Let's Be Crazy

by Lindsay Paige

  “You can be in charge of playdates with her then. I could help out more later on.”

  “I haven’t met her mom or anything yet, but I’m good with that. Oh, we need to figure out Friday. What time does your plane get in? Nate and I need to be at the party by eight.”

  “I could pick him up from school. What’s been happening with Nate? Sounds like things are going well.” Nate is who Brooke is currently dating. She’s told me a few things about him, but not much yet.

  “Well, things are going well. And I was wondering,” she pauses, glancing down at the table for a second, “if Reed might be able to stay the night?”

  “You’re planning on staying the night? That sounds like it’s going better than well. Should I meet this guy? Don’t you need my stamp of approval?” I tease.

  She laughs. “You can meet him later. I don’t need your stamp as of yet. When I’m ready to introduce him to Reed, then I will let you know.” We never introduce anyone to Reed unless there is a serious possibility that they will be a permanent addition to our little family. We don’t want him getting attached to anyone and getting hurt if things end. “What about you? Any special girl I need to meet?”

  “Nope. There’s no one that special yet.” Not going to lie, though. Lexie, little Miss Angry, pops into my mind for a moment.

  “Ash,” Brooke starts, sounding concerned, “it’s been a while since you’ve dated. What gives? Is there something you need to talk about?”

  “You sound like a therapist, Brooke. There’s nothing out of the ordinary going on.” There hasn’t been anyone lately. Well, no one that I could see Reed meeting. I haven’t turned down dates outright, but I haven’t been searching for any either.

  “I’m concerned about you. I mean, I’ve never seen you go this long without someone in your life. You know, besides Reed and me.”

  “No need to be concerned. I’m not, so you shouldn’t be either. I’m not worried about having someone or not. All I need is Reed, and you of course.” Reed is the most important person in my life, and so is Brooke, not only because she’s my friend, but because she’s his mom and he needs her too.

  “Ash, I’ve been your friend for almost ten years. I’m not going anywhere. I just want to make sure that you have someone. I want you to be happy.”

  “I’m happy. Someone will come along eventually, I’m sure.” I’m not going to worry about it.

  “Okay. If you’re happy, then I am too. By the way, don’t get upset,” she warns, “but I already took care of Reed’s tuition this semester.”

  “Brooke, why? I’ve told you a million times that I want to do that. At least half of it, if you want to be stubborn.” She does this to me all the time, being sneaky with paying for things instead of letting me take care of it all.

  “You were at training camp, and it needed to be paid. I wasn’t about to call and bother you about it. And don’t you dare suggest a joint account again. I don’t want to have to have that argument today.”

  “I wasn’t going to suggest it.” Okay, I was. “Was only going to say that maybe I should give you one of my cards instead. Then you won’t have to ‘bother’ me about Reed’s expenses.”

  “Ashton, no.” She shakes her head firmly. “I do fine with the check that I get every month. The only reason I told you is because I didn’t want you to send a payment too. If you want, take care of the next semester. Okay?”

  “Fine. And if you need more, all you have to do is say the word, you know. Even if it’s for you. I mean, I know you do well without me, but if something happened and you needed it…” Sometimes, I feel like I have to remind her that if she needed me, I would take care of her too.

  “Listen to me. I love that you care so much, but you already paid for the house and the car. Reed has every imaginable thing and toy a child could ever want. If I need something that badly, you know I would tell you. But, we’re fine. Now, I have to get to the hospital, and you have practice. Are you coming for dinner?”

  “Yeah, text me the time later, and I’ll be here.”

  I guess I shouldn’t pester her so much about it. She’s right in a lot of ways and she does work with me and my schedule. She moved away from her family, more than once, just so Reed can be in the same town as me. That’s part of the reason why I want her to let me do as much as I can, but I know that she’ll let me know if she needs me.

  For now, I need to go to practice.

  Chapter Three

  Lexie

  “Mr. Steinberg, I promise you that the ice sculpture of the tiara is going to be perfect for your daughter.” I roll my eyes at the phone. After several more minutes of reassuring him that it’ll go smoothly, he finally hangs up. I resist the urge to throw the phone across the room, because it really wouldn’t make me feel better.

