boys, who had appropriated an iPad from the coffee table and were bickering over which game to play. “That’s enough, Ben. Connor is your guest, so he gets first choice.”

  “But Mom…”

  “After that you take turns. You sure you want to sleep down here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Fine. I’ll get the sleeping bags and pillows. Lights out in half an hour.”

  Max saw his opportunity and got up, ready to follow her upstairs.

  Eva shot him a pointed look. “You supervise.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be fine on their own,” he protested. “Right, guys?”

  She cut off their response. “Five minutes per turn. Uncle Max will tell you when time’s up.”

  O
kay, so she wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet. He sank back onto the cushions. “Five minutes, got it.”

  “I won’t be long. Behave.”

  Max didn’t know if that last command was for him or the boys. He watched her march off, admiring her rounded derriere until it disappeared from view. Turning back, he noticed that Ben was watching him.

  “So,” Max said. “That was pretty cool, the way your mom edited the video, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah. She knows how to do a lot of stuff on the computer.” He glanced over Connor’s shoulder at the iPad screen, then got up and joined Max on the couch. “It’s her job.”

  “What is?”

  “Doing things on the computer.”

  “Oh. Well, she’s good at it.”

  “I guess. I just wish she didn’t have to work so much.”

  Max didn’t know how to respond to that, so he kept quiet.

  Ben picked at a loose thread along the seam of his pajama sleeve. “We used to do a lot more fun stuff together.”

  “Oh?” Max glanced toward the stairs. A little guidance on how to handle this tête-à-tête with Eva’s son would have come in handy just about now. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Stuff. Like going to the Tar Pits. Or Knott’s Berry Farm. Last year Mom promised we’d go to Travel Town, but then my dad got sick.”

  “That had to be rough. For you and your mom.”

  Ben lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.

  “So,” Max said, before he thought better of it. “You busy tomorrow?”

  “Just karate in the morning. Why?”

  “How would you like to go to Travel Town?”

  Ben frowned. “With you?”

  “And your mom. We’ll have to check with her, of course. Make sure it’s okay. But I have a feeling she’ll say yes.” If she didn’t kill him first.

  “I don’t know.” He eyed Max suspiciously. “So are you and my mom, like, friends?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like me and Connor?”

  Max suppressed a smile. “Sure.”

  “Connor’s my best friend in the whole world.” He paused for a beat. “Are you and my mom best friends?”

  How was he supposed to answer that? Sometime he wasn’t even sure Eva liked him. Or rather, she liked his body well enough. It was the rest of him she seemed to have misgivings about. And he’d be damned if he could figure out how to get her past that.

  Max glanced at his watch. “Look at that, it’s your turn on the iPad.”

  The handoff went smoothly, and Max let out a relieved breath. It occurred to him that maybe he’d been a bit presumptuous in promising Ben a trip to see the trains at Griffith Park. Eva wouldn’t thank him for it, especially if she had other plans for the weekend. Nor was she likely to be happy about Max horning in on her time with her son. Again.

  He glanced up at the sound of her footsteps. A rolled up sleeping bag came into view first. Max met her at the foot of the stairs, relieving her of both sleeping bags.

  “Sorry it took so long,” she said. “It’s been a while since we used these. They were buried beneath all sorts of other gear. Everything okay here?”

  “Sure.”

  She peered around him at the boys. Ben was busy flicking virtual Frisbees through hoops, Connor watching intently over Ben’s shoulder.

  “Good. I’ll go get the pillows.”

  He watched her run up the stairs, grateful for the cover provided by the bulky bedrolls. A minute later, Eva was back.

  Ben glanced up just then and grinned. He relinquished the iPad to Connor and jumped up. “Guess what, Mom?”

  “What?”

  “We’re taking you to Travel Town!”

  “Who’s we?”

  “Me and Max.”

  She raised a brow at Max. “Really?”

  He nodded. “We were hoping you’d agree. Ben really wants to go.”

  Eyes narrowed, she unrolled and shook out one of the sleeping bags. “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “Please, Mom! Please, can we go?”

  Max decided it was time make a strategic retreat. Maybe later tonight, after she calmed down, he’d have a better chance of pleading his case.

  “I need to head out, guys,” he said.

  Connor called out goodbye without taking his eyes off the screen. Ben smiled and said, “Thanks for the pizza.”

  “My pleasure.” He touched Eva’s arm lightly. Her rigid stance didn’t bode well. “I’ll call you later.”

  He let himself out. The evening might not have gone as planned, but it wasn’t a complete disaster. For now, that was enough.

