AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then you’ve hit the jackpot. Knowing my luck, I’m probably destined to marry a cowboy from Idaho.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I’m not really the outdoorsy type.”
“Then why are you coming hiking today?”
“Because I can’t fit into my favourite jeans anymore, and a creep at the gym keeps hitting on me.”
“Have you reported him?” Brooke asked.
“I tried, but he’s friends with the manager, so the manager doesn’t see a problem with it. There’s no rule against him using the treadmill next to you,” Addy mimicked. “I’m tied into the contract for another seven months, so hiking it is.” She managed a smile. “How bad can it be?”
“We won’t be going far. Matty never walked long distances before we came here.”
And I couldn’t carry him, not with the way my muscles ached after last night. No, today’s excursion would be more of a leg stretch. A part of me wished I’d turned down the invite, but when Brooke had called to ask if I wanted to join them this morning, the joy of having friends again had overridden any fatigue.
Our first challenge was fitting everything into Brooke’s Toyota compact. A car seat, four people, two dogs, and the assorted stuff a mom couldn’t leave home without. A change of clothes, drinks and snacks, a blanket, baby wipes, spare pull-ups, a portable potty, hand sanitiser, toys…
Toys.
I’d paid extra for priority shipping, and Shelley 1.0 had been waiting for us when we arrived back from LA. The eBay seller would be getting excellent feedback from me. But now Matty wanted Not-Shelley. Go figure. Yesterday, he’d thrown her across the airplane again; today, they were inseparable. I’d debated which Shelley to pack and then stuffed both into the bag. Better to carry one extra toy than deal with the meltdown when I inevitably brought the wrong one.
The drive to the trailhead took just over twenty minutes, and Cricket knew we were going somewhere fun. He sat on my lap in the back seat with his paws on the door, watching the scenery go by. He most certainly approved of the move west. Leash walks around Central Park couldn’t compare to the freedom of running around in the forest, not that Cricket ever went far. Once we got onto the trail, he alternated between following Vega and checking his people were still with him.
Now that I knew I was staying in Baldwin’s Shore, I’d have to start thinking ahead. Matty needed to make friends his own age, and his future education was important too.
“Do you guys know if there are any mom and toddler groups nearby?” I asked.
“I think there’s one at the library,” Brooke said. “I’m not sure what day, though. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday? Kiki used to go.”
Addy cursed as she tripped over a tree root. “There’ll be one in Coos Bay for sure. Plus there’s an indoor play centre in North Bend if you want to take Matty out for the day.”
“If it’s indoors, Addy will go with you,” Brooke joked. “Hey, Ads, you might meet a hot single dad.”
Addy made a face. “What age do kids get out of diapers? No way would I want to change one of those.”
“Matty’s almost ready to stop using them now, but if you need a cut-off point, then four years should be safe.”
“What if he was hot and rich?” Brooke asked. “Would you change a diaper then?”
“Nuh-uh. I’d rather go with the Idaho cowboy than deal with poop.”
“You realise horses also poop?”
“Crap, I didn’t think this through, did I?”
Matty toddled along happily, Shelley 1.0 in hand. Unlike Addy, he was the outdoorsy type. Every time he saw a bird or a squirrel, he pointed and chattered, then laughed when Vega tried to climb a tree trunk to catch one of the critters. Cesare had always laughed derisively whenever anyone mentioned small-town America, but this was my idea of paradise.
Brooke hopped over a fallen branch. “Luca said you’ve known Nico for a long time?”
Stick close to the truth, Nico said. “Since we were kids.”
“It’s so sweet that you finally ended up together. Did you know Nico’s dad? I heard he was a gangster in Russia.”
“He was always nice to me. Sometimes he brought me toys or candy.”
“Did they live in a big house? Like a palace?”
