“Can we get some coffee now? Someone kept me up late last night.”
He chuckled, nodding again, then held the door open as we moved inside the country styled interior. Brown timber tables were dressed in red checkered tablecloths, and the matching seats beneath them wore the same patterned cushions.
Seated in the back with a magazine on the table in front of her, Mom’s hair was gathered into a clip, rogue curls sprouting over the top of her head like a fountain.
She looked up as we approached, closing the magazine as her smile spread.
“She’s beautiful, just like you,” Aiden said, a tad too loud.
A voice I wasn’t expecting to hear, on account of Mom saying he’d had to work, came from behind us. “That they both are.”
“Daddy.” I spun, my hand leaving Aiden’s as Dad picked me up and squeezed me in one of his usual breath-stealing hugs.
Setting me down, he tilted my chin to study my face. “You’re looking good, Stevie girl.”
“You too,” I said, meaning it. His blond hair showed more evidence of gray, but his blue eyes were vibrant, happy.
“Not having any kids around to suck the life from you will do that,” he said, turning to Aiden when he’d laughed.
“Aiden, right?” Dad held out his hand. “Brad.”
Aiden was almost two inches taller than Dad. “Great to finally meet you, sir.”
Dropping Aiden’s hand, Dad’s nose scrunched. “None of that, makes me feel old.”
He gestured behind us to the table, and after Mom introduced herself to Aiden, patting his cheeks as she looked from him to me with a wide smile and wet eyes, we ordered drinks.
Within minutes of them arriving, Aiden had my dad in fits of laughter as he regaled him with tales of some of this season’s blunders. Dad was more into football than baseball, but he still followed and watched a game now and then, and as they kept chatting, it was evident he was thrilled to be talking to Aiden.
Though I didn’t miss the moments when he’d catch himself after laughing too hard and look at me as if remembering this guy was dating his daughter.
That was made evident when Mom said to Aiden, “Stevie’s never even brought a boy home before. She wasn’t much for dating growing up.”
“Mom,” I hissed, “unnecessary.”
Aiden only grabbed my hand, peering down at me with his head tilted. “Oh, really?”
“Yep,” Mom said. “And here Brad thought he’d be chasing them away with his set of unused golf clubs.”
“I bought them for that purpose, actually.” Dad sighed, then lifted a pointed brow at Aiden. “Though I guess there’s still time.”
Aiden chuckled, knowing he was joking, and we eased into casual conversation about work, classes, and talk of when I was coming home to visit.
“Hendrix called last week,” Mom said, draining the last of her coffee.
Her words gripped my stomach, and I prayed it didn’t show. Mom already knew enough. Knew exactly why I’d never had any real boyfriends.
“They’ve stopped in a small town a few hours south.”
Dad nodded. “Apparently, they’ve scored a regular paying gig at one of the bars there, and they need the money.”
Mom’s lips pinched; her eyes trained on her empty coffee mug.
I knew, for as much as they both wanted Hendrix and the rest of the guys to live their dream, that their quest was starting to become a concern. Mainly financially. My parents thought the bug would’ve died by now. That their hunger would have waned, and they’d return home with new prospects.
I knew better. “Everything okay?”
Dad tapped his knuckles on the table, smiling a grim smile. “Just the drinking. Hendrix didn’t sound so happy is all.”
“He’s drinking more?” I asked.
“No,” Mom said, giving me an apologetic look. “It’s Everett.”
Beneath the table, Aiden’s hand tensed tight around mine, and even though I knew it was wrong to need him where Everett was concerned, I was thankful for his grounding touch.
Within seconds, I shook the concern that threatened to soften the cracks Everett had caused, and I smiled. “I hope he settles down, then.” I swallowed the remainder of my coffee.
Mom frowned, her gaze bouncing back and forth between me and Aiden, but then she quickly replaced it with a smile. “Well.” She turned to Dad. “Ready for some shopping?”
Dad’s expression soured. “Do I have a choice?”
We laughed, and even though it was the last thing I wanted to do after hearing about Everett, I gave Aiden a brief kiss goodbye, then headed into