  Chapter 19

  It’s not that Eva forgot Ben’s request to visit Travel Town. She simply had too much on her plate for too long. Things were bound to fall off, and that trip was one of them.

  Whenever Ben came up with something new he wanted, Eva told him to write it on his “wish list.” She was careful not to promise that he’d get everything he wished for—only that the presents he did receive on his birthday and Christmas would come from that list. It was courtesy of the list that they went to Legoland when Ben turned five, and Disneyland when he turned six. Smaller items like toys, books, and outings to local attractions likewise got crossed off over time, thanks to Ben’s grandparents, aunt, and uncle.

  Until her legal and financial problems got squared away, Eva didn’t have much in terms of personal time or money for the items on Ben’s list. Between drumming up business, working on the paying accounts that were finally starting to trickle in, wading through the accounting mess Roger had left behind, preparing for the upcoming lawsuit, and staying on top of Ben’s myriad school and extracurricular activities, Eva felt overwhelmed and exhausted.

  But how to explain that to an eight-year-old boy whose expectations had already been dashed too many times?

  She was still fuming over Max’s high-handedness when the phone rang.

  “What?” she barked.

  Her brother’s voice responded cautiously, “Eva?”

  “Oh. Hi.” She sagged back against the pile of pillows in bed. “What’s up, Logan?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Couldn’t be better.” She dug a thumb into the pain just above her eye. “I’m making chicken burritos for lunch tomorrow. What time will you be here?”

  “About that…” He cleared his throat. “Something came up. I won’t be able to make it. Can I take a rain check?”

  “Sure. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s just…” his voice trailed off. “Never mind. I’ll talk to you soon. Spring quarter ends Friday. I’m giving the final the week after. I should have more time once it’s over.”

  When she hung up, Eva realized that with her brother’s cancellation, she no longer had a legitimate excuse for turning down Max’s offer.

  The phone rang again. This time she checked the caller ID before picking up.

  “Are you still mad?” Max said.

  Despite the blooming headache, and her residual annoyance, Eva couldn’t help feeling a flutter of excitement at the sound of his voice. She tamped it down.

  “This is becoming a bad habit with you,” she told him. “Putting me on the spot like that. Leaving me with no choice.”

  His husky murmur traveled across her nerve endings like a caress. “You always have a choice, Eva.”

  She ignored the warm, melting sensation at the pit of her stomach. “You should have asked me before mentioning anything to my son.”

  “I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

  She closed her eyes. “You really want to go to Griffith Park to look at trains?”

  “You know what they say about boys and their trains…”

  “I thought that whole Freud thing was debunked years ago.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe. But the obsession with trains is built into our DNA.”

  “So is the propensity for bullshit.”

  “Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty.” His voice dr
opped a notch. “What are you wearing?”

  “Is this turning into one of those calls?”

  “You’re hell on my ego, you know that?”

  She smiled. “Come by at noon. We’ll save you some chicken burritos.”

  ###

  Eva felt wiped out, and the day had barely begun. She got Ben and Connor to karate, and spent the next fifty minutes scrolling through emails on her iPhone.

  Her listings on websites that catered to indie authors were starting to bear fruit. There were several inquiries regarding book covers and blog tours. One writer asked how much she charged for doing a book trailer.

  Nina came by just as class was letting out.

  “How was last night?” she asked Eva. “Did my monster behave?”

  “I’m not a monster,” Connor protested.

  Eva handed Ben his socks and shoes. “Everyone’s in one piece, so I’d say it was a success.”

  Ben grinned. “We’re going to Travel Town today!”

  At Nina’s questioning look, Eva shrugged. Fessing up now might head off questions in the future. “Max showed up last night. He offered, and I couldn’t say no.”

  Nina hesitated. “He’s my brother, so I probably shouldn’t be saying this…”

  Eva cut her off. “It’s just an afternoon at Griffith Park. Nothing more, okay?”

  She knew what Nina wanted to tell her. She’d thought it often enough herself in the past few weeks. Max was pretty to look at and fun to be around, but he wasn’t a likely prospect for anything long-term.

  Eva was fine with that. She simply needed to keep her involvement with Max from spilling over into other areas of her life. After today, no more outings that involved her son. No more impromptu trysts where they ran the risk of discovery. And absolutely no more gambling when it came to birth control.

  In fact, first thing Monday morning, she was calling Dr. Goodman for a prescription.

  Chapter 20

  A light breeze stirred the dust, providing minimal relief from the mid-afternoon heat. Slathered in sunscreen and armed with plenty of water, they clambered aboard massive steam- and oil-powered locomotives, old Pullman sleepers and dining cars, and took a ride on a miniature train that ran around the periphery of the park.