Page 67 of Pucker Up
TWENTY-FIVE
GOLDIE
Ace joggedaround the front of the truck to let Morton out. My dog ran full speed toward the carriage house. “It looks like he’s happy to see your mom.” Ace helped me out of the truck, and we walked hand in hand up the driveway.
“He’s just excited that someone is here. He doesn’t remember her. He hasn’t seen her since he was a puppy.”
“It’s been five years since you’ve seen your mom?” Ace asked.
“Give or take a year.” I shrugged and adjusted my handbag on my shoulder. “She’s been out finding herself.” I wondered if Ace could hear the animosity in my voice. He didn’t let on if he did.
We passed by my mom’s car and Ace chuckled as he read a few of the stickers. “She looks like a real character.”
As if on cue, the door to the carriage house flew open and my mom floated out the front door, her tunic billowing behind her. Her silver hair was wound into two French braids, and she didn’t have any shoes on. “Marigold!” She spread her arms wide. “And you must be the young hockey player.”
“Ace Bailey.” His voice was strong and confident as he shook my mom’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fern.”
“That’s a solid handshake you’ve got there.” Mom winked at Ace. “I saw the news; that was quite the goal you scored at the end of the game in Miami.”
I raised my brows and shot my mother a look. Even when she was still with Dad, she hated watching hockey.
“Thanks. We practiced it a million times that week.”
Mom winked at me this time. “I’m sure you did. Ace, are you coming in for some tempeh and baked kale?”
“Ace has some stuff to do this afternoon,” I interjected. Ace was the kind of guy who would come in and chitchat with my mom all afternoon. I couldn’t subject him to that kind of torture. “Mom, don’t you need to put some shoes on?” Her bare feet had melted the snow down to the pavement.
“I’m grounding, Marigold. You should do it every day. You too, Ace.”
I was pretty sure that pavement didn’t count as grounding, but I wasn’t going to fight my mom on the subject. If she wanted to freeze her toes off, I wasn’t going to stop her.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Bailey. I sure hope to see a lot more of you around here.” Mom shook Ace’s hand and then disappeared into the carriage house.
I gestured to my place. “That was Fern. You’d better get out of here before she comes out with some carob black bean cookies.”
“Jesus Christ,” Ace muttered. “That sounds fucking terrible.”
“It’s worse than terrible.” I grabbed both of his hands. “We have to talk. Can I come over to your place tonight?”
He grinned. “Do you really have something to tell me, or are you just trying to get away from your mom?”
I shuffled my feet on the driveway. “A little of column A, a little bit of column B.”
Ace pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead. “You are welcome any time, but don’t you dare set foot into my place with any black bean cookies.”
Standing on my toes, I planted a kiss on his lips. “You’re incredible. Thank you for the mini escape from the city.”
He squeezed my arms and kissed me one more time. “Come over any time after eight. I’m going to go to the rink and do some drills. Do you have any suggestions for what I should work on?” He put his hand on my forehead. “Anything?”
I laughed and shook my head. “It doesn’t work that way, and no, I’ve got nothing. It could be gone forever.”
There was a look of concern on his face, but it disappeared quickly. “Have fun with your mom.”
“How did you get in here?”I took the keys out of my purse and hung them on the hook by the door. “Did Dad let you in?”
“Your father? Does he live nearby?” Fern was pressing celery through a juicer that she must have brought with her; I certainly didn’t own one.
It was possible that I hadn’t told mom that I lived on the same property as Dad, but highly unlikely. I was pretty sure I’d told her multiple times. “Dad owns that house. He lets me stay here.”
