“Maverick and I just stopped seeing as much of each other,” Alexa said. The boy shrugged, satisfied.
“I think this day is going to require lots of cookies,” Haven said on a troubled sigh.
“Awesome!” the boys yelled, barreling up the steps.
“Nothing like kids to offer perspective,” Haven said, putting on a brave smile. If she could do it, Alexa would, too.
Phoenix came jogging out. “All right. Blake, Joker, and Meat are here. Mike Renner will be here in a few. Don’t leave the clubhouse. Just stay put.” He gave them all a look.
Standing next to him, Cora crossed her arms. “We got it. Go do whatever you need to do. And please keep Haven posted if you can.”
“Will do,” he said, taking off in a rush for his bike. And then he was gone, too.
A few minutes later, the women had gotten the boys set up with a snack and the TV and game console in the rec room, and the three of them took a plate of cookies and a pitcher of strawberry lemonade out onto the big back porch. It was a crystal clear, sunny day, the air fresh and clean, the sky bright blue. The beauty of the day seemed to mock the chaos that had just unfurled out front not a half an hour ago.
Settling into a group of cushioned lounge chairs, they just lay there quietly for a long moment.
“I’m glad you guys are both here,” Haven said.
Alexa appreciated the sentiment so much. “Me too. Can I admit something else embarrassing?”
“Something else?” Cora asked, tucking her shoulder-length blond waves behind her ears.
“Something else besides the fact that my ex-fiancé is a controlling psychopath . . .”
“Ah, right. Honestly, there are too many of those running around,” Cora said, grabbing a cookie.
“For real,” Haven said, turning her bright blue eyes on Alexa. “What’s your confession?”
“I haven’t had any real friends in a long time.” Saying that out loud made her heart race. It sounded so ridiculous, but it had been her reality for years now. She always thought of Christina and the other girls at the office as her work friends. It wasn’t like she could talk about Grant with them, and since he’d become her whole world, that left her mostly with superficialities. Which defined most of her relationships until these past few days, didn’t it? And she wasn’t even sure exactly when or how it had happened, only that it had.
Haven reached between their chairs and squeezed her hand. “Cora’s pretty much the only friend I’ve ever had.”
“And I’m, like, totally awesome.” Cora smirked.
Haven grinned, and so did Alexa. “And she’s totally awesome, obviously. But I just mean to say that I’m very glad to have another.”
“Me too,” Cora said.
“Me three,” Alexa said, taking a cookie of her own.
They sat there in silence for a while, enjoying the cookies and the breeze. And Alexa couldn’t stop worrying about Dare and Jagger and what Grant might do next. If he was willing to frame the Ravens for something, what the hell else would he be willing to do? She blew out a long breath and tried to gather her spiraling thoughts. She looked from Haven to Cora, and blurted a question. “Cora, how did you come to babysit Sam and Ben?”
Cora and Haven exchanged a look, and Cora chuckled. “It just kinda happened. When we were first here, Slider was in a bind one day and we agreed to watch the boys for him because we didn’t really have anything else to do.”
“This was before we knew we were going to stay here,” Haven said.
“And then once we knew we were staying, Slider asked a few more times and I agreed. So now he’s hired me to work for him part-time when he needs. At some point I have to figure out what the heck I’m going to actually do with my life in the long term, but until then, I’m happy to help him out.” Cora took another cookie.
“He’s changed a lot since I last knew him,” Alexa said, biting into a big chocolate chunk. “Not that I knew him that well, but he was always so outgoing and laid-back.”
“Slider?” Cora asked, her mouth dropping open. “Like, my Slider? Well, not mine, but you know what I mean.”
Alexa nodded, not at all blaming the guy, given the way grief had torn her life apart, too.
“Aw, that’s even sadder,” Haven said, stretching her legs out on the lounge chair. “Dare said his wife died of breast cancer and the poor guy was just devastated.”
Cora shook her head. “He’s definitely not outgoing and laid-back now.”
Haven eyed her friend. “Is he too hard to work for? I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable, and no one would expect—”
“No, no,” Cora said. “He’s fine. He can be gruff and non-communicative, but he’s never mean. It’s almost like he just doesn’t have it in him to talk or interact. Except with his boys. He must save what he does have for them, because he can be really sweet with them.”