“I could never hate you.” She hip-checked him gently, the way she had when he was sixteen and underfoot. “Disappointed? Yes. Hurt? Absolutely. But hate? Never.”
The back door burst open. “Morning!” Joey bounced in, then stopped short. “Oh! Tyler! You’re here early. Everything okay?”
Tyler and Margo exchanged a look.
“Everything’s fine, Joey,” Margo said. “Tyler’s helping with prep.”
“Cool! Like old times. The band is back together.” Joey grabbed his apron. “Hey, is Stella coming by today? Because I was thinking maybe she’d want to see how we do the morning setup, you know, in case she ever wants to work here, which would be awesome because?—”
“Joey,” Tyler said gently. “Breathe.”
“Right. Breathing.” Joey grinned. “It’s just cool having your daughter around. Makes the family bigger, you know?”
Tyler made a sound that might have been a laugh orsomething else. Margo reached over and squeezed his hand.
“Yes,” she said simply. “Family’s definitely bigger.”
“And hey, Margo, now you have two great-granddaughters! Bea’s going to flip when she meets her cousin. Anna must be excited!”
“Everyone’s... processing,” Tyler said carefully.
“Oh. Right. The secret thing.” Joey nodded sagely. “Bernie says all families have secrets. His brother didn’t tell anyone about his third wife for two years.”
Despite everything, Tyler laughed. “Not quite the same, Joey.”
“No, but you know what I mean.” Joey started pulling ingredients from the cooler. “The important thing is she’s here now, right? And she already loves the grilled cheese, so she’s definitely a Walsh.”
“She does have good taste,” Margo agreed.
“The best!” Joey’s enthusiasm was infectious. “Did you see her face when she took that first bite? Same expression Tyler gets when he tries a new coffee blend.”
“I didn’t notice,” Tyler said softly.
“Oh man, it was exactly the same. That little pause, then the eyes widening, then trying to play it cool.” Joey demonstrated each stage. “Genetic, probably.”
Tyler turned away, ostensibly to check the bread inventory, but Margo saw him wipe his eyes.
“Joey,” she said, “why don’t you start the coffee? The morning rush will begin soon.”
“On it!” He bounced away, humming something that sounded suspiciously like a Disney song.
“You okay?” Margo asked quietly.
“She has my expressions,” Tyler said, wonder in his voice. “I never... I didn’t know that. All these years of visits and I never noticed she makes the same face I do.”
“You’ll notice more things. Small things. Important things.” Margo resumed her prep. “That’s what family does. We see ourselves in each other.”
“What if three months isn’t enough time?”
“Then we make the most of what we have.” She handed him the tomatoes to slice. “Starting with teaching her proper knife technique. Her mother clearly hasn’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“The way she held her sandwich yesterday. Grabbed it like she was afraid it would escape. No confidence in her grip.” Margo’s eyes twinkled slightly. “We’ll fix that.”
For the first time since walking in, Tyler’s smile was real. “You’re already planning to grandmother her.”
“Great-grandmother,” Margo said. “And yes. Thoroughly.”
