On his way through the kitchen, Amy stopped him. “You all right?”
He nodded. “It’s what Lara wants.” He hoped it would be good for her.
“I can come if you need a back-up.”
His face heated. “Faith’s going to meet me at the café.”
She grinned at him. “That’s great.”
At the door he reached for his Akubra and hesitated. He didn’t need it if he was sitting in a café, and Sofia used to tease him that he wouldn’t go anywhere without it.
But why did he care what she thought? She’d made it clear he wasn’t good enough for her ten years ago.
“Wear it,” Amy called. “The sexy cowboy look suits you.” She winked.
He rolled his eyes but grabbed the hat. He didn’t feel whole without it.
Darcy did his best to keep himself from worrying about Lara on his drive into town, but he failed miserably. There were some things he couldn’t protect his daughter from, could only support her. He arrived at the district high school with plenty of time and scored a car park right outside.
“Hey, Darcy!”
He braced himself as he turned and then relaxed. “Julia, how’s things?” He hugged his high school friend. “Here to pick up Lachlan?”
“Here to drag him away.” She laughed. “He loves pre-primary.”
“That’s great.”
“Hey, did you know Sofia’s in town? I ran into her at the bakery yesterday and almost died of shock.”
There was no malice in her question. Julia had been best friends with Sofia in high school and had been almost as devastated as he’d been when she’d left. “Yeah. Lara and I are going to meet with her after school.”
“How’s Lara taking it?”
“She’s a little nervous.” Though Julia wasn’t a gossip, he didn’t want to talk to her about it.
The bell rang and Julia gasped. “I’d better run. I’m supposed to meet Lachlan outside his classroom. Good luck today.” She waved and was gone.
Darcy smiled. She’d visited him and Lara a few times after Sofia had left and always spoke to him when she saw him in town.
The kids poured out of their classrooms, a sea of yellow and brown uniforms, and he scanned the crowd for his daughter. She was one of the last to come out, walking slowly, chatting to Mischa, her feet almost dragging on the ground.
Crap. Had she changed her mind about meeting Sofia? This was going to be tough. He waved, and she changed direction towards him, pulling Mischa with her. “Have a good day, pumpkin?”
“It was all right.”
“How’s it going, Mischa?”
“Is Lara still allowed to sleep over tomorrow night now her mum is in town?”
The question took him aback. Did Lara not want to stay at her friend’s place?
“Please can I, Dad?”
“Of course. You’re walking home with Mischa after school.”
She beamed and high-fived her friend.
“Do you want a lift home?” Mischa only lived around the corner, but he was happy to drop her off.
