Page 51 of Drop the Mitts

“What about you, Grace?” Jenna leaned forward in her seat. “Did you see the Prime Minister’s speech yesterday?”

Grace fumbled her phone, then stuffed it in her coat pocket so fast she nearly gave herself carpel tunnel. “Uh—what?”

Country grunted. "Yeah. Still don’t buy the energy transition plan."

Grace nodded, not quite sure what she was agreeing with. She glanced at André, then quickly turned back to the window. All-star? Lyon? How had he never brought that up before? If he was trying to make himself look good, wouldn’t that be top of the list?

She drew a deep breath, trying to recover from the mental whiplash. He was not what he seemed, but she couldn’t figure out what hewas.More importantly, why was she an absolute trainwreck when she was around him? Couldn’t she just be normal?

Grace circled back on her fight with him in the street. She’d been an ass. So had he, but she had no control over that. Twice she’d typed out an apology text, but never sent it. She had communication skills. She knew how to diffuse an argument, to take the higher road. But somehow with him, everything went out the window.

She sipped from her water bottle and stared out the window as fields and frost-covered fences rolled by, tuning back into the conversation.

André shrugged. "Alberta always ends up eating it."

"Carbon tax is killing ranchers.” Country shifted in his seat, holding up another toy for Hope to swipe at.

Grace perked up. "There’s a constitutional challenge underway. If it succeeds, the tax authority reverts to the provinces. But they’ll still have to come up with their own climate policies."

André glanced at her, eyebrow arched. Grace turned back to the window, hoping he couldn’t see her blush. Jenna and Country were chatty, and their conversation filled the truck with warm, easy energy. It carried them all the way to Red Deer, until Hope started fussing in the backseat, her cries rising like a slow crescendo.

"She hates being strapped in too long," Jenna murmured, trying to soothe her with a stuffed giraffe.

Country leaned over awkwardly to reach her. "Maybe we need to change her?"

Jenna nodded. "Maybe. I’ll try a bottle first."

The truck rolled on, engine humming, the heat just high enough to fog the corners of the windshield. The bottle bought them a little time, but when they reached the outskirts of the city, Hope's fussing had turned into a high-pitched, breathy cry that wouldn’t settle.

"Let’s pull off.” Jenna’s voice was tight. “Sorry.”

André nodded and took the exit, merging into city traffic before pulling into a Tim Hortons off Gaetz Avenue. They all got out, Jenna carrying Hope and heading for the bathroom to use the change table.

Grace, André, and Country found a table in the corner near the window. André grabbed them each a coffee, and Country told her not to bother when she tried to pay. “He loves taking care of people.”

Grace put her wallet back into her purse as André finished up at the counter. “Doesn’t seem especially wise.”

Country gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

She motioned between the two of them. “We’re the ones with steady income. If anything, we should be paying for him.”

Country’s brow pinched, but before he could say anything, Jenna approached the table. "She feels warm. Like, really warm.I know we’ve been in the truck, but I think she might have a fever."

Country leaned in, pressing the back of his hand to Hope’s forehead. "What do you want to do?"

"We should get her checked. We’re going to be in Edmonton all weekend, and if it’s more than a cold . . . "

André stepped up next to her, setting their coffees on the table. “She’s not feeling well?”

Jenna nodded. “Might be an ear infection or something? She’s been rubbing the side of her face.”

They finished their food quickly, then drove to the nearby Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre’s urgent care. There were only five people in the waiting room but after twenty minutes with no movement, it wasn’t looking promising.

Jenna worried her lower lip. “Maybe we should just go? See if we can find something in Edmonton?”

André shook his head. “Stay. We can just go wait in the truck.”

Grace swallowed hard. This wasn’t about her. Jenna was obviously stressed, and it would only make the situation worse for them to be sitting there looking bored.

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