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He didn’t turn around but he put a hand up in the air acknowledging her remark. Allie grit her teeth, instantly regretting her little outburst. He probably thought she was jealous. Which she most certainly wasn’t. As a fellow member of the female
species, she was simply embarrassed for Jordan’s mother, that’s all.
Speaking of the female species.
She climbed into the front seat of the minivan, took a deep breath and turned to face her niece. Somehow, Claire managed to make herself appear small and pitiful. Before Allie could think of what to say, Tom and the boys were back in the car. Henry’s eyes were bright were excitement and Cameron was beyond giddy.
“That was awesome!” Cameron said. He nudged his sister in the shoulder. “Boy, I bet Dad is going to ground you for a year.”
Miraculously, Claire had enough sense to keep her mouth shut.
The boys began interrogating her for party details but Tom quickly put an end to it with the same kind of look she’d seen Zeke use. Allie leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Every synapse in her body raged on full alert. She tried to will herself to relax, but with each minute, it only seemed to get worse.
What if Tom hadn’t come along tonight? What if he hadn’t known to call Hard Hat and get Jordan’s address? What if… Her brain spun with a hundred different what ifs. Each one worse than the last.
Allie turned around to make sure the kids were settled in their seats. And to assure herself once again that Claire was still really there. Claire glanced up and caught Allie’s eye. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.
Allie nodded, acknowledging Claire’s apology, but she didn’t think she was ready to talk to her yet. For one thing, what would she say? A part of Allie was still angry at her niece. But mostly, she was angry at herself. Yes, Claire had played her, but Allie had naively let herself be played.
Is this what being the parent to a teenager was like? A constant struggle just to make sure they didn’t do anything stupid? No wonder Mimi and Zeke didn’t want Claire driving on her own. If was up to Allie, Claire would be locked up in the proverbial dungeon with the key thrown away. Tonight had been a real eye-opener. On all counts.
She took a moment to take a good look at Tom, discreetly, of course, because she didn’t want him to catch her staring at him. All these years, she’d always pictured him as the same eighteen-year-old boy who’d carelessly played with her heart. But there was little resemblance between that Tom and the thirty-year-old man she’d gotten to know in the past few days. For one thing, he was such a…dad. His whole world revolved around Henry, and yes, it was sexy but it was also so…grown up.
She wasn’t the same Allie she’d been at eighteen, either. But while Tom had experienced marriage and a son and responsibilities, she was still paying for all the fun she’d had in Part Two of her Life Plan. She’d frivolously squandered her share of the life insurance money that Buela had left her. It wasn’t a fortune, by any means, and although a part of Allie didn’t regret that she’d used the money to travel, she did regret that she hadn’t thought to hold some back. A nest egg. Security. Those were the things she now craved.
The things she could have if she got the job at the magazine.
Correction: when she got the job at the magazine.
They drove the rest of the way back to Mimi and Zeke’s in silence. Thankfully, Zeke’s car was parked in the driveway.
“Henry, stay in the car,” Tom said to his son. He turned to her. “If you wouldn’t mind. I need Mimi or Zeke to tag along so they can drive us back to pick up my truck.”
He didn’t seem mad. Or upset. Or even put out. He didn’t seem…anything, actually. Which was almost worse because Allie knew what it meant. It meant he felt bad for her. And he didn’t want to add to it by giving her any grief. She supposed she should feel grateful but she almost preferred he’d yell at her because the fact was she was as much to blame for tonight’s fiasco as Claire. More so, because Allie was supposed to be the adult here. She’d been irresponsible and foolish. She tried to view herself through Tom’s eyes. The image she came up with made her cringe.
Claire dashed out of the car and into the house with Cameron hot on her heels.
Allie swallowed hard. “It seems like all I do these days is thank you for something or other.”
“You’re going to tell Mimi and Zeke what went on tonight, right?”
“Of course. But…I was hoping Claire might come clean first.”
Tom glanced in the minivan’s rearview mirror to make sure Henry wasn’t listening. He lowered his voice. “You mean, like I told my parents and you told your grandmother about the time we spent the night on the beach?”
“Well, you know, nothing really happened that night. I mean, not much.” She was hoping that would elicit a smile from him, but it didn’t. She sighed. “Okay, I get it. Claire probably isn’t going to tell.”
“Put yourself in her parents’ place. Would you want to know if your sixteen-year-old was at a party where there was underage drinking involved?”
Put that way, she had no choice. Tom was right. She was going to have to tell Mimi and Zeke. But she still wanted to give Claire a chance to do the right thing. Oh, boy. Allie had a terrible feeling that tonight would not end well.
Mimi met her by the front door. “I thought you’d be home by now.” She looked out into the driveway. “Is that Tom inside the van?”
“It’s a long story, but basically, he needs a ride back to his truck.”
Mimi’s breath caught. “Did Claire get in an accident?”
“No, everyone’s all right,” Allie rushed to reassure her. “There was just…well, like I said, it’s a long story.”
