“I’ll come for Baxter later,” Carly said, looking back at her mother’s house.
“I’m so sorry, Carly,” Max said.
“Don’t be.” She pressed her hand against his cheek, and then remembered the reality of their situation—not to mention many nosy eyeballs—and jerked it away. “I’ll see you later?”
He nodded and walked around to the driver’s side.
Carly hurried back into the house as he drove away. Her mother was sitting on the couch. When Jamie pushed her, she’d fallen backward, landing halfway onto the couch. The couch had prevented her from hitting her head.
Everyone was gathered around her, and Millie was in her lap, sucking her thumb.
“Are you all right, Mom?” Carly asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said. She gave Carly a shaky smile. “I’m more startled than anything.”
“I’m so sorry, Evie,” Mr. Sheffington said.
“No, don’t apologize. It was my fault—I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to scare him, Toby. I hope he’s okay.”
“He’s fine. It just takes time,” Mr. Sheffington said, wincing slightly.
Her mother nodded. She swallowed. “All right, the circus is over,” she said, and put Millie down so she could come to her feet. “Let’s get those burgers on. There’s no reason we can’t continue our celebration, is there? We’ll come together as a family at Thanksgiving.”
No one spoke of the incident again, except for Finn, who asked his father once more, “What was wrong with that guy, Dad?” Will pulled him away to talk about it.
When the burgers had been eaten, Mia and Will gathered their brood and went home. “So much for my announcement,” Mia said accusingly to her family as Will shepherded the children out the door.
“I am sure we’ll all be more excited when Mom isn’t blowing up the world with this wedding thing,” Trace said.
He was the next to leave. “Going to stay downtown, Mom,” he announced.
“Downtown? Why? You have a perfectly nice and free room here.”
“Because here is boring. And I haven’t been to Sixth Street in a long time.”
“Haven’t you outgrown the frat boy party thing by now?” Carly asked.
“Outgrown having a good time?” He shook his head. “Never.” He punched Carly in the shoulder. “See you, squirt.”
Carly and her mother watched him go. “What is the matter with him?” her mother asked. “Why won’t he settle down?”
“Because he’s a bro, Mom.”
“A what?”
Carly shook her head. “Might as well face it—Trace is probably going to party until he drops.”
“Well, girls, I’m going to go check in with my sons,” Mr. Sheffington announced. He had gathered up an enormous bag that looked to be stuffed with cooking gear, judging by the handle of a grill spatula that stuck out the top.
“I’m sorry, Toby,” Carly’s mother said. “I wish things had gone better.”
“Growing pains,” he said kindly, and gave her a kiss. Carly’s mother grabbed Mr. Sheffington’s shirt when it looked like he was going to pull away and held on, kissing him harder.
“Ohmigod,” Carly whispered, and stepped around the couple and went into the living room.
It was a full five minutes before her mother let Mr. Sheffington go and returned to the living room, too, looking glassy-eyed and sheepish. “Well!” she said. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s all really fast.”
“Oh, Carly,” she said with a sigh. “You’re young. Just wait until you’re my age. You’ll move fast, too. I haven’t got all the time in the world.”
“You’re not even sixty, Mom. You make it sound like you’ve got one foot in the grave.”
“Come help me clean up,” she said, and walked into the kitchen. “I’m so happy that Toby is such an excellent cook. I never was, you know. I never had the interest or the imagination to be a good cook. That was one of your father’s ongoing complaints, I’m sure you remember. He always said I didn’t take the time to learn to cook better for the family.”
“Dad has learned to cook pretty well,” Carly said absently.
“Hmm,” her mother said.
Carly had to talk to her about something else, and her stomach was churning with it. “So listen, Mom . . .” If there was one thing she’d learned in her life, it was to not ask her mother for anything. There were always consequences for asking. But she was an adult now, which she had to remind herself when her mother looked at her curiously. Megan Monroe said, Don’t take no for an answer just to be good.
“I need a huge favor.”
“Oh.” Her mother put down a pot she’d picked up. “I hope it’s not money, sweetie. I have