Page 26 of Play For Keeps

A crease forms between Tucker’s eyebrows. “Things moving that slow?”

“Yeah. I’ve hugged her, that’s about it.”

Tucker shakes his head, smirking at my lack of game. “What are you waiting for, Jakey? Do you like her or not?”

“Of course, I do,” I mutter.

“Then what are you waiting for? You still got your balls, make your move.”

I nod my head, taking a sip of my beer.

But it’s obvious Everly’s life is complicated. Her ex, her kid, her job. What if she’s not ready for me to make a move? Or worse yet, what if things aren’t actually over with her and Birdie’s dad?

I guess there’s only one way to find out.

NINE

ZERO RED FLAGS HERE

Everly

After three episodes of Peppa Pig, two games of Snakes and Ladders, one dance party and way too much popcorn, I’m sitting on the couch with my feet up on the coffee table. Franny sits beside me, equally exhausted.

“Should I pour us a glass of wine? I think we earned it,” Franny says, tossing a popcorn kernel in her mouth. “That girl has more energy than a Border Collie on a Saturday morning.”

“You’re telling me. How am I ever going to get her to sleep tonight?” I stand up with a sigh and retrieve the open bottle of red from the counter while Franny puts the pieces of the board game back in the box.

“Mommy, it’s Daddy on the phone,” Birdie says, trotting towards me with my iPhone in her hand. “I’m gonna answer it.”

“Birdie—” I watch her tiny finger swipe the screen before I have a chance to take the device from her. Franny watches the scene unfold with a pained look on her face.

“Hi, Daddy.” Birdie stands next to me in the kitchen, a look of concentration on her face.

I can hear Grant’s voice on the other end of the call, and instantly the hairs on my arms stand on end. I don’t need to see my ex’s face to be physically affected by him. The sound of his voice is enough to send my anxiety through the roof.

I flash back to other phone calls between Grant and Birdie, when he would tell her that he’d been busy at work and then promise to make it up to her, to take her somewhere special. But then he wouldn’t show. And I would have to watch her little bottom lip quiver, the tears falling one by one down her cheeks. No matter how many times he left her waiting, it never got easier. For either of us.

Was he always like that, from the start? Or did I ignore a bunch of red flags? He was confident and popular; I knew there were tons of girls who wanted a chance with him. I got stars in my eyes and imagined he was the man I wanted him to be. Looking back, I should have seen the warning signs. There were enough of them.

“I miss you too, Daddy.”

“Yes, I want to see you.”

“When?”

“Okay, here’s Mommy.”

Birdie extends her arm to me, my phone in her hands. I take the device from her and lower myself to sit on a kitchen chair. I hear Franny asking Birdie to show her something in her bedroom as she quietly leads her down the hall, leaving me alone with the devil.

The phone call lasts less than 5 minutes, neither one of us wanting to make small talk, and by the time I’ve hung up, we’ve gotten nowhere. Besides the fact that I want to choke him out. He wants to see Birdie tomorrow. Tomorrow. You’ve got to be kidding me. This is typical Grant, expecting me to drop everything to work around his schedule. He thinks the world revolves around him and his needs. Would it kill him to give me some notice? But what choice did I have? I know Birdie would like to see him. I reluctantly agreed to a visit when he told me he wouldn’t be far from Reed Point, and he’d come to us. I told him we’d meet him at The Dockside, a lunch spot in town. There’s no way I was going to invite him to the apartment—he would lose his mind, and the last thing I need is Grant judging me.

“You okay?” Franny asks quietly, walking back into the kitchen. “Birdie is in the tub.”

“I’m fine. He’s just infuriating,” I say, pouring myself a glass of wine. I pour a glass for Franny too, then slide it across the table to her.

I feel safe to speak candidly with Franny. She’s a good listener and she’s never judgemental. “He wants to see her.”

“When was the last time?”

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