to tell her what she can or can’t eat unless she asks for our opinion.”
Bree’s head snapped up and she looked at her dad, but he was watching her grandma.
Grandma Gerry didn’t seem able to talk, as if her throat had closed, so Grandpa Carl put his hand on her back and nodded at Neil. “Got it.”
“Thanks.” Then her dad did something Bree had never seen him do before. He kissed Grandma Gerry’s cheek. “You both have a good night.”
Walking next to her dad, Bree glanced up at him, her heart so full, she worried it’d burst right out of her chest.
“Let me get that,” he said, taking her bag from her shoulder.
Unlike the last time he tried to help her, she let him.
They passed the ball field where he’d found her the other day and she realized how dumb she’d been to run off like that. How stupid to talk to that old man. Keeping her head down, she slid another glance at her dad. His arm brushed hers as they walked, his free hand open. She chewed on her lower lip and slowly reached out—and took hold of his hand.
He stilled then looked down at her as if he was surprised, but in a good way, like when you wake up and school’s been canceled for a snow day. He gave her hand a squeeze and held on, all the way to the car.
* * *
“THIS IS THE FIRST TIME we’ve hung out together,” Bree said after they’d ordered their drinks at Panoli’s. “The three of us.”
Maddie frowned, realized Bree was right. “I guess that’s true of a lot of kids these days, right? Parents split and they don’t often do things together. Like your friend Cailley. Her folks are divorced.”
Bree itched her nose. “Yeah, but her dad still comes to her parties and they were married so they used to do stuff together.”
“I thought you wanted us to all eat together?” Maddie asked, looking at Neil for help, but he sat next to her expressionless, as if he was taking in what they said, thinking it over.
“I did. I do,” Bree said, pulling the paper off a straw when the waitress brought their waters. “It’s just...weird.”
“That is true,” Maddie said because, hey, she’d never lied to her kid before. She wasn’t about to start now.
Neil leaned back. People were staring at him. They always stared when he was in town but Maddie doubted the skinny brunette eyeing him up had ever watched a professional hockey game in her life. “How about we all see how we do with this first time?” he asked Bree. “Then we can decide if we want to do it more than once.”
“Okay,” Bree said, looking relieved.
The waitress came back and took their order.
“Don’t you like olives?” Bree asked Neil as she squeezed her lemon into her water. Water, not pop. And neither Maddie nor Neil had said anything about what she should order to drink. They’d ordered two large pizzas—one plain cheese, one loaded, no olives—and three tossed salads.
Maddie stared at the table. She knew why.
“I like them fine,” he said. “But your mom doesn’t. She can’t have them on her pizza at all because she says they ruin it for her.”
Bree’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
“I know quite a bit about her,” he said, his voice way too husky and intimate for the situation.
“Like what?” Bree asked.
“Well...” He drew the word out, sipped his water. “She loves pepperoni, which made it tough when she tried to become a vegetarian.”
“You gave up meat?” Bree asked her mom.
“It’s difficult for me to believe, too,” Maddie said. “And I lived through it.”
Neil snorted. “For three days.”
“Longest three days of my life,” she said solemnly.
“What else do you know about her?” Bree asked, thrilled to be getting the dirt on her mom.
“She loves horror movies—the gorier the better—hates country music and her favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. I also know that she thought about joining the air force after she graduated, but I knew she’d end up being a carpenter.”
“Oh, really?” Maddie asked. “I hadn’t realized you were psychic.”
“I didn’t have to see the future to see how much you loved working with your dad. How much you loved being in Shady Grove.”
It was true. She couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Her life was all about smelling of sawdust, having calluses and blisters on her hands and wearing jeans, T-shirts and work boots.