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Dad glanced out the window. “Are you sure you haven’t already met him?”
My eyes popped. “And who would that be?” I played coy.
Dad gave me a mischievous grin, which was unusual for him. “I was thinking about a young man who used to sneak into my daughter’s room at night.”
My jaw dropped to the floor. “You knew?”
“You weren’t exactly quiet.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Or ground me for going against your rules?”
Daddy tapped my nose. “Because I trusted both of you. And after your mother died, I knew you needed him, just like he needed you. Just like you need each other now.”
A lump formed in my throat. “Daddy, he’s dating Morgan.” And he had been avoiding me since the night I kissed him. Though he had held my hand while the doctor assessed Tom after Tom had begun to stir. However, he hadn’t been to see his daddy since Tom had woken up, and I had a feeling it had more to do with me than his issues with Tom. I had no idea what had come over me that night—it had just seemed so natural to kiss him. Part of me felt guilty since he was dating someone. Despite my not liking Morgan, I was never one to steal another woman’s boyfriend. Although technically he did say they weren’t exclusively dating each other, my guess was Brooks wasn’t dating anyone but her.
“That can always change. Have a lovely time tonight.” Daddy walked off, whistling to himself.
Right, tonight. A date with Peter, an insurance agent from Cherry Hills and a friend of Colette’s. Dane, the guy Lorelai had offered up to me, wasn’t interested in blind dates. Which was fine, but what was weird was Lorelai had seemed relieved. When I pressed her about it, she waved off my concern. I had a feeling there was a story to be told, but I would let her tell me when she was ready.
I took several deep breaths in and out, preparing myself to walk out the front door. I was berating myself for not parking my car in the garage earlier when I had come back from buying the perfect shade of nail polish to match my coral sundress. Laziness always had a way of biting me in the butt. Perhaps, though, Brooks would pretend not to see me.
“Bye, Daddy,” I yelled up the stairs.
“Bye, honey.”
I grabbed my purse and opened the door with gusto. Perhaps the voice would come back tonight. Hopefully a different voice, since the previous one was a big fat liar. I walked out into the warm May evening. The air smelled like lilacs and barbecue. It was a fantastic combination. It made me both hungry and nostalgic. My grandma used to wear a lilac-scented perfume.
I hustled to my car, trying to go unnoticed, but Ryker saw me and shouted, “Gracie!” That’s what I got for buying the boys a boatload of Nerf and water guns during their stay.
I had no choice but to take a detour and walk over to the neatly trimmed hedges that separated our yard from the Hamiltons’.
Brooks dropped the football and stood frozen near the pecan tree in their yard while he stared at me.
Both boys ran my way. Axel, the youngest, was sporting a different smile. “I lost my two front teeth.” He proudly showed off the gaping hole in his mouth. “The tooth fairy gave me ten dollars last night.”
Whoa. That was a nice tooth fairy. I only used to get a dollar per tooth. “Wow. What are you going to do with all that money?”
“I’m going to take my dad out to get ice cream when we get home tomorrow.”
That was sweet. Their dad had gone home a few days ago to get back to work. Carly and the boys were leaving tomorrow so the boys could finish out the last few weeks of school. They would come back after school was out. Tom should be home by then.
“That’s very nice. I’m sure your daddy will love that.”
“He will,” Axel informed me.
“Are you excited to go home?” I asked Ryker.
“Yeah, but I’m going to miss Uncle Brooks and Grandma.”
Brooks had decided to saunter our way by this point. He ruffled his nephew’s blond hair. “We’ll see each other soon, buddy.” Brooks gave me a good once-over. “How are you, Grace?”
“Good. I’m headed out—on a date,” I made sure to mention so he didn’t think I was getting any more than friendly ideas. Not that I didn’t have them, but he didn’t need to know that. “How are you?”
He blinked several times as if he were trying to comprehend what I had said. It was odd, considering his profession, and I knew he had the skills to think on his toes. I’d watched every debate he’d ever participated in back in the day.
