Not Quite Over You

by Susan Mallery

  They got up and made breakfast. They were going over to Drew’s about eleven to hang out. Silver wondered how the preteen would react to the fluffy Mr. Whiskers.

  When they’d showered and the breakfast dishes were put away, Autumn pulled out her homework and Silver went through the budget on the remodels. Walter would be finishing up the larger of the trailers in a day or so. While she was excited to see the finished trailer, she knew he would be expecting payment that day. It was sad to watch her bank account dwindle, even for a good cause, she thought with a chuckle. If only there were a way to have the trailers and keep all the cash.

  “What’s so funny?” Autumn asked. “I’m doing algebra and that isn’t funny at all.”

  “Algebra? Already?”

  “It’s just the intro class. I’ll get more into it next year. Math isn’t that hard for me. I like it. And science. I’m thinking maybe I want to be a doctor, like Denton. Or do hair.”

  Silver smiled. “You could do both. Doctor by day, hair stylist by night.”

  “Silver, you have to have life balance. I couldn’t have two big jobs like that.”

  “An excellent point. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now what was so funny?”

  “I was thinking it would be nice to have my new trailer and not have to pay for it.” She held up a hand. “I was laughing because it’s a ridiculous idea.”

  “You have to pay for stuff. Stealing is wrong and you end up in jail. No one wants that.”

  “True enough.”

  Autumn focused on her homework for a few minutes, then said, “I’m all caught up with school. I’ll bet I could just work really hard a couple of days and take the others off.”

  “Not happening.”

  “But Mom’s in Hawaii.”

  “Lots of people are on vacation this week. Lots of people are on vacation every week, which is nice for them but has nothing to do with you.”

  “You’re very tough on me.”

  “I know.”

  Autumn sighed. “Fine. I’ll go to the Learning Center, but I won’t like it.”

  “I’m okay with that.”

  The corner of Autumn’s mouth twitched. She turned away as if she didn’t want Silver to see her smile.

  A few minutes before eleven, they headed to Silver’s truck and drove to Drew’s house.

  “I like your loft a lot,” Autumn told her. “It’s more fun than an apartment. When I’m a grown-up, I want a loft, too.”

  “There’s not a lot of privacy or storage. So you have to think about that. Although I guess some have more storage than others. Lofts are about open living plans. Some are really industrial with concrete floors and open ductwork.”

  “I saw some like that on House Hunters. They were in Chicago. They picked a different condo, but I liked the loft. The ceilings were really high.”

  Silver had trouble believing they were talking living spaces. Just a couple of years ago Autumn had been way more interested in Legos and her Elsa doll from Frozen. Time was moving so fast.

  They drove into the golf course development. Autumn gazed out the window at the huge homes.

  “So not an apartment.”

  “No. Drew’s very successful.”

  “You’re very successful, too. You created your own business from nothing. You’re an entrepreneur. That takes talent and dedication.”

  Silver sent a silent thank-you to Leigh for teaching her daughter to be a sweetie. “I’ve chosen my own path. Most days it’s pretty great.”

  They parked in front of Drew’s house. The plan was to spend an hour or so here, then grab some lunch before going to the movies. She knew Drew wanted to spend as much time with Autumn as he could, getting to know her and having her get to know him.

  Silver wondered if she would mind sharing, but so far she was perfectly fine with having Drew around. Maybe because he was Autumn’s biological father. Maybe because she could play a little what if.

  Drew greeted them at the door. “Come on in.”

  Autumn looked around as Drew ushered them into the great room.

  “This is nice,” she said. “You have a lot of light.”

  Silver grinned at Drew’s look of confusion. “Autumn seems to have a flare for design. She’s an HGTV fan.”

  “I am,” Autumn admitted as she ran to the sliding glass doors. “What is that over there? Beyond the golf course.” She looked more closely. “No way! Is that a giraffe?” She spun toward Silver. “You told me about the animal preserve and everything but I thought you were kidding. You have giraffes!”

  “Not me personally, but yes, there are giraffes and gazelles and even a water buffalo.”

  “Can we go? We have to go. Please, please, please. I won’t touch them or anything but can we go see them today?”

  “We were going to the movies,” Silver began.

  Autumn shook her head. “Movies, shmovies. We can go another time. You have giraffes!”

  Silver looked at Drew, who shrugged.

  “I’m in,” he said. “Although Mr. Whiskers is going to be very disappointed not to be the most exotic pet.”

  Autumn spun toward him. “Who’s Mr. Whiskers?”

  “He’s a rabbit. Some people I know are having me take care of him while they figure out if their new baby is allergic or not. He’s a good guy. Kind of a deep thinker. Want to go see him?”

  Autumn gave the giraffes one more yearning look before turning back to Drew. “Yes, please. I’d like to meet your rabbit.”

  Silver had to admit Leigh had done a heck of a job raising Autumn. “I’ll text Carol while you visit Mr. Whiskers and see if we can go see the giraffes later this afternoon. Now that I know you don’t care about the movie.” She gave an exaggerated sigh.

  “Of course I care. It’s just not the same. We can see the movie later in the week.”

