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“So, can I go get Lady?” Alesha asked, bringing her eyes back to mine.
I considered her for a moment. “I’ll think about it. Dad’s supposed to call me later today so I’ll talk to him about it and see what he thinks.”
Alesha’s eyes narrowed again. “Great.”
She turned and stalked out of the shop, slamming the glass door behind her as she exited.
“Teenagers.”
I whipped around at the familiar voice and saw Aaron standing at the counter, a halfway amused look on his face. “Where did you come from?”
He gestured at the open door to the patio. Marcus must have left it open when he wandered out minutes before. It was a nice day so I ignored it and left it propped open. “Rough day?”
“You could say that. Alesha is pissed that I took her puppy away.”
“Not gonna lie, gorgeous, I’m not thrilled either. The little rascal has Gemma wrapped around her little paw and now she wants one too.”
I put my fingers against my lips to stifle a laugh. “Sorry.”
He shrugged and grinned. “Could be worse. Could be baby fever, I guess?”
The laugh escaped and I reached over the counter to give him a consoling pat on the shoulder. “Oh, come on, you’d be a great dad.”
“Give me a few years, all right?”
“Not up to me,” I replied, smirking at him.
He chuckled and took a sidestep to consider the pastries in the case. “Go ahead and box up half a dozen scones. I’m gonna try and do a bait and switch so I can pass the pup off to Nick.”
I laughed and gave him a mock salute before grabbing a dessert box and going to work on his order.
“Good luck, Play—uhm, Aaron!” I called out as he sauntered out of the shop a few minutes later, the box tucked under his arm, and a coffee cup in each hand.
A few hours later, after the last customers had left, I’d been able to lock up and get started on the checklist to close down for the day. Alesha hadn’t been back since our spat and I figured—well, hoped—she was at home cooling down. I mopped the floor and was nearly back to the kitchen to dump the dirty water when my phone buzzed in the front pocket of my jeans. I tugged it free and answered the international call, knowing it would be my dad on the other end of the line. He’d emailed a few days before and told me to expect his call.
“Hey Dad,” I answered, tucking the slim phone against my shoulder as I dragged the mop bucket back into the kitchen.
“Hey, Noodle.” I smiled at his use of my childhood pet name. “How is everything? Sorry it’s taken me so long to get in touch.”
I shifted the phone to the other hand after I laid the mop handle against the wall. I crossed to the small office space and settled into my worn chair to rest my tired feet. Even with the best of shoes, a ten-hour day on glorified concrete floors did a number on my tootsies.
“It’s up and down. To be honest.” I’d debated with myself all day on how much to tell him, but since Alesha and I were back on opposite sides, my need to vent overrode my instinct to protect her from trouble.
My dad sighed. “I’m sorry, Carly. Alesha is going through…a phase…”
I held back a snort of laughter. A phase? That was putting it mildly.
“—she’s pushing the limits and figuring herself out.”
“Dad, listen, I get it. I was a crazy teenager too. But, I don’t know that I’m the best person to handle her right now. She doesn’t respect me or my rules and other than threatening to send her to Grandma’s for the rest of the summer, I don’t have a lot of leverage here.”
“I know. What’s she been up to?”
I nibbled my lower lip. This was the part where things got sticky. I didn’t want to completely throw her under the bus. Not if I wanted any shot at repairing our obviously fractured relationship in the future. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be the only one who knew just how much trouble she was getting herself into these days.
“Noodle? Come on…just tell me. Has she been drinking? Kelli found some empty bottles in the recycle that weren’t ours.”
I sighed and pinched my eyes closed. “There’s been a little drinking, yes. Mostly she’s just angry. Dad, she’s so, so angry.”
The other end was silent.
“It’s like she hates me. And I don’t know why.”
“Aha. So you’re in that club. too?” I could hear a trace of a smile on my dad’s lips. “Well typically, with teens, if they hate you it means you’re doing something right.”
I laughed. “Really?”
“Believe it or not. It means you’re setting boundaries. She might not like it right now, but you’ll get her respect in the end. But, it’s up to you, Noodle. If you want me to book her a flight to Grandma’s, just tell me. I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow.”
