“Yep.” He straightened and threw out his chest. “And I’m getting stronger.” He flexed his skinny arms for them. “See?”
“Whoa,” her dad chuckled. “You sure are.”
“I drawed a comic book at school. Do you want me to send it to you?”
“Oh, we’d love that, sweetie,” her mom said. “Sure does sound like you have a lot of fun at that school.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “And d’you know what else? I’m going to stay there until I start kindagarden.”
Kayla and her mom shared an amused look. “Speaking of school, how’re things going with your program?” her mom asked.
“Really well. Not much longer, and I’ll be finished. I found out the graduation ceremony is going to be at O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in Saint Paul, which isn’t too far from my apartment.”
“Good. We’ve already reserved our hotel rooms for the weekend of the seventeenth. Your brother and grandfather are going to make it after all. We’re all looking forward to it,” her dad said. “We’re proud of you, Kayla.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She’d worked hard to pull her life together after all the BAMs. A rush of pride swept through her. Her parents had been so disappointed when she’d turned up pregnant, and it wasn’t like they hadn’t taught her about the facts of life and birth control, either. She’d let them down big time. Hell, she’d let herself down. Her gaze caught on Brady, and a flood of love and tenderness hit her system. No matter what though, she’d never regretted having her amazing little boy. She reached out and smoothed the hair from his forehead.
“Are you still planning on coming home over Labor Day weekend?” her mom asked. “We miss you two so much.”
“I miss you too, Gammy, and d’you know what?” Brady launched into excitement mode again. “My friend Wyatt drawed a picture of me and Mommy. You wanna see?”
“Of course we do.” Her dad flashed her a questioning look.
“Wyatt Haney is our downstairs neighbor,” Kayla explained. “He writes and illustrates comic books. You’d love his work, Dad. It’s very retro—late 1930s, early 1940s, similar in style to Creig Flessel.”
“Oh?” That got his attention. “That’s something I’d like to see.”
“He’s also an electrician and a partner in his family’s construction business, Haney & Sons. They’re the company rewiring our building.” She pushed herself up off the couch. “You chat with Gammy and Pops, Brady, and I’ll get the portrait.”
Brady chattered on with her parents while she went to her bedroom for the prized picture. She’d left it on her dresser until she could get around to picking up one of those picture hooks to hang it on the wall. Every time she looked at the portrait, her heart turned over. No one outside of family had ever done anything so thoughtful and sweet for her. No man ever had, that’s for sure, and certainly not the boy she’d married. Wyatt was special, unique.
Portrait in hand, she sat back down in front of her computer. “Here we are. Supermom and Superkid, ready to take on the world.” She adjusted her computer so the illustration took up the entire screen. “What do you think?”
“Wow, that’s really something.” Her dad’s tone was a mixture of surprise and appreciation. “He’s very talented.”
“Is Wyatt someone you’re seeing, Kayla?” her mom asked.
“No.” Her heart wrenched at the reminder of her decision, and all the second-and third-guessing came back with a whoosh of conflicting emotions. “We’re just friends and neighbors. He’s the one who called the fire department when my smoke alarm went off. He’s done so much for us, and I want to do something for him in return. Which reminds me, could you give me Aunt Becky’s telephone number? I want to ask her how to go about finding Wyatt an agent.”
Her dad shifted and patted her mom’s knee. “I’ll go get that, honey. You stay here.”
“You never did answer my question, Kayla. Are you still planning to bring our grandson for a visit over the Labor Day weekend?”
“Of course we are. Brady and I are really looking forward to our visit. I’m going to pack that Thursday night, and we’ll leave right after school Friday afternoon. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get out early that day. We don’t get many clients before long holiday weekends, so we’ll probably be there by dinnertime.”
Her dad returned and gave her Aunt Becky’s number. Kayla entered it into her phone’s contacts. “Thanks, Dad. Got it.”
“Why don’t you leave Brady with us for the rest of that week?” her dad suggested. “We would love to have him, and I know the Malones would love to spend some time with him. It’ll give you a much needed break.”
