“Yes, ma’am,” Grayson said with a pretend glower at Simone that made her giggle. God, she was so cute and so fun to be with. He wanted to spoil her rotten but knew Emma would never allow it. He’d have to choose his moments carefully. It was curious, at least to him, that he, who’d had heavy responsibility for his siblings at such a young age, was looking forward to spending more time with Simone. If you’d asked him a couple of weeks ago if he could picture himself involved with a single mom—and her daughter—he would’ve said no way.

Now, everything was different, and he was fine with that.

Simone had a million questions about how the plane stayed in the sky and why some clouds were big and puffy and others were wispy. He and Emma did what they could to answer her questions, but explaining aerodynamics and meteorology to a nine-year-old was complicated business.

All too soon, the plane began descending, which sparked more questions from Simone, who watched the flaps rise and fall on the wing with endless fascination. As the plane descended, Grayson explained what would happen when they landed to prepare Simone for the bump of the wheels touching down and the roar that would follow as the pilots slowed the plane.

She bounced with excitement as the city came into view in the distance. “This was the best trip ever, Mom. Can we do it again soon?”

“We’ll see,” Emma said.

“She always says that. ‘We’ll see.’”

“My mom used to say that, too,” Grayson said. “It’s a mom thing.”

“I can hear you two,” Emma said.

Grayson smiled at her and took hold of her hand again, needing that small connection to her after hours of trying to behave around her daughter.

The plane touched down with a thud and then the roar.

Simone’s eyes went wide as the reverse thrusters roared. “Whoa,” she said. “That was so cool.”

“She has a need for speed,” Emma said. “The crazier the cab driver, the happier she is.”

“Thus her affection for skiing.”

“And sledding,” Simone added. “I liked that, too.”

“We’ve created a winter monster,” Grayson said.

“I love Vermont,” Simone said, looking out the window at the activity on the tarmac. “It’s so fun compared to here.”

Emma’s smile faded at that, only slightly, but Grayson noticed just the same. He noticed everything about her.

“New places are always more fun than home,” he said, “but there’s no place like home.”

“I guess,” Simone said.

They disembarked and walked through the airport on the way to baggage claim, Simone keeping up a steady stream of chatter about the trip, her plans for the weekend, the book report she needed to finish before school resumed next week and what they were having for dinner.

“We need to make an appointment to have that elbow looked at,” Emma said.