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What an asshole. I didn’t say this out loud, but it must have been written all over my face because Nora’s lips tilted in a rueful smile.
“Yeah. It was hard to be mad about it, though, because Brandon was such a cute puppy. But maybe I was a little miffed.”
“You’re not the first person to lock themselves out. Hell, some parents accidentally lock theirkidsout, or in. That’s all I’m saying.”
I looked down at Colonel Brandon. If he had been a puppy on her thirtieth birthday, he was at least five years old now. Her divorce was less than two years ago. The three years in between should have been plenty of time for baby making.
“I failed the test,” she said quietly. “Brandon got sick—really sick—and I didn’t even realize anything was wrong. I just thought all that thick fur made him super thirsty. Then he started losing weight, and even I knew that was wrong for his age. But he was already pretty sick at that point and needed a few days in the hospital to stabilize. I should have realized he was sick earlier. I should have known something was wrong.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said. “And even if it was, doesn’t that mean it was Grant’s fault too? Shouldn’t he have known something was wrong?”
She shook her head slowly. “Colonel Brandon is mine. He’s my responsibility. Anyway, that’s why we have joint custody. Grant is afraid I’ll miss the signs again. Also, he reallydoeslove him. I couldn’t say no.”
That was bullshit. Nora wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Look how fast she caught on to reading a map. And she cared about Colonel Brandon a hell of a lot more than she cared about that. No, this wasn’t on Nora. Grant was either a control freak or an asshole. I suspected both.
I didn’t say any of that. Trashing the ex was never a good look, in my opinion.
“Well, he looks good,” I said, rubbing Brandon behind the ears. “He looks healthy.”
“He is. And I intend to keep him that way.” She waved the map at me, clearly done with the conversation. “Onward!”
It hit me, watching her now, that the reason I liked her so much wasn’t her perky ass or the lust that simmered perilously close to the surface every time we got within ten feet of each other. Although those were both pretty damn great.
She was just so damnresilient.
Not in the way that she always had her shit together. Her shit was kind of a mess, actually, and I had a feeling that her ex might have something to do with that. But that didn’t seem to faze her at all. She found her way through, and she did it cheerfully—or, if she couldn’t quite manage that, she at least didn’t get angry or bitter. She was a yellow rubber ducky bouncing along on shark-infested waters.
Indomitable.
The kind of woman who actually meant it when she vowed in sickness and in health. A woman who gratefully accepted help but didn’t need to be saved. Hard things didn’t stop her from taking happiness wherever she could. Life couldn’t break her.
And maybe…maybe I couldn’t break her, either.
Chapter 12
Nora
Thenexttwoweekswere a blur. Work was inordinately busy in the final weeks of September, since the federal and state government (which oversaw Social Security disability payments) followed the fiscal year calendar, which ended on September 30. I squeezed in as many interviews and hearings as possible, and promised myself a vacation was in my near future. It worked, even though I knew I was a liar, and I plowed through all the work by the skin of my teeth.
If it hadn’t been for my morning runs—and morning run-ins with Michael—I would have gone crazy.
On Sunday I dropped Colonel Brandon at Grant’s and then showed up bright and early at Suzie’s. The plan was for Sam to watch the three older kids while I took Suzie out for a mani-pedi. Since Suzie had the boobs, Andy was coming with us.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Suzie asked Sam. “I know you woke up every time I had to feed Andy last night. You’re just as exhausted as me.”
He didn’t seem worried in the slightest, god love him. “Yeah, honey. I’m good. It’s not like they’re all babies. And Carly is the only one that needs diapers, since you’ve got Andy.”
He had a point. Dimitri was ten, Becca was seven, and Carly was the youngest at two. Even if Carly wasn’t above throwing tantrums, the others were past that stage.
“We’ll watch a movie,” Sam continued. “Go. Have fun.”
The doorbell rang. Suzie and I looked at each other in confusion and then at Sam.
He grinned. “Reinforcements.” He opened the door. “Hey, man. Welcome to chaos.”
Michael walked in, laughing. “Is it too late to back out?”
Sam shut the door behind him. “Way too late.”
