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“Itsoundsawful.”
“He left the last one on my pillow. I wasn’t amused. Made me feel like I was in a bad mafia movie.”
That set off a round of laughter and Nate could tell Zoe was more relaxed every minute with Mandy as a buffer.
Refusing to be denied, his daughter suggested, “We can go with you to feed him after we’re done at the library. Then you can come to our house.”
Zoe considered the idea for a long moment. Nate wondered if she’d visited anyone since moving to Colorado. Somehow, he doubted it.
She met his eyes and he smiled, holding his breath. She probably would’ve found it amusing if she knew.
Finally, she nodded. “I’d like that.”
His tension whooshed out of him. To drag out their time a little more, he ordered dessert and insisted Mandy did, too.
Zoe’s eyes went wide. “I can’t eat another bite.”
“You should take something home!” Mandy suggested cheerfully. “What’s your favorite?”
“Really?” Zoe asked and his daughter grinned. “Chocolate cake.”
“They have awesome chocolate cake here. You have to take it home for a snack later and tell me if you loved it.”
When everyone was finished, Nate paid the check before they walked her back to the library. Zoe carried her little box of cake in one hand.
Opening her driver’s side door, he leaned down to drop a kiss on her cheek before signing, “Thank you for coming to dinner with us, Zoe. It was better with your company.”
“I agree!” Mandy hugged her and said, “Maybe we can do it again tomorrow!”
“Thank you both.” Blushing, she got in her car, started the small engine, and waved at them through the window before driving away.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, Mandy?”
“Ireallylike her.”
“Me, too.”
They headed home and assessed what needed to be straightened up before Zoe saw the place. Their home wasn’t dirty but they tended to leave things lying around.
They spent fifteen minutes going room by room and Nate announced, “That’s about as good as it’s gonna get.”
He ruffled Mandy’s hair roughly until she mock punched him in the gut and headed upstairs to her room.
“Thanks for tonight, Dad. I love you.”
“You’re welcome, honey. Sleep well.”
For a long time, he sat on the front porch, lost in thought. He wondered what Zoe did every night by herself and if she was thinking about him.
He wasdefinitelythinking about her.
* * *
In her little house a few miles away, Zoe got ready for bed and climbed between cool sheets.
Maximus curled in his usual space above her head on the pillow. The gentle vibration of his purr often lulled her to sleep. It reminded her there was another living creature in her home.
