“That was thoughtful of Uncle Mike.”Of course, her brother was here.
“Yeah.”Cody ran to the door.“He told me I gotta be the chaperone on your date.”And with that, he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him.
Date?“Seriously, Mike?”She stared at the closed door.What was wrong with him?Did he think he was being funny?He wasn’t—not in the least.Mike knew that her and Cody’s relationship was strained—why add Braden to the mix and complicate things even more?Maybe Cody wouldn’t want her dating anyone.Had her brother stopped to think about that?
And yet… Cody hadn’t seemed mad about any of this.Not when he’d been opening his presents or when he’d heard about her phone call with Braden or just now, when he’d helped her pick out her clothes.
You gotta look good, Ma.
All the flutters and nerves in her stomach were replaced with dread.Maybe this wasn’t all Mike’s doing… Maybe Cody was already excited about her dating Braden Parker.
No.Oh, no.This was bad.She had no intention of dating.Not Braden—not anyone.The sooner she straightened this out, the better.
She dressed quickly, braided her hair and decided against the lipstick.Lipstick was not required for a playdate.And now, more than ever, she needed to affirm to one and all that this was just that: aplaydate.She shoved a tube of lip balm into her coat pocket, frowned at the curls already sliding free from her braid, grabbed her scarf and coat and headed out of her room and into the kitchen.
Finding her parents at the kitchen table was the first sign that something was up.When she walked in, they smiled up at her as if the two of them frequently sat at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning.But her parents never sat around.Her father was up with the sun doing one of the hundred or so things that needed doing on their small but working ranch.When he came in, he’d eat dinner and fall asleep in his recliner by nine pretty much every night.
Her mother, too, was in constant motion.Maggie didn’t push her mother to retire from nursing because she understood that going and doing kept her mom happy.
“What’s going on?”She saw no point in beating around the bush.
Her father was a straight shooter.“We’re here because Cody said you were going on a date—”
“Larry,” her mother cut in, sighing in exasperation.
“What, Ellen?”Her father shrugged.“It’s true, isn’t it?”
Maggie held up both hands.“I need everyone to listen, please.”She made eye contact with her parents, then her brother.“This is not a date.I repeat, it isnota date.It is a playdate for Delilah and Cody—”
“I’m too old for a playdate, Ma.Or to hang out with a kindergartner.”Cody snorted.
Her son’s immediate dismissal compounded the dread.Did Codywantthis to be a date?That was why he’d been happy about the whole thing.“But…but she’s new in town.Delilah could use a friend.And you’re a good friend.”She swallowed.“Just like I plan to be for Braden—a goodfriend.”The emphasis on the last word was not in the least bit subtle, and it wasn’t meant to be.She didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about today.
“Friends.”Cody blew out a breath, lifting his curls off his forehead.“Okay.”
Mike covered his mouth, but Maggie heard his muffled laughter all the same.She’d deal with him later.
“Are you ready?”She glanced at the kitchen clock.“We should probably get a move on.”
“Yep.”Cody grabbed his Carhartt jacket off one of the pegs by the back door.“Ready.”
“Here.”Mike handed her a backpack.“There’s water, granola bars, some trail mix and some apples.”
She took the backpack.“Thank you.”There was a definite snap to her words.But, really, she had every reason to be irritated.
Mike’s brows rose and he whispered, “You better work on controlling your face because, right now, you look a little too pissed off to be going on a playdate.”
“We are so going to talk when we get back,” she whispered.She grabbed her keys and purse.“See you later.”
“Watch out for bears.”Her father stood.“Heard someone say they’d seen tracks along the eastern trail yesterday.There’s bear spray in the truck glove box.An air horn, too.”
“Bears?”Cody was far too excited.
“Thanks, Dad.We’ll be careful.”Maggie held the back door open for Cody.
The entire drive to the park, Cody rattled off all sorts of interesting—and terrifying—bear facts.According to Cody, a male grizzly bear could reach up to seven hundred pounds, run up to thirty-five miles an hour and take down a moose.
“A moose?That’s impressive.”Maggie was beginning to question this morning’s choice of activities.But, hopefully, the bears would all be too busy bulking up for hibernation to pay much attention to them.She glanced in the rearview mirror.“We’ll keep an eye out.”