  “I could say the same about the giraffe,” Silver teased.

  Autumn rolled her eyes, then grabbed Drew’s hand. “Okay, let’s go see Mr. Whiskers. Does he know any tricks? Is he really soft? I bet he’s soft.”

  “He is. He’s a standard chinchilla rabbit, so he’s gray and has a very soft coat. He eats hay and a lot of salad. No dressing, of course. Just the greens.”

  Autumn shot Silver a “he really has to get out more” look over her shoulder. Silver was still laughing as she texted Carol and asked about visiting the giraffes.

  They agreed to meet later that afternoon. In the meantime, Drew barbecued burgers on his patio and Mr. Whiskers hopped around for Autumn even though it was one of his longer sleep periods.

  After lunch, Drew and Autumn played checkers for a while. Leigh had set strict phone rules—Autumn had very specific periods of time when she was allowed to text with her friends. For the most part, Autumn didn’t complain about it.

  “Peanut butter,” Drew said, continuing their conversation about what they liked as they tried to figure out what they had in common.

  “It’s okay, but I’m more into chocolate.” She flashed him a grin. “That could be a girl thing. Green beans?”

  “I like them a lot. There’s a Thai place in town that does crispy fried beans that are delicious.”

  “Every vegetable is good when it’s fried,” Autumn told him, “but I like green beans, too. Morning person or night owl?”

  “Morning person.”

  Autumn looked at Silver. “You’re a night owl.”

  “I’m not. My job keeps me up late, but when I’m not working I go to bed at a reasonable time.”

  Autumn looked at Drew. “She’s not really a morning person. I have to be quiet and not bouncy until she’s had her coffee.”

  Drew winked at her. “You don’t say.”

  Silver started to point out he already knew that about her, but realized just in time, it wasn’t
anything she wanted to mention in front of Autumn. While their daughter had yet to ask about their relationship, Silver was sure the question was coming.

  “Ebooks or print books?” Autumn asked.

  “Print, unless I’m traveling. Then ebooks.”

  “Me, too! Not that I travel that much, but still. Except for textbooks. Those should all be digital, especially when there’s homework. Making kids carry all those books back and forth from school is just cruel. Yet another reason I should have the week off.”

  “Nice try,” Silver told her.

  Drew hopped over two of her checkers and tapped his. “King me.”

  “You’re way better than I thought you’d be,” she grumbled as she did as he requested, but she was smiling as she spoke.

  Silver held in a sigh of relief. Drew and Autumn were getting along just fine. He’d reacted better than she could have hoped and Autumn was her normal friendly, upbeat self. With a little luck, they would get through the rest of the week without too much trauma.

  * * *

  DREW PACKED UP the hay and greens, along with the three litter boxes he’d bought, the extra cage and the hutch. Melissa had called that morning to say the test results were back and Mr. Whiskers was not the reason for the baby’s rash. Apparently it was an additive in the laundry soap. While the detergent was being donated to a neighbor, Mr. Whiskers was free to go home.

  Drew had gone by Silver’s to borrow her truck because there was no way the hutch would fit in his sedan. He got the dozing rabbit into a carrier, then loaded all the supplies onto the truck bed before tucking Mr. Whiskers’s carrier safely in the passenger seat foot well.

  The drive to the Newports’ more modest neighborhood took less than ten minutes. Melissa met him at the front door.

  “You’ve been so great, Drew. Thank you for taking in Emily’s rabbit. I got the call after she’d left for school, so she doesn’t know yet. I know she’s going to be thrilled when she gets home.”

  He handed her the carrier, then brought in the rest of Mr. Whiskers’s worldly possessions. Melissa showed him back to Emily’s room—a bright, happy bedroom with lavender walls and a big hutch under the window. He saw the cords had been chew-proofed with special covers and that there was a litter box in the corner.

  He and Melissa got fresh litter in the box and water in the bowl, then let out Mr. Whiskers. The rabbit hopped out, then looked around, as if judging his new surroundings. After a couple of seconds of sniffing and whisker twitching, he hopped into his old hutch and began burrowing in the hay.

  “I think he’s happy to be home,” Drew said. “Please tell Emily that her rabbit missed her every day.”

  Melissa smiled. “I will.” Her gaze turned speculative. “Why aren’t you married?”

  He held up both hands. “Gee, look at the time.”

  She laughed. “Sorry. That was too blunt, huh? I just mean, you’re a really good guy and you took in our rabbit. Who does that?”

  “He’s not a lot of a work and he’s a good listener. I didn’t mind.”

  “Still. You helped out so much. What if we’d given him away to someone who didn’t want to give him back, and then we’d found out he wasn’t the problem? Emily would have been devastated.”

  “She’s a sweet girl. I’m glad I could help.”

  “You saved us. Thanks, Drew.” She walked him to the front door. “And you should think about the marriage thing. You’d be a good dad.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  He walked back to the truck, Melissa’s comment about getting married stuck in his head.

  He’d always assumed that was going to happen. That he would be a husband and a father—he’d actually expected it to have happened by now. Only it hadn’t. There’d been the near-disastrous engagement to Ashley Lauren, but nothing since. No serious relationships, no falling in love. He hadn’t even missed being involved until he’d noticed Silver again.

