On the short drive over, he’d made his opinions known. “We don’t even know this kid, and we’re just supposed to show up to his birthday party and act like his mother hiding him from us all, for nine years, is no big deal?”
“Michael, consider this a do-over. A second chance. If Calum and Harper can work it out between themselves, we can embrace it and support them as a family.”
“She hid him for nine years, Maeve. Nine. Years. She lived fifteen minutes away and didn’t once bother to let us know we had a grandson.”
“She didn’t hide him, Dad. She was busy with school, raising a kid, and starting a business,” I’d interjected, not working all that hard to mask my disappointment. Things were dramatic enough without Dad driving up the theatrics.
I’d made sure to break free of him the moment I could, knowing my own patience was wearing thin. After narrowly avoiding Dare at the gift table, I headed straight over to the café to say hi to Asher.
His entire face lit up when he saw me. “Aunt Connor! You came!”
“Of course I came.” I smiled at him, giving him a quick hug. “Happy birthday, kiddo.” Mom wasn’t that far behind me.
“Happy birthday, Asher,” she said, embracing him in a warm hug. While she did that, my eyes drifted back to my father, Calum, and Harper.
Dad’s remarks were still cold and defensive, judging by the look on Harper’s face as she walked away, leaving an angry Cal to deal with our father. They exchanged some heated words, words we couldn’t overhear from our position across the room.
After saying his piece, Calum started walking toward us, and to my surprise, Dad wiped the scowl off his face and followed. His eyes softened when he looked down at Asher.
“Asher, this is your grandfather,” Calum said, working to keep his tone neutral. But Asher didn’t seem to notice the conflict between the two of them. He looked up at his grandfather with eyes full of wonder.
“Wow, you look like an older version of my dad!” Asher said, his eyes widening as his gaze bounced from Calum to Dad. His declaration brought a smile to Dad’s face.
“You look like a younger version of your dad,” he returned, his eyes moving to Calum. Then Asher’s arms were around his waist, and he hesitated for a moment—as if caught off guard—before hugging the little boy back.
The bell chimed again, alerting the arrival of another guest. All of our heads automatically went to the door, and I stilled when the waitress from the diner walked in with the little boy.
My stomach did a weird lurching thing, as if something wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what that was, but I knew it had everything to do with the waitress.
She followed the little boy in reluctantly. Her dark brows were creased, her lips in a thin straight line. Her gazed moved around the room, taking in the decorations and the people. They came to rest on our little party, her gaze moving coldly from me to my mom to my dad and finally, to Calum. Her expression hardened and she looked away, saying something quietly to the little boy.
The little boy nodded, his unruly blond hair moving with the motion, and took the gift bag she held in her left hand, running it over to the gift table. He had to run past Dare and Evan, and I couldn’t help but watch Dare’s reaction. He didn’t seem to have one. To him—and Evan, too—the kid was another guest at Asher’s party.
The waitress didn’t even spare a glance in Dare’s direction. Her focus, and her apparent discord, was directed at my family.
Spotting his friend, Asher started barreling over to him. “Nik! You’re finally here! What took you so long?”
“My mom took forever getting ready,” the boy, Nik, said with a roll of his eyes, then the two boys scurried over to join the rest of their friends in the café.
“I’ll be right back,” Harper told us apologetically, leaving to go and greet the waitress. They exchanged a few terse, quiet words. The waitress seemed to visibly relax for a moment, until she glanced back in our direction. Then the tension returned to her shoulders, and she shook her head.
“I can’t do this. I’ll pick him up after the party ends, if that’s okay?” The waitress’s voice carried over just enough that I could hear her. Harper nodded with understanding, and the waitress gave her a small, appreciative smile before turning and walking right back out the door.
Calum sighed, bringing my attention away from the waitress. I realized with a start that Mom was watching her as she walked past the shop windows. “Who was that?” she asked, frowning as if she recognized her but couldn’t place her.
“Nik’s mom,” Calum answered. “Raina Parsons.”
The moment her name left Cal’s lips, Dad’s head swiveled, looking around Cal to the door, but the waitress—Raina—had already left.
Mom’s frown increased, and she looked at my father, her gaze questioning and hurt before she forced herself to look away from him. Something about their reaction needled me.
“Asher seems to be a popular kid,” Mom remarked, watching Asher and the other children as they huddled together near the snack table. I wondered if Calum had picked up on the intentional change in topic. “Just like another little blue-eyed, dark-haired boy.” She slipped her hand into Dad’s, finding a forced smile for him.
Dad returned her smile, but it was short-lived. The moment she looked back at Asher; his pensive frown returned.
For the second time that week, something about the abrasive waitress had sparked my interest. Only this time, I didn’t think it had anything to do with Dare.
I think it had something to do withus.
