For Life by L.E. Chamberlin Read Free Book Online Page B

“thread the needle” pose, ass in the air, that they all come clomping back in the door. I have just enough time to untwist myself before all three march into the living room to greet me.
    Caden spies me on the floor and says, “Oh, she’s just doing yoga again. She’s always talking about how she likes to keep flexible.”
    The look on Grady’s face would be hilarious if those words hadn’t just come from our innocent son, and if he and I were on much better terms I would’ve laughed out loud. Instead I duck my head and pretend I’m meditating and they all head into the kitchen. I hear them digging in the freezer for ice cream and decide this is a perfect time to get a hot shower.
    “Getting in the shower and then heading to bed, you guys,” I call into the kitchen as I pass. Caden comes to the door and I grab his shoulders. “Bud, no fooling, I want that nighttime retainer in your mouth. Promise?”
    “Promise.”
    “I’ll make sure of it,” Grady adds. “I have to remind him at my house, too.”
    “Thanks. He forgets, and I know I’m being a nag, but—”
    “You’re not being a nag. He wears the retainer. End of conversation.” He shoots me a look of solidarity, and for the first time I wonder if it's possible for Grady and me to rebuild a friendship from the rubble of our failed marriage.

CHAPTER SIX
    Cassie
     
    On Sunday morning Grady announces that he’s taking the kids to Renée’s and they’re going to bring the little ones to the Fall Festival. Chloe and Caden are thrilled for a day out with their little cousins, but there’s no way I’m letting Grady take all those kids by himself. We’re talking five kids, three of whom are small children, and perhaps he forgets, but he wasn’t exactly around a lot when Chloe and Caden were that age. He doesn’t realize the sheer amount of gear required for an outing with kids who aren’t old enough to carry their own stuff, or how they get tired/thirsty/hot/cold/injured and need to be taken care of.
    My kids look as shocked as Grady does when I offer to go with them.
    “Cass, you sure?” Grady asks. “I can handle this, you know.”
    “It’s okay. I’ll be there to help Daddy,” Chloe adds.
    “I’d like to help,” I insist. “And I haven’t seen the baby yet.” All of which is true, but I don’t dare say that I think Grady would be completely overwhelmed by so many little ones.
    “It’ll be easier with all of us there,” Grady concedes. “And I’m sure Renée will feel better having you with us.”
    The kids roll their eyes at me as I toss my first aid kit and wallet into my backpack with several water bottles and a pack of baby wipes.
    “Uh… I’m thinking Renée probably has baby wipes, but we won’t have the baby, Cass,” Grady says politely as he looks at me like I’ve lost it.
    “Hands and faces,” I explain, and he shrugs but doesn’t question me again.
    When we get to Grady’s truck, I make Caden sit in the front so he won’t have to fold his legs into the backseat and I’m relieved that I won’t have to sit in the passenger side myself. Something about that is just too strange. It’s weird enough to me to be in this house with Grady, and I’m trying my best, but I keep flip-flopping between irrational annoyance with him and flashes of nostalgia. I don’t want to feel anything for Grady, which is why I have avoided him for a decade. I don’t want to be reminded of the past, and I don’t want to have to worry about navigating a minefield of tricky emotions.
    Suddenly I wonder if I should just get a hotel and leave Grady with the kids. But that feels like a cop-out, so I suck it up and try not to notice that the interior of the truck smells exactly like our Subaru used to. We drive to Renée’s, planning to walk to the festival, since it’s only a few blocks away from her house. My sister-in-law greets us at the door in sweatpants, freshly showered and smiling to appear normal for the sake of the kids,