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Jackie laughed. “That’s the truth. All the games. I still can’t get the hang of them all these years later.” Her gaze shifted from the kids to Luke and she jutted her chin toward the kitchen. “We’ve still got some dinner left over if you want some.”
“I’ll never turn down a free meal from you, just don’t tell Pippa.”
She laughed as she wandered toward the kitchen. “Deal. And you don’t have to tell her that I think she uses too much salt in her potatoes.”
“Blasphemy,” Luke tossed back at her. When they reached the kitchen, Luke’s eyes immediately landed on his brother. Brent sat at the table looking over some documents. He only lifted his gaze briefly before murmuring, “Oh, hey, Luke. How was the parent teacher thing?”
“Good… I think.”
“You think,” Jackie shot him a surprised look then filled his plate with some roast and potatoes. “What is that supposed to mean? Is Molly doing okay?”
“Yeah. Well, mostly. But her teacher says she talks a little too much. I guess she’s a distraction and she’s got a C in math right now. I’m not happy about that.”
Her smile was probably supposed to reassure him, but it did nothing of the sort. “Oh, is that all? She’ll be fine. Danielle is the same way. She talks too much but that’s just how girls are. They’re social. And while Casey wasn’t a chatter box, he was always distracted with other things. Once his teacher caught him with one of those portable video game things. It could be worse, you know. She could be failing all her classes.”
“Yeah, you sound a lot like Allie. She seems to think that I should look at it in a different way. I’m just a single dad and we’ve both had it hard.”
Brent shot him a look but Jackie spoke first. “She’s not wrong that things haven’t been really traditional with you.”
“That’s not the point,” Luke sighed. “It’s been nearly a decade. I’ve been doing as much as I can since she was born. It’s not like she lost her mother last year. She’s never known any different.”
“But having a single parent household is a struggle on its own. When all the other kids are making Mother’s Day gifts or talking about their families, Molly probably feels… different.”
Brent put down his papers. “Don’t brush this off. Luke’s right too, and his concerns are valid.”
“Well, I didn’t say they weren’t valid. But there are certain things in this life that we can’t change.”
“But this wasn’t one of them,” Luke muttered.
Both his brother and sister-in-law stared at him.
“Think about it. I’ve had a long time to get through this and consider dating again. What if I had found someone who could have been Molly’s mother when she was younger? Then she wouldn’t even remember not having someone to fill that role.” Luke yanked out a kitchen chair and settled down in it, the defeat weighing on him more than it should.
“You know why you didn’t do that. We all do,” Jackie whispered. “And none of us blame you.”
“That being said,” Brent offered, “are you suggesting that you think it’s time to get out there again?”
“I don’t know what I’m suggesting. I don’t have a clue what I should do next.” Luke peered at his brother as if he would have the answers. Of course he wouldn’t. “Man, I sorta wish Mom was here. She’d know what to do.”
“Yeah,” his brother drawled. “I don’t think she’s going to leave Italy just because Molly has a C in math. She’ll be here for the holidays like she always is, though.”
“You’re probably right,” Luke muttered. Had his father been alive, she might have come more frequently. But losing a spouse did something to the mind and he couldn’t blame her for avoiding Sweet Bloom as much as she could.
Too many memories.
Giggles erupted from the living room and the three adults smiled. Jackie nodded toward his plate. “Just get something in your stomach and then we can all have a chat about expectations. Our kids could use it too.”
Luke offered her a grateful smile. “Thanks. I don’t know what I would do without you guys.”
“You’d starve,” she said simply.
Brent laughed and it was hard not to join in.
He ate in silence for a few minutes but then Jackie took a seat beside him at the table. “You know, I bet Allie would be willing to help a little. Didn’t you guys hang out a lot when you were kids?”
Luke shrugged. “She was more Pippa’s friend than mine.”
“Yeah, but Pippa followed you around a lot more than she did me. And Allie was there all the time,” Brent reminded him. “I swear, everyone in town thought you and Allie would end up together.”
