“Just the ones who look like they’d be good to know.”
“I’m surprised I fit in that category.”
“I’m not sure about you, but I do like your daughter. She just assumes I’m a good guy. I don’t have to pass tests.”
“Ouch.”
“Wasn’t meant to hurt. That’s the difference between adults and kids. Lizzie doesn’t know what kind of world it is out there. I figure you do, and you’re careful for a reason.”
“Any mother raising a daughter should be careful.”
“You won’t get an argument from me.”
She was not quite ready to be swayed, not without a little grilling. “Where are you from, Pete?”
“I own a little place up in Alaska that feels most like home.”
“Alaska?”
He looked up from the battery. “Doesn’t appeal to you?”
“It appeals a lot. I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska.”
“You went the wrong way.”
She laughed. “Didn’t I, though? And you, if Alaska feels like home, why are you in Florida?”
“My place is out in the country. I tried spending a winter alone and couldn’t finish it. So I’m looking for someplace different to hang my hat for the worst part of the year.”
She wondered if that was all he was looking for. Another place or someone to share Alaska with? Then she wondered why that had occurred to her. She lived by one ironclad rule: Don’t get involved. And the moment she started trying to figure out somebody’s motives, she was halfway there.
“What about you?” he asked. “What brought you here?”
“The weather, mostly. Lizzie has asthma.”
“Florida’s good for that? Seems like all the molds and pollens would make it worse.”
“I guess every case is different. Might be that we just need to keep moving around so she doesn’t have time to develop allergies to palm trees and hibiscus.”
He finished filling the cells and screwed the tops back on. “We’ll jump it now, and hopefully the charge will hold awhile.”
Silently she changed the grocery store rotisserie chicken to something she could buy at Randall’s while she left the girls in the car with the engine running. Fish sticks or frozen corn dogs.
Pete hooked up cables in record time and told her to get behind the wheel. The engine started with a reassuring roar.
She rolled down her window, and he came around. “That’ll do it. Just don’t turn off the engine too soon. Make sure it’s had time to run.”
“Will do.” She leaned out. “Not sure what I’d have done without you, Pete. Can I—”
“You’re not going to offer to pay me, are you?”
She was sorry the thought had zipped through her head. She supposed payment had been a way to keep him at arm’s length, to lessen the impact of a neighborly act.
“Can I interest you in some pie?” she asked instead. “Dinner’s not going to be much, I’m afraid, but if you’re still around, we have Vesuvius pie for dessert, disgustingly decadent.”
“Thanks, but one of my fishing buddies has a son playing first base for his Little League team tonight, and I promised I’d watch.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“You and the girls could join me. I think he’s about their age.”
Dana tried to imagine something that ordinary. Sitting in the stands with a bunch of other parents, cheering on somebody’s son just for fun. Sitting beside Pete Knight, maybe feeling the length of his leg against hers. Lizzie and Olivia laughing and running around under the bleachers.
She opened her mouth to say no, but before she uttered the word, she saw her answer in his eyes. She closed her lips. She hated doing what was expected. Among other things, predictability was dangerous.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “Believe it or not, I like baseball. I’ll ask the girls. If they want to come, we’ll meet you there. Can you tell me where the field is?”
He looked surprised. She thought he might even look pleased. He gave directions. Then he pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned a smear off her side mirror, something she’d intended to do for a week.
Finally he stepped back. “So, if they’re willing, I’ll see you there.”
“Thanks again.”
“My pleasure.”
As she drove off, she wondered about that. Did Pete Knight just like helping people? Was he an old-fashioned guy who saw service as his duty? Or had there been more to getting her back on the road again? And if so, what?
She wondered what it would be like to have a normal life, to accept help and friendship without questioning the motive behind it.