“Good date?” Mom stands on the other side of the island.
“Yeah, but I lost the battle with a thorn bush.”
I hold out my leg. There are angry red scratches and a few Band-Aids covering the worst of it.
“Before or after the movie?” Mom’s eyebrow arches.
“After.” I sit on the stool and put my elbows on the island. “What are you still doing up?”
“Got an interesting email.” She takes a sip of whatever hot stuff she has in her mug. Smells like tea, maybe.
“I’m intrigued.” I cover my yawn with my hand.
“Your teacher wants me to come in to discuss something.”
My brow furrows. “Which teacher?”
“Mr. Wick.” She looks at me like she expects me to know what he’s going to say. English Literature with Luke first period.
“Well, it’s not because I’m failing his class.” I shrug. “I honestly don’t know what he wants to talk about.”
He’s seen Luke manhandle me, but other than that, I’ve been paying attention and getting good grades. Most teachers don’t want to rock the boat where the horsemen are concerned.
“I don’t know either. But he went to high school with me, if it’s the same David Wick.” Mom puts her cup down and stretches.
My mouth opens in surprise, but I close it. “Did you go to school with everyone in this town?”
Smiling, Mom shakes her head. “Not everyone. People don’t generally leave this area. Family ties are strong. We may not have ties here anymore, but most people do.”
My grandparents died a long time ago. My father’s parents weren’t around so I don’t know what happened to them. I might have asked when I was younger. But somehow I thought they were off limits so I didn’t bring them up again.
“I don’t have to work tomorrow, so I told Mr. Wick we’d come in before school.” Mom’s gaze locks on mine. “You want to tell whoever is picking you up tomorrow that I’ll drop you off?”
I nod. “I can do that.”
“Still determined to date all five of them?” She arches her eyebrow.
I smile, thinking about the guys. “Yeah.”
She shakes her head. “As long as it works for you guys, I guess I can’t say much.”
Her eyes drop to my legs. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about, but there’s also some things she’s the only adult that knows and is mostly okay with.
“When can we look at my dad’s laptop?”
“I work this weekend.” Mom sighs. “I have a few days off next weekend.”
“There’s the Homecoming dance next weekend.” My face gets warm. “It’s Saturday. It’ll be my first dance.”
Mom’s smile softens. “Then you should definitely go. It can wait until Sunday. We don’t even know if Jack can fix it yet.”
“Or if there’s anything worthwhile on it.” I shrug.
“Pictures when you were little. Sean kept everything on that computer.” She turns to the sink and pours out the rest of her drink. I didn’t miss the catch in her throat.
She implied before that he might not have left of his own free will. I don’t want to think that the father I thought abandoned us might have died instead. How would I even grieve that?
Mom turns and her eyes widen at whatever look is on my face. “I know I don’t talk about your father much.”