  “How is my best friend doing?” Tiffany pops into my office.

  “Fine.” I look at her cautiously. “Why? What did you do?”

  “I’m offended!” she almost shouts at me. “You automatically assume the worst, don’t you?”

  “Not entirely. However, I’ve known you since high school, and that face you’re making right now,” I point at her, “means something is up. Let’s cut to the chase and you tell me what it is.”

  “Okay.” She sits down across from me. “I may have booked a fundraiser for us.”

  “Go on.” This is only going to become worse.

  “It’s for a big, big, big client.”

  “And…”

  “And,” she sucks in the air through her teeth, “it’s for Ashton Campbell and the Utah Bears. Their event planner backed out. Plus, it’s next weekend,” she rushes out quickly.

  My mouth drops. “What?”

  “We can do it. Together, we can do this.”

  “You’re nuts. You want to plan a whole fundraiser in less than a week?”

  “Lex, I know it seems impossible, but it’s very simple. It’s for an animal shelter, and all we have to do is a small lunch, and maybe find a location,” she whispers the last part.

  “No freaking way. There’s no way, Tiff. The permits alone for the animals would take almost two weeks to get,” I try to explain.

  “It wouldn’t because I have a contact at the county office that can help me with that. Come on, Lexie. This is for Ashton Campbell. This is for the Bears.”

  “That’s not helping your case.” I point up to the wall on my left where all my Las Vegas Gamblers memorabilia is.

  “Fine,” she groans. “Think about the contacts, then. Think of what it could do for our business.”

  I hate to admit that she’s right. If word got out that we planned a Utah Bears event, it would really help us take our company to the next level. I rack my brain trying to see if this is possible. “How many people?”

  “Three hundred, plus the animals.”

  “Well, we could see if the dog park would let us do it there. I know someone in the Parks Recreation department. Plus, if it’s only lunch, we could spin it for a ‘bag lunch day in the park’.”

  “Family friendly, I like it.”

  “Fine, but stop taking short orders!” I yell at her.

  “You’re my favorite,” she squeals, jumping from her seat. “I’m going to make some calls.”

  We both get right to work. The dog park is on board, especially since it’s helping out a local no-kill shelter. I’m even able to find a caterer that had an opening, and said that a bag lunch would be easy to make in bulk. Tiffany is also able to have the permits ready by the middle of the week, and is able to rent tents and chairs.

  Thankfully, it all comes together, and I’m still able to make it to Sadie’s school to pick her up. I park the car and walk up to the main door. Even though I usually wait for her in the car, it’s too pretty to be cooped up.

  “Mommy!” Sadie runs up to me.

  “Hi.” I bend down and wrap her in my arms. “Did you have a good day?”

  “Yes. Mommy, come meet Reed.” She pulls away and tugs on my
arm towards a boy a little taller than her. “Reed!” she calls to him.

  He turns. Reed has brown hair that hangs over his forehead and bright hazel eyes. He smiles when he sees Sadie, and it’s cute how his face lights up.

  “This is my mommy,” Sadie says proudly. I don’t know why those four words almost bring tears to my eyes, but they do.

  “Hi, Reed.” I kneel down to him.

  “Hi,” he says shyly.

  “Can Reed come over and play?” Sadie bounces up and down.

  “Oh, not today, sweetie. We would need to talk to his mom first.”

  “She’s right there.” Reed points over my shoulder.

  My eyes go wide as I see a stunning blonde in green scrubs coming towards us. When she smiles, I’m almost blinded from the light that shines off of her perfectly white teeth.

  “Reed.” Her voice is soft and caring.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hi, you have to be Sadie’s mom. Reed’s been going on and on about her.” She extends her hand to me. “I’m Brooke Whaley, Reed’s mom.”

  I stand. “I’m Lexie Allen, and yes, I’m Sadie’s mom. Nice to meet you.” I shake her hand.

  “Mom, can I go to Sadie’s house?” Reed begs.

  “Not tonight, your dad will be home for dinner.”

