Grant knew that Joy wasn’t calling to wish him, or Trent, a happy Valentine’s Day. And it was too early for a bedtime call. A phone call this early in the evening meant that she had an agenda. Trent was chatting happily with her, and Grant stole a couple of glances at Maurie. He wished they were sitting right next to each other so he could assure her that this phone call wasn’t planned.
The waitress came, and Grant held up his hand to request a few more minutes. He knew by experience that Trent’s food preferences changed quickly, and Grant didn’t want to order the wrong thing. He wanted to avoid any pouting from Trent, especially on a night out with Maurie. Trent was enamored of her, which was a great thing, but he was also a four-year-old kid who could make or break an evening.
“Mommy wants to talk to you,” Trent announced, holding out the phone.
Grant’s stomach knotted. He hadn’t been following Trent’s chatter, so he wasn’t sure what all had been said. He’d keep the conversation short.
“Hi, Joy,” he said into the phone.
“Trent says you’re at a restaurant and that your girlfriend’s with you,” Joy said, her tone accusatory.
Grant couldn’t fathom why she thought she had the right to be so hostile about Maurie. Had Trent said girlfriend, or were those Joy’s words? “That’s right,” Grant said. “Is there something you forgot to tell me about Trent?”
“I called because there are serious issues with that woman you’re dating,” Joy said in a hard tone, “and I don’t want Trent around her.”
Grant opened his mouth, but had no reply. He was stunned. Glancing at Maurie to see that she and Trent were busy coloring on his menu, he said into the phone, “Hang on, I need to find a place to talk.”
Then he said to Maurie and Trent, “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
Maurie’s gaze looked concerned, but there wasn’t any other choice. If he told Joy he’d call her later, he’d just be focused on another dreaded phone call.
He hurried out of the restaurant, and although it was cold outside and he had no coat, he didn’t feel cold.
“Are you still there?” he said into the phone.
“Oh, I’m still here, Grant,” Joy said. “I’ll always be here, especially when it concerns my son.”
Grant rubbed at his temple. He hated when Joy said my son, effectively cutting him out of the equation.
“Trent told me all about your girlfriend,” Joy said, “and so I did a little digging.”
Grant had no words.
“Bottom line, she’s not fit to be around Trent,” Joy said. “If you aren’t willing to break things off, then I’m going to have the custody arrangement appealed—”
“Can you explain where the hell you are coming up with your accusations?” Grant said, cutting her off. “There’s nothing wrong with Maurie. I think you need to look at your own decisions before you point fingers.”
“My mother isn’t a convict,” Joy spat out. “And I never lived in a druggie house and did who-knows-what with who-knows-who.”
Grant’s mind reeled. This was about Maurie’s mother? He had to calm down, because right now, he wanted to hit something. Hard. And he was standing in the parking lot of a public restaurant, with Maurie and Trent waiting for him inside. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled all the calm he could muster. “I knew Maurie as a kid. She lived down the block from me. When her mom went to jail, Maurie went into foster care. She never had contact with her mom again, and Maurie is nothing like her mother.”
“Yet,” Joy said.
The single word was so unfair, so judgmental.
“She’s not,” Grant said. “Maurie was homeschooled, and yes, her mom was a screw-up. But Maurie’s not. She went to college, and she just opened a business in Pine Valley.”
“Wow,” Joy said. “I should give her a gold star. And you too. Was Maurie your teenage crush?”
At this, Grant hesitated. Joy had a gift of twisting his words, so he had to tread carefully. “We never dated.”
Joy scoffed. “That’s not very reassuring. All I know is that this woman is now in Trent’s life, and that’s what I have an issue with.”
“I can’t have this conversation right now,” Grant said. “You don’t know Maurie, and you can’t pass judgment on her like this. It’s completely insane.”
Joy laughed. “Oh, pull the insanity card. That’s convenient. I find it really interesting that you’ve always sat on your high horse, looking down at me, when in fact, you’ve apparently known Maurie for a long time. Do you know how that makes me feel to find out that you’ve gone back to your old girlfriend?”
“She’s not my old girlfriend,” Grant said. “And even if she were, that has nothing to do with this conversation. Maurie is a good person. The most decent woman that I know.” It might be a low blow to Joy, but it was the truth. “If you need to appeal the custody agreement, then that’s your choice, but I’m not dumping Maurie.”
Joy went silent, but Grant knew she was just fuming.
Before she could spew any more bitterness, he said, “I’m hanging up now. You’re on a weekend trip with Stone, and I have a dinner to get back to. We can talk when I bring Trent back on Sunday night. If you want updates on Trent, I’m happy to text you. But I won’t be answering any of your calls.”
Grant hung up and made good on his promise by turning off his phone. Then he paced the parking lot for a few more minutes. He had to cool down. Let his heart rate settle. Let the anger dissipate. He couldn’t imagine Joy being jealous of Maurie, but he didn’t know where all of her hatred was coming from. Maybe, just maybe, Joy had panicked, but it was pretty extreme to do all that research on Maurie.
His sister, Julie, had told him that she thought Joy was a narcissist. Grant had looked up the diagnosis once, and Joy had met eight of the ten requirements. He could hear Julie’s voice in his head telling him that Joy would be angry if she thought he was moving on from her. Despite their divorce, Joy didn’t want him to be happy.
It made a strange kind of sense, Grant had to admit. But it was still pathetic.
He went back into the restaurant. As he approached the table, he saw that an appetizer of loaded baked-potato skins had been delivered.
“What’s this?” Grant asked, hoping his voice sounded lighthearted.
