Lord.”
“Too late to pray now, baby.”
Dani lets out a sigh while Scottie gives her a bear hug and embraces her around the waist. His heart leaps forward when she starts moving with him to the music. They slow-dance to a Stevie Wonder song, an artist who happens to be one of Dani’s all-time favorites.
Does she have faith in me? Can she picture us doing this more and more?
She lets him fold her sensuous body into his arms. She closes her eyes and rocks with him, slowly rotating around the room.
After a while, Scottie can’t even hear Stevie Wonder singing anymore. He’s too busy getting lost inside his thoughts.
I don’t know how long this is going to last, or where it’s headed, but damn it feels so good to be with this woman right now
.
— 4 —
D ANI
Neil Still Loves Me
It’s early August, a
few weeks after Scottie returned to Houston and decided to stay for good.
“I’m about to pull up in your driveway right now. Are you ready for Brax?” I’m down the street from Neil’s house in my truck, babbling with him on my cell phone. According to our child support arrangement, it’s his weekend with Brax. So every other Thursday, Brax cries for a good ten minutes and wildly kicks his feet when he’s strapped in his car seat. It’s not that he doesn’t want to spend time with his daddy; it’s just that whenever I drop him off, he has a hard time letting go. Today is one of those days.
“Aw, is that my little man pitching a fit again?”
“Yes, I think it’s because your little man was deep into his favorite cartoon. And it seems we always have to leave just when the good part is coming on.”
“I hate hearing him cry.”
“You aren’t alone. I keep explaining that our DVR will pause and wait for him until he comes home, but it’s kind of hard for a three-year-old to completely understand.”
“I’ll make him forget all about that cartoon.”
It feels refreshing to hear Neil sound more chilled outthan he was at the reunion. Since then, we’ve made somewhat of a pact. It’s important for us to get along for Brax.
I turn the truck onto Neil’s driveway and park. He’s waiting for us under the covered entrance that leads from his sidewalk to the front door of his two-story brick home. The concrete walkway is bordered with three-feet-high bridal wreaths accented by decorative gravel stones that Neil scattered and arranged last summer. As soon as the engine of my pickup sputters into silence, Neil rushes over, barely looking at me he’s so busy trying to fling open the rear door of the double cab to unstrap his son.
“Daddyyy!” Brax happily shrieks, wiggling in his baby seat.
Neil smiles and kisses Brax on the center of his forehead.
“Are you gonna miss me?” I ask Brax and extend my knuckles so we can do a fist bump.
“Mommy, you stay here, too. Okay?”
“No, honey bun, I gotta go grocery shopping. We’re getting low on milk and eggs and bottled water and bacon.”
“Figures.” Neil smiles as he hoists Brax into his arms.
Before I can continue explaining my shopping plans to Brax, we’re interrupted by the noise of a car that turns into the driveway and comes to a stop behind my Toyota.
The music in Scottie’s Escalade is playing so loud it pulsates like the sound of a washing machine.
While holding Brax, Neil covers his ear and shouts at Scottie to turn off his music. Instantly the thumping music goes silent, and Scottie slowly steps out of the car.
I avert my eyes and start barking instructions to Neil. “Anyway, everything he needs is in his day bag as usual. Please do not let him have any sweets. I don’t care howmuch he begs. And make sure he goes to bed at a decent time.”
Neil lowers his questioning eyes at me. Scottie’s car door slams. Soon I can feel his body standing inches behind me. He’s so close I can smell his cologne. Since that day he popped over unannounced a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been hanging out more and more. But this is the
“Too late to pray now, baby.”
Dani lets out a sigh while Scottie gives her a bear hug and embraces her around the waist. His heart leaps forward when she starts moving with him to the music. They slow-dance to a Stevie Wonder song, an artist who happens to be one of Dani’s all-time favorites.
Does she have faith in me? Can she picture us doing this more and more?
She lets him fold her sensuous body into his arms. She closes her eyes and rocks with him, slowly rotating around the room.
After a while, Scottie can’t even hear Stevie Wonder singing anymore. He’s too busy getting lost inside his thoughts.
I don’t know how long this is going to last, or where it’s headed, but damn it feels so good to be with this woman right now
.
— 4 —
D ANI
Neil Still Loves Me
It’s early August, a
few weeks after Scottie returned to Houston and decided to stay for good.
“I’m about to pull up in your driveway right now. Are you ready for Brax?” I’m down the street from Neil’s house in my truck, babbling with him on my cell phone. According to our child support arrangement, it’s his weekend with Brax. So every other Thursday, Brax cries for a good ten minutes and wildly kicks his feet when he’s strapped in his car seat. It’s not that he doesn’t want to spend time with his daddy; it’s just that whenever I drop him off, he has a hard time letting go. Today is one of those days.
“Aw, is that my little man pitching a fit again?”
“Yes, I think it’s because your little man was deep into his favorite cartoon. And it seems we always have to leave just when the good part is coming on.”
“I hate hearing him cry.”
“You aren’t alone. I keep explaining that our DVR will pause and wait for him until he comes home, but it’s kind of hard for a three-year-old to completely understand.”
“I’ll make him forget all about that cartoon.”
It feels refreshing to hear Neil sound more chilled outthan he was at the reunion. Since then, we’ve made somewhat of a pact. It’s important for us to get along for Brax.
I turn the truck onto Neil’s driveway and park. He’s waiting for us under the covered entrance that leads from his sidewalk to the front door of his two-story brick home. The concrete walkway is bordered with three-feet-high bridal wreaths accented by decorative gravel stones that Neil scattered and arranged last summer. As soon as the engine of my pickup sputters into silence, Neil rushes over, barely looking at me he’s so busy trying to fling open the rear door of the double cab to unstrap his son.
“Daddyyy!” Brax happily shrieks, wiggling in his baby seat.
Neil smiles and kisses Brax on the center of his forehead.
“Are you gonna miss me?” I ask Brax and extend my knuckles so we can do a fist bump.
“Mommy, you stay here, too. Okay?”
“No, honey bun, I gotta go grocery shopping. We’re getting low on milk and eggs and bottled water and bacon.”
“Figures.” Neil smiles as he hoists Brax into his arms.
Before I can continue explaining my shopping plans to Brax, we’re interrupted by the noise of a car that turns into the driveway and comes to a stop behind my Toyota.
The music in Scottie’s Escalade is playing so loud it pulsates like the sound of a washing machine.
While holding Brax, Neil covers his ear and shouts at Scottie to turn off his music. Instantly the thumping music goes silent, and Scottie slowly steps out of the car.
I avert my eyes and start barking instructions to Neil. “Anyway, everything he needs is in his day bag as usual. Please do not let him have any sweets. I don’t care howmuch he begs. And make sure he goes to bed at a decent time.”
Neil lowers his questioning eyes at me. Scottie’s car door slams. Soon I can feel his body standing inches behind me. He’s so close I can smell his cologne. Since that day he popped over unannounced a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been hanging out more and more. But this is the
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