  Instantly, Reed smiles. “Can we have chicken nuggets?”

  Brooke rolls her eyes. “You’re going to turn into a chicken nugget.”

  I laugh. “I know what you mean,” I tell her.

  “How about this?” Brooke reaches into her front pocket, pulling out a pen and small memo pad. “How about I give Ms. Allen my number, and maybe we can figure out something that you two can do together? That okay with you?” She looks over to me.

  “Sounds great.” I smile back.

  “Okay,” both kids agree, and Brooke hands me her number.

  “Thanks.”

  I watch Brooke take Reed’s hand and head up the sidewalk to a very shiny new BMW. Reed’s dad must be a doctor. Or maybe she is?

  “Hey, are you ready to have dinner at Grammy’s and Pop’s?”

  “Yes!” Sadie exclaims and we go to my car.

  When we walk into my parents’ house, I can smell dinner already being made. Sadie yells for her grandparents, and like always, my mother is the first to get to her.

  “There is the world’s most beautiful grandchild.” Mom kisses her loud on the cheek.

  “Good. Where’s my Pops at?”

  “He’s cooking dinner.”

  Sadie jumps from my mom’s arms and heads to the kitchen. I give Mom a quick hug before following her into the dining room.

  “How was work?”

  “It’s okay.” I sit down in the chair. “Tiffany took an event from the Utah Bears today.”

  “And you didn’t burst into flames?” Mom fakes gasps.

  “Ha, ha.” I push on her shoulder. “No, I didn’t, even though I’m surprised that didn’t happen.”

  Mom laughs softly. “You’ll be fine.”

  I hear my daughter laughing as her and my father come into the room. “Pops, you’re tickling me.”

  My dad has her over his shoulder, tickling her side. There’s no way my father could ever deny me. I get my red hair, green eyes, and height from him. People always look at him, thinking he was a lumberjack or possibly a mean biker guy. They couldn’t be more wrong. My dad is a huge teddy bear and cries more at movies than I do.

  “Sadie,” Mom’s voice is a little firm. “Go wash up for dinner, please.”

  Dad puts her down, and she sprints off to the bathroom.

  “Hi, Dad.” I stand and hug him.

  “Hello.” He hugs me tightly. “I have made a spectacular dinner for us. Let me get it all ready.”

  My dad has recently retired, and in doing so has taken up…cooking. He watches all the shows on the Food Network, even takes notes, and then he recreates the meals for us to try. I hate to say it, but I think I’ve gained ten pounds since he started this new hobby.

  He comes back out with a pork loin and garlic mashed potatoes. He also brings glasses of red wine for us and cranberry juice for Sadie. Mom begins to tell me what her book club is currently reading as Sadie finally comes back to the table.

  “You should read it, Lexie. A self-help book might be what you need to turn your life around.”

  “Mom, there’s nothing wrong with my life.”

  “Are you dating?” she asks.

  “You know I’m not. Plus, that doesn’t define if my life is good or not.” I take a large bite of the potatoes.

  “Lexie, we know this, but we’re wondering when you’ll be back out there.” Dad’s voice is concerned, and I know that they mean well.

  I look over at Sadie. My baby is almost seven. I haven’t really dated anyone since Tony died. Tiffany set me up on a couple blind dates, but that led to nothing. Maybe I’d try an internet site. Then again, it could pair me with a serial murderer or something nuts like that.

  Sadie needs a father figure in her life. Dad does well with her, but I know that having a father is different than a grandfather. It’s not like I don’t want someone in my life either. I would like to have someone to come home to, talk about my day, cook dinner with, but where are all the good guys?

  Oh, that’s right: they’re all fictional.

  I had my one true love. Now, I’m thirty and ten pounds heavier.

  “Lexie?”

  “Huh?” I look at my dad.

  “I asked if you saw that Bears were in first place.”

  I groan. “Don’t remind me. Vegas is three points behind, but it’s only the second week of the season.”

  “Reed knows a lot about hockey too,” Sadie chimes into the conversation.

  “Reed? Who’s Reed?” Mom looks at her, puzzled.

