Page 145 of Push

He bent over and gently tried to coax Josie to let go, but she wasn’t budging. Too bad she wasn’t coming to court. She had the glare thing down, and she shot a fierce one first at Zach and then at me. Yikes.

I crouched in front of her. “Reckon I can kidnap your dad for a bit?” She shook her head. “What if I pay a ransom?” Did littlekids know what a ransom was? Double yikes. “I’ll bring you an ice cream.”

Josie lifted her chin. “With sprinkles, Uncle Toady?” Her glare was back. She was ready to drive a hard bargain.

I pretended to think it over. “I think I can swing some sprinkles.”

“The, um…” She fluttered her fingers in tiny waves, her eyebrows pinched, trying to think of a word. “Choc dribbles?”

Zach leaned down. “Chocolate fudge sauce,” he muttered.

“Is that a go?” I whispered back.

“Are you still coming to the park with us this arvo?” He waited for me to nod a yes. “If you’re prepared to run up the spiderweb after her when she’s hyped up on all this sugar, promise anything you want.”

Easiest deal ever. I grinned down at Josie. “All the choc dribbles.”

Her tiny hands released. She let Zach hug her goodbye. I got a high-five, and then, after Zach planted a quick kiss on his mum’s head, he headed out the door and along the driveway to his car. Before I could launch after him, a hand tugged my arm.

“Toby,” Maree said. “Before you go…”

Did I do something wrong?“Ye-yeah?” I tugged nervously at my tie.

“Good luck at court this morning.”

A warm, gooey feeling better than Josie’s choc dribbles filled my chest. “Thanks, Mrs. Rawles.”

“I–I know I haven’t always been…well…as nice as I could’ve been to you.” She grimaced a little. “But, these last few weeks, Zach’s popped out of his shell more. It’s been good to see him have someone else to spend time with. John, too. And… well, I’m not too proud to say you’re growing on me.” She lifted her chin and smiled. “I just wanted you to know.”

My cheeks flamed. I ducked my head, not quite sure where to look. I felt a little bit…overwhelmed. “Th-thanks, Mrs. Rawles.”

“Maree.”

“Wow.” I nodded a lot. “Thanks.”

I still wore a dopey smile when I sat in the car and dragged the seatbelt over my chest. I glanced out the windshield. Maree stood by the front door, showing Noah how to wave goodbye. He didn’t quite have the hang of it yet—he just flapped his whole arm—but he loved that he got lots of smiles for trying.

Gwen dropped her phone in her bag. “Everything go okay?” she asked. “You and Maree were talking for a bit.”

“She doesn’t hate me,” I breathed, still in complete disbelief. “Even if everything else goes to crap today, at least one good thing happened.”

“Nothing will go to crap today,” Gwen reassured me. “Trust me.”

“I trust you. But I’m hopeless at this stuff. What if I say the wrong thing? Or do something dumb?” All real possibilities.

Gwen squeezed my thigh. “It’s going to be fine. I’ll be there. And Zach. The police prosecutor will do most of the talking for you. It’ll probably all be done and dusted in a few minutes.”

I pushed Gwen’s hand higher up my thigh. “Okay, but keep your hand here so I build up some extra courage.”

Gwen’s expression turned deadpan. “Courage, huh?”

I leaned over the console and flashed her a big, smug grin before I kissed her cheek. “I’m already planning our date, you know,” I murmured beside her ear.

“Are you just?”

“Uh-huh.” I nuzzled her neck. It was warm there. Perfume tickled my nose. I liked that spot.

“What, um…” Gwen gulped. I think she liked my lips in that spot, too. “What are you thinking of, um… you know…”

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