“Yes!” She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his bearded cheek. “Thank you, thank you. I know it’s not your favorite thing to do, so I won’t take it for granted, OK? I’ll owe you one.”
“No, you won’t,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m not keeping score. I just want to spend more time with you.”
“Me, too,” she said.
And she drove away feeling more optimistic about her life than she ever had.
CHAPTER 15
CAL
Cal and Owen met April at a local barbecue joint in town. The place was rustic and a little loud, but Cal supposed there was no getting around that if he was going to insist on a kid-friendly restaurant. And Owen had to tag along because, aside from April, Cal still wasn’t comfortable leaving his son with anyone else.
Once again, April had arrived before him, and she had a friend with her, a tall woman who had long, black hair and a sharp wit. April had introduced her as Crystal right before saying, “Nathan will be here soon. He’s always late for everything.”
“Always late,” Crystal echoed. “But it’s part of what we love about him.”
They sat down together at a table with long benches and a red-and-white checkered tablecloth. When the server came to take their order, Cal asked, “Should we not wait for the rest of our party?”
Crystal burst out laughing. “If we waited for Nate, we’d never get anything started. No, he would want us to go on without him.”She said this in a tone of voice that made it sound like she was talking about someone who had recently passed on from this world, but the humor behind it was evident.
Cal cracked a smile. “Well, if that’s what he would want.”
They ordered drinks and dinner. Cal decided to stay sober for the night, considering he had his son with him and would be driving back home. Owen ordered off the kids’ menu, and Cal was proud to find he had chosen something he hadn’t tasted before. Cal was often worried that his own overcautious nature would stifle his son’s adventurous nature, but it seemed to be thriving despite Cal’s nearly constant worrying.
Before long, another person came barreling toward the table. He was thin, with a full head of dark brown hair and the look of someone who worried about nothing at all. He immediately introduced himself as Nathan, and then he sat down like he was the guest of honor and they’d all been waiting for him, even though they hadn’t.
Cal’s impression was that Crystal had a dry, almost sarcastic sense of humor, while Nathan was more straightforward. He didn’t waste any time getting to the interrogation part of the evening. “So, Cal, April tells us you’ve been spending more time in town. How are you liking it? Most people either hate it or love it to pieces.”
Cal cleared his throat before answering. “Well, I don’t love it to pieces. I’ll say that much.Hateis a strong word, though.”
Crystal burst out laughing. “That’s an honest answer. I’ll agree. Nathan’s full of it. I don’t always love it to pieces either, but I certainly don’t hate it.”
“What do you do for work?” Nathan asked.
“I’m between jobs,” Cal said.
Owen was quick to correct his father. “He’s a single dad!” he said through a mouthful of fries.
Cal leaned over and muttered, “Swallow first, chief. But thank you.” The fact that Owen felt any kind of instinct to defend Cal meant a lot to him. The boy was only five, of course, but that instinct meant he was growing into a good man. That was the one thing Cal hoped for where his son was concerned, that the boy would grow into a good man.
April’s friends seemed equally impressed. Crystal reached across the table to give Owen a proper high-five. “There you go, kid. Ten points to you. That’s the toughest job in the world.”
Cal interjected, “It would be great if it paid better, to be fair.”
Once again, Crystal and Nathan burst out laughing. “I like this guy,” Nathan said. “Aren’t you glad I handed him to you?”
One double-take later, Cal managed to ask, “What do you mean by ‘handed him to you’?”
Nathan shrugged. “You were supposed to be my patient, originally. But it was her birthday, and she was having a less-than-awesome day, and you were exactly her type. So, I gave her a birthday present.”
Cal arched one eyebrow at him, unsure quite how to take that admission. Was it a compliment or an insult? Maybe a bit of both.
Just then, April laid a hand on Cal’s shoulder, and all his confusion melted away. “I’m so lucky to have met you and Owen,” she said. “That’s all.”
“Sounds more like a conspiracy than luck,” Cal said under his breath, and the whole table started laughing again.
The adults’ food arrived shortly after that, and the table fell a little quieter while everyone dug in. It was an enormous platter of ribs with various dishes of sides that came with it. All of it was served family style, like an old-fashioned barbecue. Cal had never eaten there before. The place was new after Owen was born, and Cal had never wandered into town to try it. Now that he had, he couldn’t help feeling that he’d missed out. It was delicious, honestly. The meat fell off the bones. The sides were all perfectly seasoned, and the sauces were to die for. And Owen seemed to really enjoy the casual atmosphere. No one even looked their way when he got overexcited and shouted or stood up when he really shouldn’t.