  “He’s my best friend,” she says proudly.

  Mom leans over to me. “So, your six-year-old daughter has a boyfriend, and you remain single?”

  “Grammy,” Sadie gives her a stern look. “I’m almost seven. My birthday is only a couple months away.”

  “My mistake.” Mom winks at her. “And please, tell me what you would like for your birthday?”

  “Well, I need more Monster High dolls. I just don’t have enough.” Sadie shakes her head.

  Dad chuckles at her dramatic behavior.

  “I’ll see what I can come up with, then.” Mom smiles.

  The rest of dinner goes smoothly, and then we all clean up. I kiss and hug my parents, as does Sadie, and then we head home.

  After a shower, and a couple chapters of Princess Sophie’s latest adventure, Sadie finally falls asleep. I sit on the couch with another glass of wine and listen to the quiet around me. I hate when my parents are right. Maybe I need to put myself out there more. Maybe Tiffany could set me up with someone who would actually have common interests with me? Then again, a lot of men don’t want an already made family.

  Maybe I’m meant to be alone.

  Chapter Four

  Ashton

  There’s nothing quite like coming home after a couple of road games. Even better is that Reed is staying with me tonight. If I could get through this unbearable traffic first. My phone rings from my pocket, so I try to fish it out while paying attention to the road.

  “Hello?” I answer without paying attention to who it is.

  “Where are you, Dad?” Reed asks, sounding very impatient.

  I laugh. “I’m on my way, little man.”

  “Can’t you hurry? I’m hungry, and Mom said that you would feed me. I’m thinking chicken nuggets.”

  “Whatever you want. I’ll be there soon, and you better be ready since you’re so hungry.” It takes a lot of self-control not to laugh at him.

  When I pull into Brooke’s driveway, Reed is sitting on the front porch steps with a bag of toys that he wants to bring. I’m barely out the car before he’s running full speed to me.

  “C’mon! Let’s go,” he hollers as he climbs into
my car.

  “Boy, you better get out of that car and go kiss your momma.”

  Reed stops, halfway to buckling himself in in the backseat. “Oh, right,” he nods.

  I wait for him halfway between the car and the house, and then we meet Brooke on the porch steps. “You were going to leave without telling me bye?” She frowns as she crouches to hug him.

  “I’m really hungry, Momma,” I hear him tell her as he hugs her tightly. Reed leans back, kisses her cheek with a loud smack, and adds, “Are you going to call me at bedtime?”

  “I always do,” she reassures him.

  “All right, we can go now, Reed.” I chuckle. “Us men need to eat.” Once we’re on our way, I look at him in the rearview mirror with a serious expression. “Don’t you tell your momma we stopped here, okay?” I say as I ease into the line at the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant. Brooke is pretty easygoing about a lot of things, but she refuses to let him eat fast food.

  Reed grins. “You’d be in so much trouble.” He laughs, but it ends as soon as I give him my rebuttal.

  “And you wouldn’t eat chicken nuggets anymore.”

  Of course, I would cook him some at home, but he doesn’t have to know that little detail right now. We grab our food and head to my house. Reed talks my ear off until bedtime, but I listen to his every word. We watch TV, play some games, and Brooke calls as promised. He loves his mom and wants to tell her goodnight and I love you as much as he wants her to say it to him.

  Come morning, Reed and I are having our usual gourmet breakfast, cereal, but he’s resting his head in his hand and stirring the cereal around his bowl. I quickly look him over. He appears fine, but it’s never a good sign when he’s not hungry. Reed already has the appetite of a teenager.

  “Feeling okay?” I question, nudging my elbow against his.

  “Yeah,” he answers unconvincingly.

  “You sure?” I press the back of my hand over his forehead, which isn’t warm.

  Reed shrugs. “My stomach hurts. Could you call Mom?” Ah, there it is. The tell-tale sign that he really doesn’t feel good.

  “Yeah. Why don’t you go lie down for a bit, and I’ll call her?”

  He makes no comment as he slides out of his seat and drags his feet down the hall to his room. I empty our bowls, set them in the dishwasher, and call Brooke.