Page 26 of The Hook Up
“Sure, but we’re not going to get wet today.”
Ellie commanded herself not to blush this time, though she wasn’t successful. She said a silent prayer of thanks Ty didn’t look at her.
“Fish scrunch their faces up tight,” Ty explained. “Their eyes, their mouths, their cheeks—it’s pretty much the opposite of lion. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah!” Henry grinned. “One, two, three—fish!”
They all squished their faces up tight. Ellie squinted her eyes to tiny slits and scrunched her mouth up small. Not an easy feat when she was laughing at the funny expressions from Ty and Henry. God, she felt silly.
Silly and grateful. The tingle in the center of her belly radiated all the way to her fingertips and toes.
“Nice job, man!” Ty held out a hand to high-five Henry, and the boy reached up to smack the massive palm with his small one.
“You, too!” Henry said. “You’re a good fish.”
“That’ll come in handy if the video producer thing doesn’t work out.” Ty smiled at Ellie, and her ovaries twitched again. “How’s your face? Are you nice and limbered up?”
She grinned. “I’m not sure what a limbered up face feels like, but you definitely gave my smile muscles a workout.”
“Excellent.” Ty grinned. “Next, we can try?—”
“I’m so sorry I’m late!”
Polly hustled in, her long gray braid sliding over one shoulder as she stooped to wrap Henry in a big hug. “Hey, big guy! You ready to go?”
“You’re not late at all,” Ellie assured her. “Thanks so much for coming. I owe you big time for this.”
“Not a problem.” Polly grinned. “Henry and I have big plans today, don’t we?”
“Yeah!” Henry beamed and picked up his backpack. “Polly said next time we hung out we’d make a Batman costume.”
Polly smiled and glanced at Ellie. “I hope that’s okay. My nephew outgrew the black unitard he used five or six Halloweens ago, and I found some kid-size paintball armor at the thrift store for a dollar.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Ellie fumbled into her purse. “Here, let me grab some cash for supplies.”
“Nah, this is just for fun.” She smiled down at Henry. “Shall we get moving?”
“Uh-huh.” Henry turned to Ty and stretched out his small hand. “It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Ty.”
Ty grinned and shook the boy’s hand with a professional solemnity that made Ellie’s heart clench. “You, too, Mr. Henry.”
Henry giggled and turned to Ellie. “Bye, Mommy.”
“Bye, baby!” She knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his sweet little-boy smell. “I love you.”
“Love you, too!” Henry squeezed back then wriggled out of her arms and tore off toward the door.“Na-na-na-na- na-na-na-na-Batman!”
Ellie stood up and smiled at Polly. “Thanks again,” she said. “I’ll text you when I’m done here. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”
“Take your time.” Polly waved a hand then tossed her gray braid over one shoulder. “We’ve got plenty to keep us busy. Go have lunch or go for a bike ride or something.”
Ellie smiled, grateful for the help. She’d watched Henry like a hawk the whole time he’d battled cancer, barely leaving his side to use the restroom. Now that he was in the clear, it felt nice for them to have some breathing room now and then.
“You’re the best,” Ellie said. “Have fun, you two.”
She waved as her son scampered down the hall with Polly on his heels, the older woman hustling to catch up when Henry stumbled a little on the carpet. He righted himself quickly, barely missing a note in his Batman song.
Ellie turned back to Ty. “Thanks so much for that. For being so cool with my kid.” She leaned against his desk, more relaxed now than she’d been thirty minutes ago. “I know you weren’t expecting to have to entertain a six-year-old today.”