“Oh, that’s an excellent idea,” her mom agreed. “We have a brand new donkey on the farm. Wouldn’t you like to visit with the chickens, goats and all the other animals, Brady?”
Kayla’s dad, a veterinarian, worked with large animals on the farms surrounding Decorah. He also cared for household pets in a clinic in town, but cows and horses made up the bulk of his practice. Kayla and her brother had grown up with a menagerie of critters and acres and acres in which to run and play.
She looked at her son. “What do you think? Would you like to spend a few days with Gammy and Pops? They’d love to have you, and you’d get to see Grandpa and Grandma Malone too.” Hopefully, her in-laws would see their grandson once she was on her way back to the Twin Cities. They loved Brady, and she’d never keep him from them, but she’d never gotten along or felt comfortable around either of them. And with their only son’s death, the tension had grown worse. They blamed her for everything.
“Are you gonna be there too?” Brady asked, his tone anxious.
Kayla smiled at her parents. “Can Brady and I have some time to talk it over? He’s never been away from me for more than a night.” She’d miss him desperately, but there was no denying the thought of having a week to herself held enormous appeal. She hadn’t had that since the day he was born. What would she do with all that extra time? “I might have to do a little convincing.”
Her mom chuckled. “You do that. Your dad and I would be happy to bring him home the following Saturday. We can all go out to dinner together then and have a nice visit. We’ll stay the night and drive home Sunday morning.”
“I’d like that. Maybe I can get Wyatt to show you some of his comic books, Dad. He’s been reading them to Brady.” And to her. A wistful smile broke free. She loved the way Wyatt’s face lit up when he had the two of them as his audience, his fan club of two. The way he got into his characters, taking on their roles and changing his voice for each one, tickled her. “So, what’s new with you two?” she asked.
After spending another five minutes getting caught up with her parents, she and Brady said their good-byes and ended the call. “We’ll get to see Gammy and Pops in a few weeks. Are you excited about that?”
“Uh-huh,” Brady agreed happily before returning to his toys.
She should visit her parents more often. After all, Decorah was only a few hours away. When she’d moved to the Twin Cities, all she’d been thinking about was getting away from the reminders of every BAM that had hit her in the past few years. Other than the fire in her apartment, things had calmed down considerably since then. She was on a good track, and the first of her goals was within reach. Hopefully her run of things turning to hell had passed.
Kayla picked up her phone and brought up Aunt Becky’s number, eager to hear what her aunt might have to offer in the way of information. She couldn’t wait to see how Wyatt would react once she’d done an agent search and handed him something tangible, something that let him know how much she appreciated having him in her life. He had no idea how much he meant to her. Her breath caught, and tears welled. Just how much did she care? Her years with Brad had left her with nothing but insecurity, and until she sorted herself out, she couldn’t move forward.
If only she and Wyatt had met a few years from now, once she was well into her career. Then perhaps she’d be over everything
that had happened. But between now and then, he’d likely find somebody who was perfect for him, someone who wasn’t a single mom with emotional baggage.
Wyatt deserved to be ecstatically happy, and thinking about him with another woman should not cause this sudden twinge of jealousy. He was a great guy, and hot. Come to think of it, it was a wonder he hadn’t already been snapped up. Were other women blind?
Sweat beading on her forehead, Kayla lifted the heavy tubs of clean laundry out of the trunk of her car and set them on the asphalt. Then she handed her son the bottle of detergent. “Come on, Brady. I want to get out of this heat.” The temperature had hovered in the nineties for the past few days, and the humidity wasn’t far behind.
She struggled to carry the stacked tubs, Brady walking along beside her. Then the back door opened, and Wyatt appeared. He hurried toward her and took the tubs out of her hands.
“My superhero neighbor to the rescue. Thanks.” She flashed him a grateful smile. “Whew, it’s hot.”
“It certainly is.”
“Hi, Wyatt,” Brady chirped. “Guess what?”
