Page 21 of Home Safe

I’m tempted to lie. To downplay the attention. To give the illusion of a calmer life.

“Out in public, yeah, that’s fairly typical,” I confess. “But there are some places I can go where I’m less likely to be recognized. And if I’m in another city, it’s not as frequent. Kansas City locals are zealous about the city’s sports teams.”

“Hmmm, truth,” Danae replies with a nod. “Does it . . . bother you?”

I’m caught off guard by her question. Because I handle crowds and attention so naturally, everyone assumes I must love it all. Danae’s question is more intuitive than she probably realizes. I blow out a breath before answering. “‘Bother’ might not be quite the right word. Most of the time, I’m happy to engage with fans, take photos, and sign autographs. Especially when there are kids in the mix. Seeing their faces light up with excitement is worth the hassle. But it does seem like a hassle sometimes.”

It’s a hassle if it will affect people I care about, I think but don’t add.

I’m desperate to dispel the melancholy weighing Danae down, get her back to animatedly talking about her passion for books. Even if I don’t particularly like books, I like hearing her talk about them.

“How was the book club discussion? You know, before I came in and made a scene,” I joke, hoping to alleviate the tension.

I’m rewarded with a small quirk of her lips. I’ll take that quarter-smile.

“It was great. I always enjoy hearing what parts of the story stand out to other people—to give a scene I may have glossed over a second look. Of course, there are the key moments that all of us equally obsessed over. This month’s book provided ample discussion,” she says.

Glancing over at her, I see a bigger half-smile on her lips as she adds, “Clearly, considering I stayed past curfew.”

I reward her teasing with a full laugh. “We’ll have to find out from Sam how grounded you are. She can be a bit of a killjoy when she wants to be.”

“I have a hard time picturing that,” Danae says with a chuckle. “She seems way too upbeat and kind.” Her expression tightens. “But Jason may rescind my ‘leave the house’ privileges after I didn’t come home when I said I would.”

“Don’t get too worked up over the possibility yet. Sam’s a pretty fun person to be around. Jason might be totally unbothered,” I try to assure her.

“Or he might think I’m just like his father.” Danae’s voice is resigned.

We’re stopped at a red light, and I can’t resist the urge to reach over and touch her shoulder. “I don’t know anything about Jason’s father, but I can confidently say that you’re nothing like him. And Jason knows that.”

She looks over at me, and the unguarded vulnerability in her eyes has me coming undone. This woman clearly loves that boy more than anything, and she’s also clearly terrified that she’s not loving him enough.

“Danae.” I say her name slowly, savoring the shape of it on my tongue. “You’re doing an amazing job at being Jason’s mom.”

Her chin quivers ever so slightly, and it’s all I can do not to move my hand up to cup her jaw. She whispers, “How do you know? We’ve only been around each other a few times. How could you possibly know that?”

The light has turned green, but there are no cars behind us in the turn lane, so I maintain my eye contact with Danae. “I heard the way Jason talked about you at camp. I see the way he relaxes around you. I know it because you were prepared to miss your book club in order to not leave Jason. And I see it in your panic about how he’s going to respond to your being late tonight. You’re doing a great job, Danae.”

We’ve missed our chance to turn at this green light, but I don’t mind waiting through another red. I don’t mind giving Danae an extra minuteto process the truth of how amazing she is. A truth I’m only beginning to discover myself.

I don’t mind a few extra moments with her quiet presence next to me.

The light turns green. “Thank you,” she says quietly as I turn onto her street.

When we park in front of Danae’s townhouse, one of her neighbors is locking her front door. Neither of us makes a move to exit the vehicle until the neighbor is safely in her car and the sidewalks are clear.

Danae unlocks her front door, and I follow her inside. I hear Sam’s voice theatrically yelling some sort of nonsense word, immediately followed by a similar response from Jason. The look on Danae’s face shows familiarity and amusement, so I piece together that this might have something to do withHarry Potter.

“I’m back!” Danae calls as we walk toward the living room.

“Miss Danae!” Jason’s face lights up when he sees her. He holds up his Lego figurine. “I’m glad you’re back, but can Sammi stay a little longer? We’re in the middle of an epic duel!”

I hope his response is enough to calm Danae’s anxiety about being late.

“I know you’re having a good time, but we need to get ready for bed,” Danae responds.

Jason groans loudly. “But I don’t want to go to bed yet! I’m not even tired!”

Sam jumps in with a nice save. “My guy, I’ve gotta get Griffin home. He has an early morning. But you know we’ll pick up the battle again next time I’m here. I’m going to study up on my spell options because I’m determined to win.”

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