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Liam gave her a careful smile. “That works for me. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea. In fact, I’m going to go wake Wyatt up before I forget the details. Stay here—we’ll be right back.”
Liam’s smile turned dry. “I’ll be here. Trust me—there’s nowhere else I want to go.”
With one significant exception.
…
Ruth texted David first thing in the morning, asking him to come by the house for lunch. The Salty Goat was closed on Sunday, and usually she took the time to do laundry and clean the place. This time, she was almost too nervous to clean, but she did manage to straighten up the kitchen where they’d probably spend most of their time.
Carol had been sentenced to laundry detail, along with several other punishments ranging from an Xbox ban to extra hours at the deli where Ruth could keep an eye on her. She accepted them all meekly enough. Ruth couldn’t decide if this was a good thing or a sign that she was plotting a counterattack. She just hoped her daughter would hold off for a while until she’d managed to gather her wits for her own response.
She’d called David back the night before when she’d discovered where Carol had gone. David had been both annoyed and confused when she’d told him Carol had turned up, but she couldn’t help that. She was probably in for an extended bitch session. And maybe she deserved one.
At eleven, she began to consider what she could serve for lunch. Sunday was also the day she usually went grocery shopping, so pickings were sort of slim around the house. In the end, she heated a pan of soup and found some of Angel Lomax’s bread. At least she always had goat cheese on hand. And if David didn’t like it, so what?
He arrived promptly at eleven thirty, looking faintly wary as he strode into the hall. Carol had let him in but apparently hadn’t said much beyond hello. They sat at the kitchen table and managed a desultory conversation, until they’d finished the soup and cheese.
Ruth took a breath. “Carol, go upstairs now. Your dad and I need to talk.”
Carol slid out of her seat, but then stood in the doorway, frowning.
“What?” Ruth asked with a sinking feeling.
“I’ve got something to say before I go.” Carol turned resolutely toward her father. “I still want to visit you in California, but not if you think I’m weird or something.”
David stared at her blankly. “Weird? I don’t think you’re weird. Where did you get that idea?” He glanced toward Ruth, as if he suspected she might be the source of Carol’s information.
Ruth shook her head. “She was standing on the stairs when we had our argument. She misunderstood.”
“Damn straight she misunderstood.” David pushed himself to his feet. “I don’t think you’re weird. You’re my daughter. I think you’re great. We just need to get to know each other better. That’s all.”
Carol gave him a doubtful look. “Maybe.”
David glanced back at Ruth again. “Are you sure you haven’t said anything to her?”
“And that’s another thing,” Carol cut in. “You need to stop being mean to my mom. She’s a great mom, and you’re hurting her feelings.”
This time David frowned. “Okay. Anything else?”
Carol shook her head. “I’ll go finish packing. You need to get me an airplane ticket.”
David nodded. “Already taken care of. We’ll drive to Denver this afternoon and fly out to L.A. tomorrow.”
Ruth narrowed her eyes. “When exactly were you planning on sharing this with me?”
“Right about now.” David shrugged. “I figured I might as well go ahead and make plans.”
Ruth blew out a long breath. Her rational side was screaming at her not to let it happen, but she’d sort of reached the limit of her determination last night. “Okay, Carol. Go pack your stuff. I’ll come up to check in a few minutes.”
David stared after Carol as she left the room. “That was interesting. Does she do that a lot?”
“You mean stand up for herself and tell people what she thinks? Yeah, she does that quite a bit.”
David narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t talk about this beforehand? This wasn’t your idea?”