Wyatt grinned. “What?”
“I’m gonna go stay at my Gammy and Pops’s farm for a whole week.”
“Wow.” Wyatt winked at her.
Her knees went a little wobbly. She opened the back door for him, catching a whiff of his scent as he passed. She took it in, her gaze sliding over the taut muscles of his bare arms as he carried her laundry. Her damn hormones were acting up again.
“Yep. By myself, too, ’cause I’m a big boy now.” Brady hopped up the stairs, one at a time. “Gammy and Pops have a donkey”—hop—“goats”—hop—“chickens”—hop—“a bellied pig”—hop—“and a llama.”
“Hold the railing, please, Brady,” Kayla admonished, taking up a place behind him in case he stumbled.
“A bellied pig?” Wyatt raised a brow.
“A potbellied pig. Lots of people buy them as pets, and then they change their minds. My mom runs a nonprofit animal rescue organization that takes in unusual animals and finds homes for them.”
“Oh. So they don’t farm?”
“No, my dad is a veterinarian.” They started up the second flight of stairs to her apartment, her son still hopping.
Wyatt set down the laundry in front of her door and fist-bumped with Brady. “When are you going to visit your grandparents, Superkid?”
“I dunno.” Brady shrugged and peered up at her. “When am I going, Mommy?”
Kayla put her key into the lock of her door. “Brady and I are visiting my parents over Labor Day weekend. We’re leaving Friday, and I’m driving home on Monday. He’s going to stay with them the rest of that week.” She opened the door wide, and cool air wafted over them. “Oh, that feels good,” she said.
“Where do you want these?” Wyatt asked, hoisting the tubs again.
“Just inside the door is fine,” she said, pointing to the spot. “Thanks again for carrying them upstairs for me.”
“I was wondering if you and Brady have anything planned for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Other than staying out of the heat? Nope. Not a thing.”
“Would you two like to go to the Mall of America and check out the amusement park? It’ll be cooler there.”
His face turned red, something that happened less and less with her. Asking her to spend time with him must still be difficult, or at least awkward. Not surprising, considering she’d told him she wouldn’t date him.
“Can we, Mommy?” Brady grabbed her hand with both of his. “Please?”
“I’d love to. Can you give us twenty minutes to get ready?” Wyatt’s answering smile and the warmth in his eyes stole her breath.
“I can do that. Come down to my place when you’re ready.”
“All right,” she said. Wyatt left, and she turned to Brady. She and her son always wore bottom-of-the-drawer stuff on laundry day. “Let’s change into something a little nicer for our mall adventure.”
Kayla hefted one of the tubs of clean laundry and carried it back to her room. She dumped the folded pile onto her bed and found a pair of shorts and a matching T-shirt, handing them to her son. “Go. Try to use the bathroom, and change into these. You can have a snack before we leave.”
“But . . . I don’t hafta go.”
“Try anyway. You never want to go when you’re excited. Then, right in the middle of all the fun, the situation becomes urgent.”
“What’s urgent mean?” He stared up at her.
“It means you nearly wet your pants because you refused to go when I told you to.”
“Mmmph.” He marched off, clearly unhappy with her definition of urgent.
Smiling, she chose capris and a lacy sleeveless shirt for herself. The toilet flushed, and her smile widened. She met Brady just as he was leaving the bathroom, his hands still dripping. “And I suppose you left your dirty clothes on the floor for me to pick up?” Kayla placed a hand on her hip and aimed a pointed look his way.
Brady let out another huff of exasperation, turned around and stomped back into the bathroom, emerging once again with his discarded clothing clutched to his chest.
“You know where they go,” she said, tousling his hair as he passed, then she took possession of the bathroom. She changed into her clean clothes, brushed her hair and put it up into a loose knot on top of her head.
“Can we go now? I don’t need a snack.” Brady stood in the doorway, his expression impatient.
