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“You said that then too.”

“I know, but I have a reason for her to come back this time. You know she never really hinted at her past much, but I do know for a fact she was deeply in love with some guy right before she had me—”

“So you think this guy could be your dad?”

“I’m not even worried about that.”

Wherever my biological father is, I know that he had a chance to help us out and he didn’t, so that’s final. If he wanted to be here, he would. But I know Mom wants to be here; she just doesn’t have the time with her busy work schedule in LA.

I point my finger into the pink comforter in an attempt to get back to the main point. “Listen, she was in love with this guy, and then suddenly something happened, and next thing I know, she was moving far away and was never the same again. She only came back because she had me and her parents had to help her.”

“Okay?”

“So, logically, if I find this guy and convince him to be at the formal, then they’ll see each other and…”

“Oh, Flick, no.” Lottie stands from the bed and paces her room, hands in her blond hair, bangs all astray. “No. I’m sorry, no. You can’t honestly expect to Parent Trap your mom and—”

“Lottie, think about it for a minute. If I give her a reason, a real reason, to come back here and see the guy she’s been harboring a secret love for after all this time, then maybe…maybe she might stay this time.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I think you need to tell Knox about your plan.”

“Absolutely not.”

I can hear him right now, reenforcing over and over that I don’t need “that witch” in my life. He refuses to even say her name out loud because he’s convinced she is a curse that ruins all good things.

It’s easy for him to say that, though; he’s never once seen the beauty of her that I know so well. The sweet smiles. The last-minute shopping for anything I wanted. The Christmas mornings of snuggling and watching Charlie Brown over and over just because I loved the film that much.

Even if she was gone by New Year’s, she always left me with little pieces of her.

“Knox will never understand. He hates her.”

“Because she’s bad news, Flick. If you’re too scared to tell your favorite person in the whole world about it, then maybe it’s worth rethinking.”

A teeny, tiny seed of doubt creeps into my stomach, but I rip it out by its roots. No. This plan is bound to work this time. All the other times I’ve worked to get her here, I wasn’t doing enough planning, there wasn’t enough substance. But this proposition has a real foundation that I can build off, as long as I can find the guy.

“Are you going to tell him?” I ask.

She looks at me and winces. “No.” Another sigh. “But, seriously, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Then I can’t wait to prove you wrong.”

I have to get it right this time. I can’t afford to think of any other outcome than the perfect one. My mom and this mystery guy will get back together, she will want to stay, and I will have a date to the formal that will hopefully be my first boyfriend.

Chapter Fifteen Flick

Unfortunately, it takes another four days until Knox and I finally get some solid clues about who this Cricket girl is.

He nearly sprints into my third cuddle session with our three-legged lionheart, dropping to his knees in front of me like he’s about to propose to both me and the rabbit. And with the way his hair looks all tousled and the veins in his forearms are poking out, I might say yes.

Knox hunches over, out of breath. “I found something.”

“Did you run the whole way here?”

“Nope. I drove and made it in record time and then remembered Betty’s is having a buy one, get one half off, so…” He reaches over and gently scoops up Thumper from my lap. The bunny melts against him like Knox is a heated blanket as he replaces my empty lap with a cup of my favorite sorbet and a dark blue yearbook. “You’re welcome.”

I set the sorbet aside and eye the year across the front, noting it’s after Mom dropped out.

I blink. “What’s this?”