“Skins!” Trent said.
Grant met Maurie’s questioning gaze. “Sounds good. I love ‘skins.’”
Maurie smiled. “Great, because we weren’t sure what you wanted to order. Trent said your favorite food is coffee, but I thought we’d wait until you returned.”
Grant slid into the bench on Maurie’s side, so he could sit by her. She looked surprised and scooted over. And luckily, Trent was so excited about the ‘skins’ that he didn’t notice. “Sorry for the wait,” he said, and he reached for her hand.
Her fingers interlocked with his, and the warmth of her hand was already making him feel better. Joy was feeling farther away by the minute.
“See my picture?” Trent said, holding up his menu.
Grant couldn’t quite make out what Trent had drawn. It looked like a huge blue scribble, sort of a cross between a dinosaur and a truck. “What’s his name?” he asked, using the trick of asking a question about his son’s art to get him to say what it was.
“It’s Brady the dinosaur,” Trent said.
Ah. Grant had been half right. “Brady looks like a strong dinosaur.” He felt the beginnings of a headache, which wasn’t too surprising after the fight he’d had with Joy. He reached for a potato skin and bit into it.
“Do you like the skin, Daddy?” Trent asked, watching him carefully.
Grant smiled. “It’s delicious.”
Trent nodded happily, then picked up another crayon and returned to his coloring. Apparently Brady the Dinosaur was going to be blue and red.
Maurie had been quiet, but he also knew she was observant. So he wasn’t surprised when she whispered, “Is everything okay?”
Grant met her gaze. Why couldn’t he have skipped the whole Joy stage and gone right to Maurie? Of course, then he wouldn’t have Trent.
“It will be,” Grant said, rubbing his thumb over her fingers. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Maurie smiled, but the concern was still evident in her eyes. “I’m glad too.”
She was an amazing woman. Joy didn’t even come close to a woman like Maurie.
“You’re a great dad,” Maurie continued in a soft voice. “Trent thinks you walk on water. Which I have to agree with.” She squeezed his hand.
Grant exhaled. “If you keep complimenting me, I’m going to have to kiss you in front of everyone.”
Her brows lifted. “Is that a threat?” she teased.
“Have you had a chance to decide?” another voice said.
Grant looked up to see a waitress. She was perhaps in her fifties and wore dark pants and a pink shirt—the standard server uniform here. Her nametag read Sylvia, and she looked a bit harried. The place was busy, and surely they’d taken more than their fair share of time. “I’ll have the half order of ribs,” he said.
Maurie ordered the cobb salad, and Trent ordered the kids’ grilled-cheese meal.
“Great,” Sylvia said, then she hesitated. “We’ve opened up the dancing on the other side of the restaurant for Valentine’s. Usually we only have the floor open on Monday nights for Western night.”
“Okay, great, thanks,” Grant said.
As Sylvia walked away, Trent said, “You should dance with Maurie, Daddy.”
Grant looked at Maurie. “Do you want to dance?”
Maurie’s cheeks stained red. “Um, no, thank you though.” She looked at Trent, pointedly ignoring Grant’s gaze. “Thanks for thinking of me, but I don’t dance.”
“It’s not line dancing or anything,” Grant said. He could see where the dancing was underway, and there were a handful of couples swaying slowly to the music. “Just slow stuff.”
“I don’t think so.”
Grant could see that she was truly uncomfortable. Maybe it was the public restaurant setting. “Okay. I think we should play Guess What Animal I’m Making.”
Trent clapped his hands. “Can I go first?”
Grant chuckled. “Of course.”
“We have to make animals with our hands and then guess what it is,” Trent told Maurie.
“Sounds fun,” she said.
Grant loved how she was always so positive around Trent.
Whatever Trent was making with his hands didn’t resemble any animal that Grant could think of, which was often the case with this game. “A bear?” Grant guessed.
“No,” Trent said, then turned his hopeful eyes to Maurie.
“A lion?” Maurie said.
Apparently her guess wasn’t any better, because Trent said, “Nope. It’s a wolf!”
“That was my next guess,” Grant said.
Trent laughed. “You always say that!”
Maurie lifted her brows. “Okay, can I have a turn?”
They played the game until their meals were delivered. As Grant ate, he realized it had been at least fifteen minutes since he’d thought of Joy. Very good progress.
After they finished eating and Grant paid the bill, they left the restaurant and headed for the car. Trent jumped ahead of them. “Stay by me,” Grant said, grabbing for his hand. “No running in a parking lot, remember.”
Trent latched onto Grant’s hand, then reached for Maurie’s as well.
Maurie looked surprised, then she smiled over at Grant.
It seemed Trent was just as taken with Maurie as Grant was.
“Can I open Maurie’s door?” Trent asked.
“Sure, buddy.” Grant used his key fob to unlock the doors, and Trent heaved open the passenger door.
“Thanks, Trent,” Maurie said, and she ruffled the kid’s hair as she got in.
Trent smoothed his hair back down, but he was smiling as he climbed into the back. When Grant settled into the driver’s seat and started the engine, Trent asked, “Are we going home now?”
“We need to take Maurie home first,” Grant said.
“But I want to show her my new toothbrush,” Trent said. “It has a battery and shakes.”
“We could show her another time,” Grant said. “It’s almost your bedtime.”
“You could take me to get my car,” Maurie said, “and I could come over really quick.”
Before Grant could answer, Trent said, “Can she, Daddy? Please?”
Grant wasn’t going to tell Maurie not to come over. He glanced at her. “If you’re sure.”
“Yep.”