Kayla laughed. “Yes. We can go now.” She took his hand, and he practically dragged her to the door. Kayla grabbed her purse from the top of the second tub of laundry, and they made their way downstairs to Wyatt’s apartment. She knocked. “I’ve always wanted to go to the Mall of America. This is going to be fun,” she said, giving Brady’s hand a squeeze.
Wyatt opened his door and stepped out into the hallway. “Do you want to take my truck or your car?”
“Let’s take mine. Brady’s booster is in the back. Will you drive, though, since you know the way? I get nervous when someone is telling me where to go while I drive.”
“Sure.” He locked his door. “Nickelodeon Universe, here we come.” He held a palm low for Brady.
“Yeah,” Brady said, slapping Wyatt’s hand. “Here we come.”
“I’ve taken him on rides at our county fair, but Brady has never been to a real amusement park.” She followed Wyatt and her son down the stairs. “Neither have I, for that matter.”
“Wow. You’ve missed out. We also have Valleyfair, which isn’t too far from the cities. My siblings, cousins, and I spent a lot of hours at the place when we were younger.”
“I checked it out online earlier this summer and decided it was too expensive right now. Maybe when Brady is a little older we’ll go. I can’t believe people actually buy season passes, but I suppose it’s cheaper for families to go on several staycations to Valleyfair than it is to take the entire family out of town. The water park looks like a lot of fun.”
“The water park is my favorite part.” Wyatt opened the door to their parking lot, taking Brady’s hand as they walked into the stifling heat. “Speaking of vacations, if you could take one anywhere in the world, where would you go?”
“Hmm.” She hit the Unlock button before handing him the keys to her car. “I’d have to say Germany, especially Bavaria.”
He opened the back door and stepped back. “It’s a blast furnace in there.”
“I know. Black interior. What was I thinking?” She opened the front door for air circulation and helped her son get into his booster in the back. Wyatt had the car started and the air on by the time she settled into her seat. Sweat trickled down her temples, and she adjusted the side vent to flow directly on her and aimed the center vent toward the back for Brady.
“So, why Bavaria?” he asked.
“The Alps. To get to them, you have to pass through several picturesque medieval villages along the way,” she said. “I’ve seen pictures. I’m mostly
German. My maiden name is Wagner, and mom’s is Becker. I think it would be fun to visit my ancestors’ country of origin. What about you? Where would you go?”
They were making small talk, like they had when they’d gone to The Bulldog together. Wyatt was more adept at social skills than he gave himself credit for, because the chatter was helping her get past the awkwardness still lingering. Besides that, she really wanted to know where he’d go and what interested him.
“I’ve always wanted to see the Great Wall of China, because it’s so amazing, especially considering when it was built. I’d also like to visit Spain. I took Spanish in high school, and I learned a lot about the country. It would be nice to actually tour some of the places I read about, and I hear the food is out of this world.” He pulled out of the lot, and they were on their way. “I hope to get the chance to travel someday. Seeing a good chunk of the world is a big on my bucket list.”
“Mine too. I also think it would be fun to visit some of our national parks and give camping a try.”
“You’ve never been camping?” He glanced askance at her.
“I grew up on a farm. We were outdoors all day long. I guess my parents never saw the need to camp out.” She shrugged. “I think it would be good for Brady, though.”
“Superkid, has anyone ever taken you fishing?” Wyatt asked, looking at Brady in the rearview mirror.
“Nope.”
“Well, we’ll have to rectify that situation ASAP. I can borrow a kid’s pole from one of my many cousins, and we can hit one of the area lakes. I’ve heard Como Lake is a good place to fish. The city stocks the lake.”
“OK,” Brady said, like he had a clue.
“How about you, Kayla. Have you fished?”
“Yes, and handling slimy fish and gross worms is not my idea of fun.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Let’s go fishing next Sunday. I’ll handle the worms and the fish for you.”
Amusement park today, fishing next Sunday? That’s a lot of time spent with someone she wasn’t dating. “First you were avoiding me, and now we’re making plans two weekends in a row? What are you up to?”
Whatever You Need (The Haneys Book 2) Page 14
