Page 35 of The Love Comeback
“I’ll figure something out,” she continues, determination replacing the defeat in her voice. “Maybe I can pick up some tutoring gigs.”
I nod, admiring her resilience even as I wish she’d let me make this one thing easier for her. “You’re one of the strongest people I know, Ella Smart.”
She gives me a small, genuine smile. “I don’t know about all that. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”
“That’s exactly what makes you strong.”
A comfortable silence falls between us, filled with the clinking of glasses and the distant sounds of arcade games. I watch as she finally takes a real bite of her pizza, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
“By the way,” I say, trying to lighten the mood, “Colton’s crossovers today were seriously impressive. He’s got this natural edge control that you can’t teach. He gets that from his dad.”
Ella’s expression warms at the mention of her brother-in-law. “Brett would be so proud of him.”
“He would,” I agree. “But he’d be even prouder of you.”
Her eyes meet mine, something vulnerable flickering in their hazel depths. For a moment, I think she might say more, mightlet me in just a little more. But then Colton comes bounding back to the table, cheeks flushed with excitement.
“I got the high score in the racing game!” he announces, sliding back into the booth next to Ella. “But I need more quarters to beat the bonus level.”
Ella laughs, the sound lighter than anything I’ve heard from her tonight. “Finish your pizza first, champion.”
I watch as she smooths Colton’s hair back from his forehead, the gesture so naturally maternal it makes my chest ache. The worry hasn’t left her eyes completely, but she’s pushed it aside for now, focused entirely on her nephew’s joy.
And every moment I’m around her, I’m reminded of just how much I miss her being mine.
“Oh no!” Colton’s exclamation cuts through the momentary calm at our table. His eyes go wide with sudden panic, pizza forgotten as he claps a hand to his forehead. “I totally forgot! I have science homework due tomorrow. We have to label all the phases of the moon and explain why they look different and … it’s worth, like, a ton of points!” The urgency in his voice reminds me of Ella when she was younger, always stressing over what assignment was due. There’s something about it that hits me right in the chest.
Or maybe it’s just the motherly look that fills Ella’s eyes.
“You didn’t tell me you had homework.” Ella’s voice is soft, understanding, and not remotely upset at his admission. “Did you bring it with you, or didyou leave it behind?”
“I brought it. It’s in my backpack,” Colton says with certainty, relief flooding his face. “Can we just do it here?” He then turns to me. “Can you help me with my homework?”
“Uh…” My voice trails off as I glance at Ella, who suddenly has a smirk on her face. “I can … I cantry. Homework isn’t really my thing.”
Ella giggles. “I always had to help Kade with his homework.”
“It’s true.” I nod. “Ella single-handedly helped me graduate high school. And I barely got through college without my tutor’s help. It was rough. I’m more of a hockey player than a bookworm.”
Colton’s brow furrows. “I like doing both. I like school.”
“You get that from her.” I shoot Ella a wink, and I swear, I actually see a blush creep up her pretty neck. “But yeah, you want me to run out and grab your backpack from the car?”
“Um, that’s okay,” Ella says, pushing back from the table. “I’ll get it if you’ll just stay here with Colton.”
“Yeah, of course.” I barely get the words out before she’s out the front door.
Colton looks up at me with big, earnest eyes, a wide smile brightening his face. “Ella’s the best,” he says, his voice filled with such admiration and love that I can’t help but feel a pang in my chest, because it’strue. “I don’t know what I’d do without her…”
“She really is the best,” I agree, and I mean it. I can’t shake the mix of admiration and regret that hits me when I think abouthow much she’s had to take onalone. How much I wish things could be different for her, for us. It only deepens my resolve to be here, to be part of their lives, for as long as she’ll let me.
“I want to be like her when I grow up,” he says. “And like you, too. I can be both, right? A hockey player and really good at school?”
“You can be anything you want to be, Colton.”
As Ella returns with the backpack, she gives me a grateful smile before settling back into the booth. Colton scoots around the bench until he’s between Ella and me, his homework spread out in front of him. It strikes me how naturally we’ve positioned ourselves—Ella on one side, me on the other, both of us angled toward Colton in the middle. Like two pillars supporting the same structure.
Like … a family.