  Funny how his plan to get back into her life by buying into her business had turned into something else entirely. They were together—sexually and in the business. They had a kid together. He’d gone from zero to sixty faster than he would have thought possible, and oddly enough, it all felt right. He wasn’t sure it was forever or just for now, but whatever it was, she was someone he wanted to be around.

  He drove back to her place and walked inside the retail space to give her back her truck keys.

  “How was the reunion?” she asked.

  “He seemed happy to be home. Emily doesn’t know yet. She’s going to find out after school. I suspect she’ll be one excited girl.”

  Silver stared at him without speaking.

  “What?” he asked, pulling her close and kissing her.

  “It was really nice of you to take in her rabbit.”

  “It was nothing. He’s an easy pet. I was happy to help.”

  “You’re a good guy.”

  “Thanks.”

  She was so beautiful. Every now and then he was caught off guard by the perfect shape of her face or the way her long hair moved. She was smart and sexy and determined. He wanted to go back in time and beat some sense into his eighteen-year-old self. He should never have let her get away.

  She took a step back. “Stop it. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”

  “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

  “I can guess. You have that ‘I made a mistake’ look. Drew, we’ve been over this. We were kids. We made the right decision. There’s no way we could have been half as good at parenting Autumn as Leigh and Paul were. Besides, even if we made the wrong decision, which we didn’t, it’s done. There’s no going back. We just have to keep moving forward.”

  “That sounds very sensible.”

  “It is.”

  “I’d like Autumn to meet Grandpa Frank.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. What about your mother?”

  He grimaced. “Let’s stick with Grandpa Frank for now. I’ll tell my mom about her, but I have a feeling Autumn is not part of her master plan.”

  “Probably not.” She moved toward him. “Do you have to rush right back to work or do you have a few minutes?”

  “I can stick around for a bit. Did you have something you wanted to talk about?”

  She smiled. “Not really. The new sofas are all unwrapped and in place. I thought maybe we could take one of them for a test drive.”

  Blood heated instantly. He went from conversational to horny in a single heartbeat. “I’m in. Let me lock the door and I’ll meet you back here.”

  “I’ll be the one who’s naked.”

  He leaned in and kissed her. “I’ve always liked that about you.”

  * * *

  “I FINISHED ALL my schoolwork,” Autumn said as they drove to Wynn’s house. “It’s not hard at all. There aren’t any distractions. I could probably work a little harder and do more than a day’s work at a time, and then take Friday off. We could go visit Millie and her friends. I’ve never hung out with giraffes before yesterday. It was the best. So, no school Friday?”

  “That’s one thought. Or you could do what you’re supposed to do and stop bugging me.”

  Autumn laughed. “Okay, but I have to try.”

  “Apparently.”

  Silver had to admit, it was a really good day. The sun was out, the temperature warm, she’d had hot monkey sex with Drew and now she was going to spend the rest of the afternoon with Autumn. Well, technically Autumn would be riding bikes with Hunter, but Silver would be nearby and able to watch them, so that would be fun, too.

  This was good, she thought. All of it. The business, Autumn, Drew, although she knew she had to be careful about him. She didn’t want to confuse fun with falling for him.

  She pulled into Wynn’s driveway. Autumn scrambled out of the truck just as Hunter flew out the f
ront door. They met on the lawn and did some elaborate handshake they’d worked out while in line at Disneyland, then lifted Autumn’s borrowed bike from the back of the truck.

  Before Silver had made it to the front door, they had their helmets on and were heading down the street.

  “Stay in touch,” she yelled after them.

  They both waved.

  Wynn greeted her and invited her in. “I told Hunter he had to check with me every thirty minutes and they had to be home for good by four-thirty. You’re always welcome to stay for a visit or you can come get her then.”

  “I’ll stay for a bit, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t.”

  Silver sat at the kitchen table. Wynn pulled out cans of diet soda for them and took the chair across from her.

  “How’s the visiting going?” Wynn asked.

  “We’re having a lot of fun. Poor Carol. I begged her to meet us at the animal preserve yesterday so Autumn could see Millie and her friends up close.”

  “Carol loves showing off her animals.”

  “She does.”

  “How’s Drew settling into short-term fatherhood?”

  “Easily. I’m surprised. Sometimes he’s nervous, but he’s done so well with her. They get along. They talk about stuff. It’s good.”

  Wynn’s expression was knowing.

  “What?” Silver demanded. “Don’t read more into the situation than there is. We’re dealing with what could be a very awkward situation. Nothing more.”

  “You sure that’s all it is? You did once love him.”

  “I also once thought a PB&J sandwich was the best food in the world. Tastes change.”

  “So Drew isn’t tasty anymore?”

  Silver resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Not only wasn’t it mature, Wynn had the tiniest of points.

  “I will admit that we’ve been living in the past some. After years of a Drew-less existence, it’s weird to have him around all the time.”

  “And you’re in business together.”

  “There’s that.”

  “And you’re sleeping together.”