It Doesn't Have to Be This Hard (Mile High Heat Book 1) by Christina Hovland

Author:Christina Hovland [Hovland, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-21T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

EMMALINE

They’d moved onto dessert, and Emmaline had barely pushed her fork into the tiramisu when her purse buzzed.

Seeing as she’d set her phone to silence with one exception, she immediately reached for it, mouthing “the girls” to Ethan.

“Hi, Mom. What’s up?” she asked, phone pressed to her ear.

“Everything’s fine,” Mom said, which every mom on the planet understood meant that everything was not fine.

Emmaline’s mouth went a little dry.

“What’s wrong?” She turned all her focus from the tiramisu to the call.

Mom said, “Oh, yes, well, Fiona takes after her mother and we have a little issue…”

Em was a mother, so the mandatory invasive thoughts took hold. An entire menagerie of things that could go wrong flipped through her brain: swallowing a button battery, ice skating on the trampoline, sticking her fork in the plug-in, accidentally swallowing the whole fork, testing the flavor of laundry pods—

“Everything all right?” Ethan asked.

She looked to Ethan, hoping he might send her some soothing energy, but Mom was still talking, “The kids got a little kooky playing the piano with their toes, and Fiona took a tumble—”

“Repeat that?” Emmaline said, holding up her one-second finger for Ethan.

She what?

“We finally got that sorted, she’s fine,” Mom continued. “I’m actually calling about the gum stuck in her hair. The cousins chewed it to look like barrettes. They did a good job, too, and Fiona was happy to be their model. I wanted to be sure she doesn’t have a problem with mayonnaise before I put it on her scalp. Annie said it’s fine, but she’s ten. The jar doesn’t say it has gluten. The google had several opinions. Dad suggested I call to be sure there’s nothing in it she can’t have in her hair. That’s all. We’ll get it settled, and you can go back to your da—whatever you’re doing on your night off from responsibility with your…whatever he is.”

“Mayonnaise is fine,” Emmaline said, frowning. “Why don’t I head over?”

She’d have to forgo her tiramisu to ensure her daughter still had a full head of hair come the morning. But that was parenting, in a nutshell.

Ethan was already standing as Emmaline snatched her purse.

She adjusted the cell against her cheek. “Do not let her eat a button battery or laundry soap or magnets…”

“Oh no, no, no,” Mom said. “Bask in the bliss of your utter freedom from any obligations. Just…needed to know about the mayonnaise. You think Miracle Whip works better?” There was some rustling in the background. “Oh, or I found that makeup remover with the mineral oil that makes me break out. I can use that. I bet that will work.”

Phone still held to her ear, Emmaline looked at Ethan. “Fiona’s got gum stuck in her hair.”

“Oh, the google came through!” Mom declared. “Miracle Whip is just fine. We’ll try that before the makeup remover. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ve got it all under control. She’s having a Popsicle while we sort the details.”

“Don’t let her eat the Popsicle stick,” Emmaline said, pressing her fingertips against her temple.

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