“Hiding,” she said plainly. “Come here.” She waved him over and then tugged him behind the big trunk, so they were both obscured. “I want to see who’s at my parents’ house. I’ve never seen that car before. Maybe Sasha has a friend over, or she’s about to get a ride somewhere.”
“Or someone ordered DoorDash,” James suggested.
Mallory rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Maybe. But let’s see.” She peered around the tree trunk just as the door to the passenger seat opened. “Oh! Someone’s getting out! Can you see if they have a food bag?”
“I don’t think so.” James whispered.
The sky was overcast, and the sun had already started to set, so it was hard for Mallory to make out too much detail. That said, she didn’t need to see all that clearly to recognize the figure that slid out of the car and stood leaning against the open door, laughing at something the driver must’ve said.
Mallory’s eyes widened. “Dad?”
Of course, she wasn’t close enough for her dad to hear her, but Mallory didn’t waste any time and rushed toward her parents’ house. After her dad shut the car door, the SUV pulled out of the driveway and Mallory couldn’t get a good look at who was behind the wheel. By the time she and James reached the edge of the driveway, her dad was at the front door.
“Dad!” Mallory called out.
David spun around on his heels and clutched his chest. “Geez, Mal! You scared me. You can’t sneak up on an old man like that, I’ll have a heart attack.”
“Sorry.” Mallory made her way towards her father. “James and I were just coming back after getting some food, and we saw you get dropped off. Where did you go?”
David smiled and waved at James. “Oh, hey there. I was just coming back from the office. I let your brother and Erica borrow my car today, so I needed a ride home.”
Mallory frowned. “I thought you weren’t going into the office at all this week.”
“Right, well.” David pushed his shoulders back like he was suddenly feeling uncomfortable in his own clothes. Moreover, now that she was looking at his outfit, Mallory noticed that he was dressed very nicely—too nice for just a day at the office. “Some of my coworkers were coming in to do some last-minute work before the holiday, and I didn’t want to abandon them, so I went in for a couple hours.” Her dad turned his back on them and unlocked the front door. “James, are you coming inside? I know Callie would love to see you.”
“Thanks for the offer,” James said. “But I have to be getting back to my aunt.” He smiled at Mallory. “I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, for sure,” Mallory said. She’d been so distracted by her father’s odd behavior, that she had forgotten about James. If they’d been alone, she would’ve wanted to set a time for them to see each other again, but that would’ve been too obvious. “Thanks for walking me home.”
“No problem. Bye, Mr. Ward!”
“Please, call me David,” Mallory’s dad said. “And get home safe.”
James left and Mallory followed her dad inside, hot on his heels. “Didn’t you say your entire office was closed this week?” she asked as they walked through the door. “I assumed that everyone had been given the entire week off.”
David shook his head, not looking back at her. “Just because they were given the week off, doesn't mean everyone is going to stay home. We’ve got plenty of workaholics at the office, and there are a few major projects that need to be wrapped up before the end of the year, so I’m sure people are just trying to get ahead of everything.”
“Oh.” Mallory bit the inside of her cheek. This story didn’t fully add up, but she couldn’t figure out a reason her dad wouldlie in the first place. Where could he have been that he wouldn’t want her to know about?
Or who could he have been with?
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I can make us something if you want, since I think we both missed dinner.”
Mallory paused in the hallway, her head spinning with questions. The brisk air and security of James’s tight grip on her hand had served to veil her drunkenness, but now that she was in a warm house and standing on her own, it started to hit her. She needed to lie down. “No, that’s okay. I had a lot of sliders at the pub so I’m not hungry. I think I’m going to take a shower and call it a night. I’m pretty tired.”
“Sounds good,” he said. “I’ll let everyone know that you’re trying to rest, although I’m not sure that’ll be enough to make the kids be quiet.”
“It’s fine,” Mallory said with a heavy exhale. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be out like a light no matter how chaotic it gets.”
Chapter 8
“James, wait! We can’t go in there.”
“Why not?” He looked at Mallory over his shoulder with a mischievous smile. “Nobody’s gonna catch us. Besides, I want to show you something.”
“What could you possibly have to show me here?”
“You’ll see.” He winked and then opened the heavy door to the gym. It was the middle of the night, so Mallory anticipated that the gym would be cloaked in darkness, but when James pulled her inside, she saw a soft glow coming from the center of the basketball court.
