Page 6 of The Hook Up
Ellie looked up and shook her head. “Nothing to apologize for. I’m sure we’ll both laugh about this very soon.” She grinned. “Like now, maybe.”
Ty grinned back, and a knot released in Ellie’s chest. “Well, then,” he said at last. “Want to start again?”
CHAPTER2
“So, then Mrs. Colt said I’m not allowed to bring anything to show-and-tell unless I show it to her first.”
Six-year-old Henry frowned down at his last bite of mashed potatoes, and a sharp pang zapped the center of Ellie’s chest.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she assured him. “We all make mistakes sometimes. Maybe you could ask me the next time you want to show someone theHow Babies Are Madebook?”
Across the table, Ellie’s brother Jason tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. “I do know the mailman enjoyed it,” he offered.
“So did all the ladies in my prenatal yoga class,” Miriam added. “They found the pictures especially enlightening.”
Ellie sighed and wondered if it was too early in the evening to pour herself a second glass of wine. “Maybe we all need to start frisking him before he leaves the house. All this time I’ve been assuming the only thing in his backpack was juice and goldfish crackers.”
“Juice, goldfish crackers, and a stash of porn,” Jason said. “It’s what’s in every man’s briefcase.”
Henry looked up at his uncle. “What’s a porn?”
“Jason!” Ellie snapped. “I’ve told you not to make jokes like that in front of him.”
Ellie’s brother had the good sense to look ashamed, though he was probably laughing inside. “Sorry, little man,” Jason said. “Please erase that from your brain.”
Henry pantomimed rubbing an eraser over his forehead, and Ellie laughed. No matter how crazy single mom life felt sometimes, her kid always managed to make her smile.
“Mommy, may I be excused?”
“Yes, you may,” Ellie said. “Remember what I showed you about rinsing off your plate before putting it in the dishwasher?”
“Uh-huh. I was just gonna lick it off, though.”
“That’s my boy,” Jason said as Henry stood up and headed to the kitchen.
As soon as her son was out of earshot, Ellie rolled her eyes at her brother across the table. “You shouldn’t encourage him.”
“The kid’s a cancer survivor,” Jason pointed out. “He deserves to read sex books and lick plates every now and then.”
Ellie’s breath caught in her throat, and a wave of nausea rocked her back in the chair. Even now, a full year after Henry had been declared cancer-free, the memory of what he’d been through made her gut clench. She took a sip of water and fought to hold it together. Henry was out of the dark. There was no need to panic. Her baby was alive and happy and thriving.
“Speaking of sex books,” Miriam began, and Ellie silently thanked her sister-in-law for her talent at draining the tension from any conversation. “I want to hear your Ty story again. Come on, don’t leave out any details this time.”
Jason stood up and pushed his chair in. “This is where I make my exit. My nephew and I are going to go do man stuff like scratching ourselves and belching and watching Batman.”
“Have fun with that.” Ellie watched her brother go, grateful he was such a terrific father figure to her son, even if he was sort of a butthead sometimes.
Henry’s dad walked out when the boy was just a baby, and Jason had been a godsend during the leukemia battle. In a way, Ellie felt relieved Chuck chose to leave. The fewer deadbeat jerks in Henry’s life, the better.
“Come on, buddy,” Jason called in the other room.“Let’s go watch another episode.”
A flurry of footsteps ensued, followed by the slamming of a bedroom door. Confident the boys were out of earshot, Ellie turned back to her sister-in-law, who was regarding her expectantly.
“I’mnotrepeating that story,” Ellie said. “God, I don’t want to relive it.”
“Ty asked me again to apologize on his behalf,” Miriam said. “He was super mortified.”
A delighted shudder ran through her at the sound of Ty’s name, but Ellie managed to avoid doing anything dumb, like drooling on the table.
