Page 19 of Crack the Ice

“Four large chocolate milkshakes, please!”

I look at her brother who’s shaking his head, still a hint of concern on his face as he looks back at me.

“She always take over like that?” I ask quietly, doing my best to breathe. There’s nothing I can do to fix things right now.

“That’s four large chocolate milkshakes? Anything else?”

“No ma’am, that’s all. Thank you!”

“That’ll be $14.76. I’ll see you at the window.”

“Yeah,” he says, turning the phone toward her briefly. “Our dad was the same way. It’s nice to see him in her.”

I give him a tight-lipped smile. Our dad took off the second he found out Mom was pregnant with Lana, leaving my four-year-old self and Kelsey’s six-year-old self reeling from the loss of the man that may not have ever been a good dad, but he was at least there. Lana never got that, she’s never even met him.

“Tell me more about him?” I ask, treading lightly. “You don’t have to. I remember what it was like to lose mine.”

“You lost your dad, too?” he asks, and Lily’s head pops back into the frame.

“Not the way you did,” I say, clearing my throat. We’ve talked about my mom, but never my dad. “He left, decided being a dad was too much of a commitment for him.” I try to hold back my scoff, but neither Kelsey nor Lana do.

It’s not like our mom was the Virgin Mary. He was an active participant. “I was four, and one day he packed up and left. None of us have seen him since. He didn’t even come to Mom’s funeral.”

“He sounds like a dick,” Lily says.

“Amen!” my sisters say in unison.

My eyes narrow, but the little sass ball that she is shrugs. “I don’t know why anyone would want to leave their kids. Our daddy didn’t. And I know for sure our mom didn’t want to, either.”

“Yeah.” Cade grinds out.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, looking at them through the phone. This is tricky. They had amazing parents, but that can’t be said for everyone. “Not all parents were as great as the ones you had, and I’m not either of them, but I’ll try to be a good backup.”

Cade’s eyes turn glassy, and Lily falls back into the seat, her arms crossing over her chest like they’re a shield.

“Our dad used to cook. He loved the grill.” Lily finally says, breaking the silence.

The drive-thru window squeaks open and the woman from the speaker box says, “Fourteen dollars and seventy-six cents is your total.”

Kelsey must pay because soon, both kids have giant chocolate milkshakes in their hands. God, I hope she’s ready for the sugar rush they’re about to have. “Thanks, have a great night,” Kelsey sings.

“Mhm,” the lady mumbles before the window closes. Well, she should get a customer service award.

“What was his favorite thing to grill?” I ask.

Lily immediately puts the thick straw in and takes a big sip, humming contentedly. “Steak mostly, but every once in a while, he’d make his own barbecue sauce and would grill chicken and pineapple.” They both make the dreamiest sigh, and I make a note to look up how to make my own barbecue sauce. “It was my favorite. Mom tried for years to remake it, but it was never quite right.”

Challenge accepted.

“Okay, so barbeque chicken and pineapple.” I nod. “What else? We’ve got lots of time coming up over the summer. We could have a different food every week, we all make it together. Or we could take a trip. Have you ever been to Disney World?”

Lily shrieks, and Cade slaps his hands over his ears. “Geez, Lily! Calm down,” he chastises, but turns his head to the side to conceal his laugh.

“You’d take us to Disney?” she asks, hands landing on her brother’s shoulders.

“I’m pretty sure I’d do just about anything to make sure you two are happy and well taken care of.”

Lily slurps her milkshake one more time. “You’re the best, Reed. We’re lucky you’re on our team.”