Page 62 of Love Me Boldly

Looking for a job as a single mom became next to impossible. I had help in Deer Creek. Tracey was right about that objection from the beginning. I decided to stay for two years, find what jobs I could in Boone or in surrounding towns, attempt to build a résumé, and wait until Jonah was a little bit easier to manage on my own.

Then Caroline had a stroke. It happened one night when Jonah and I were at the restaurant with her. One moment she was busing tables, and the next, she couldn’t speak. Before I figured out what was happening, she’d collapsed.

My dream of a stable finance job went up in smoke, and thus began my life being stuck in Deer Creek.

There were days I despised it. Days where knowing everyone made leaving the house dreadful. Those days came when Jonah wasn’t allowed to play with certain kids or when he was excluded from events like birthday parties altogether. Then there were days where I felt wrapped in a village. Between Trina and Cole slowly becoming friends, and then their friends, even though they were a couple of years older, I’d somehow acquired a life filled with girls’ nights outs and girls’ days, and I now had a plethora of babysitters for when I simply needed a break.

Through all the pain and tears and fighting, through all of the struggles and constant streams of bad luck being thrown in my direction, I hadneverexpected to run into Graham or Eli. Definitely not in Boone. Certainly not on the same day.

In those first few weeks after our split, he hounded Tracey for my address. Begged her to borrow her phone. He’d even shown up at The Grille and pleaded with Caroline to talk to me.

I never caved. Had never had a second thought that what I did wasn’t the right thing, even if Ididhave regrets on how cruelly I’d handled it over the years.

He was the guy I always cared about. The only one I thought of.

And he washere. Far too close to home. Far too close to me.

“He was really nice, Mommy. He said Papa Paul could help me shoot better too and told me what to tell him. He even wrote it down!”

“That’s great, kiddo,” I murmured, doing my best to keep my eyes on the winding roads, my hands on the wheel, and my racing heart and trembling hands in check. “I’m glad you had fun.”

“I did.Somuch fun. Mister Graham even said I was a great passer like you tell me all the time.”

Fantastic. Freaking hockey. I worked really hard to be a present mom and an involved single mom. The small nest egg of funds I was able to save over the years meant I could put Jonah in almost any activity he desired. I tried putting him in safer sports, but he kept going back to skating and hockey. I loved him so much I couldn’t deny him.

“How do you know him? My coach? He said he doesn’t live here, and we never go anywhere, Mommy.”

“Yeah, we don’t really travel, do we?” We’d taken weekend vacations here and there. I once took him to the zoo in Georgia, and we tried to get to the beach every fall. That was harder now with him in school, but it was cheaper to rent a place at the end of the main season, heading into the offseason.

I hoped the mention of travel would switch topics, but unfortunately for me, Jonah was too smart. Too determined.

“So how do you know him?”

“He was a friend in school.”

“In Deer Creek? He lived here?”

“No, kiddo. When I went to the big school, Northwest Carolina, where you just were. I knew him then.”

“He said he played hockey there. He must have been so great.”

He was. I knew that even if I didn’t go to all the games. But I’d read his stats and articles written on him and his team. They’d come in second place that spring all those years ago in their division. His friend Tanner was still in the hockey minor league somewhere in Iowa.

I knew that from Tracey, who occasionally kept in touch with Tanner over the years. They’d stayed friends, and she’d caught a few of his games when he played close enough in Florida for her to get to.

“Yeah, Jonah. He was a pretty great player, I think. You hungry?”

“Starving. Hitting a puck around is a lot of work, and I did it so many times my arms are tired.”

“I bet they are.” I chuckled. My kid was cute.

“So tired I might not be able to lift a fork.”

“Then we can get you soup, and you can drink from a bowl.”

“Like a puppy!” Jonah shrieked. Not exactly what I meant, but the visual had us both dissolving into laughter.

Being a single parent wasn’t always easy, especially with the route I’d taken, but man…Jonah was awesome. And I’d had a hand in it. There was nothing more satisfying. Nothing I wouldn’t give up to ensure thathewould thrive.

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