“Can we go eat now? I’m going to gnaw on that leg lamp if I don’t get some food pretty soon.”
Maggie handed over her armload to him. “I can’t go eat like this.” She pointed at her top, which sported a dirty tread mark from where she’d moved an armload of sneakers. “And neither can you, Russ. Go shower. Now. You can make it a quick one.” She picked up one of the boxes that needed to go back to the car.
“I’ll get that, Mags. It’s too heavy for you.”
Jeff reached for it, but she held on and rocked back on her heels. “I’ve got it. Russ can get the big one after he showers, and you can bring the other small one. I’ll have the car by the front door in ten minutes. And don’t forget Spike’s tools.” She disappeared into the crowded hallway.
“Spike has her thinking all the rest of us are wusses,” Russ grumbled as he headed for the bathroom.
“Humph. I was thinking the same thing,” Jeff answered, though too low for his son to hear. The bathroom door closed and he finished what was on his tongue. “I wonder which ranks lower in her estimation—a wuss or a basic?”
* * *
DID CHICAGO HAVE a downtown salon that stayed open late? Maggie glanced down Rush Street. With all the testosterone she’d been exposed to over the past three hours, her upper lip probably could stand a good waxing.
“So I see the puck headed right toward us.” Spike was in the middle of one of his many tales of heroic deeds. “And I throw myself in front of her and catch the damn thing in the back, right below my shoulder blade. Luckily, with all the layers I had on, it didn’t break anything. But I ended up with a bruise this big.” He held his hands out and cupped them to form a circle the size of a salad plate. “The doc said if I was an average-size guy, like you—” he gave a curt nod in Jeff’s direction as they walked “—it might’ve paralyzed me...or worse, if it had hit my temple.”
A hit to the mouth might not have done too much damage. Maggie kept her thought to herself.
“Oh, hell, Grainger.” Jeff pointed his arm in silent direction to make the turn onto Walton. “If the damn puck had hit you in the head, it would’ve ricocheted off.” The tightness in his jaw told Maggie he’d said it only half in jest, but Spike guffawed.
“Good one, man.”
She felt certain her presence—walking between the two men—was the only thing that saved Jeff from a hearty pounding on the back.
“I’m glad we decided to walk.” She changed the subject, trying to move the two fellows beyond the juvenile pissing match they’d fallen into somewhere around the time the salad had arrived. “Giordano’s has to be the best pizza I’ve ever had, but—”
“You think Giordano’s is good?” Spike’s mouth was moving again. “You ought to taste the pizza at this little tavern down the street from where I live. They have this one that’s loaded with all kinds of meats and cheeses...”
Maggie allowed her mind to race a half block ahead to the stoplight. And the lovely sign atop The Drake that screamed Freedom!
She glanced at her watch. They’d put the boys in a taxi back to their dorm right after they left the restaurant. Since traffic was light, Russ might be back at his place already.
Tomorrow wouldn’t be quite so busy, thankfully. Hot dogs and burgers at 11:30, followed by a four-man golf scramble. And in the evening they’d have a light family dinner sponsored by the team. Then she’d say goodbye to her precious boy-child until his first trip home, which wouldn’t come until Thanksgiving. Her eyes blurred, and she blinked away the tears.
“—carriage ride, Maggie?” Spike was pointing to the horse-drawn carriage stopped at the corner they were about to cross.
She rewound his question in her head. He was asking if she wanted to go on a carriage ride. And, while the idea was appealing, she couldn’t bear to stay in Spike’s company any longer than she had to. “It sounds lovely,” she answered. “But I don’t think I’m up for it. Thanks, though.”
He shrugged.
The walk signal came on, and they stepped off the curb. She felt both men’s hands touch the small of her back at the same time. She also felt the simultaneous jerk when their fingers touched and their hands dropped back to their sides. She made it all the way across the street unassisted...and somehow managed to contain her laughter.
Considering how talkative he’d been all through dinner, Jeff had become uncharacteristically quiet as they neared the hotel, uttering only that one cut-down to Spike. Something was bothering him. Probably tomorrow’s goodbye, if she were guessing.
Spike was never at a loss for words, though. Her dad would describe him as the type whose “mouth runs like the clatter bone of a goose’s ass.” As soon as they entered the hotel lobby, he pointed to the lounge. “How about a drink?”
“Not for me,” she answered. “I left my phone in the car, so I’m going to go get it, then head for my room.”
Jeff’s head jerked toward her, and he gave her a hard look. “You can’t go to the garage at night by yourself. I’ll go with you.” He slapped Spike on the arm. “And then I’m going to hit the sack, too. Enjoy your Crown Royal, man. See you tomorrow.”
Alone with Jeff? Gah! She’d seen this coming and tried to avoid it all day. Sure as shootin’, he was going to ask her about her answer this morning. She’d seen the next question in his eyes all day and had been careful not to be alone with him. She needed to have her answer formulated.
He was going to ask why she waited years to date after their split. Not that it was any of his business. But this was Jeff—telling him that would only make him suspect the worst. Of course, the worst was the truth. But how could she admit she’d carried the torch for him far too long? That she’d made a fool of herself—so certain he’d come back and want to be a family again? Had worked long and hard to get over him, and yet she had only, during the past few years, finally felt free of him?
“You don’t have to go with me,” she said as they waited for the elevator.
“Yeah, I do.”
The doors opened and relief flooded her to see several people headed the same direction. But it ended quickly as the small crowd dispersed in different directions when they reached the garage level. Her large SUV wasn’t far from the door, so maybe, if she walked fast, she could keep a light chat going until—
“Mags, you ran from the car this morning because you knew what I wanted to ask you.” Jeff took her elbow and pulled back to slow her pace.
So much for light chatter.
“No use in dredging up the past, Jeff.” She hit the button on her key fob to unlock the car door.
“But I need to know. Did you not date for years because of me? Did I make you distrust men?”
He didn’t suspect...which, of course, could only mean he hadn’t gone through what she had.
That realization pinched her heart enough to leave a bruise.
She gave a thoughtful pause as she opened the door to retrieve her phone from the console. She slipped it into her purse and closed the door, then turned to meet his earnest gaze. “You didn’t make me distrust men,” she answered honestly. “I distrusted myself.”
A flicker of relief shot from his dark eyes, followed quickly by a shadow. She nodded toward the elevator and started moving in that direction. “I couldn’t risk failing again.” Keeping control of the conversation before he could ask any more questions seemed like her best option now. “Too much depended on my being successful. I had a child