Then he pointed toward a small building coming up. “That’s it there, on the right. Corinne’s Kitchen.”
“And is it actually? Corinne’s kitchen, I mean.”
“It was. Corinne cooked and waited tables and her husband cooked. She passed away, so he still cooks, but their daughter Kenzie took over the front of the restaurant. They’re good people, and the food’s excellent.”
Once they were parked, he opened Oliver’s door, but made her laugh when he admitted he had no clue how to free the child and stepped back. After getting Oliver out, she set him on his feet and took him by the hand. She saw Brian start to reach out, as though to take him, but he shoved his hands in his pockets instead.
There were a few customers having lunch, but Siobhan found an empty table away from the other diners. Oliver usually behaved well when they were out in public, but there was always the accidentally flung ketchup-covered French fry to consider. And not too long ago, her son hadlearned some fun new vocabulary words from a group of businessmen at a table next to them.
It was clear from the way Kenzie greeted Brian that he was a frequent visitor, as were his brothers, and then she turned to Siobhan.
“What can I get you today?”
“I’d love a coffee, please, and he’ll take a small milk with a lid and straw. And we’re separate checks, please. The little guy is with me.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw Brian look up, clearly about to speak, but then he just smiled wanly and went back to looking over the menu.
“Sure thing,” Kenzie said. “Do you know what you want to eat?”
Siobhan ordered popcorn chicken and fries for both of them. She probably could have gotten away with sharing the adult portion, but his came with the drink and a small dish of soft-serve ice cream, so it was worth the splurge.
Then she laughed when Brian said he’d have the same. “That was a lot of menu reading for somebody who knew what he was having before he walked through the door.”
“True, but you never know when something else jumps out at you. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wasnotordering a hot dog. Or potato salad.”
After Kenzie walked away, she gave him a thoughtful look. “Thank you for not trying to overrule the check situation. It didn’t look easy for you.”
“I told you I’d do my best to respect your boundaries.” He took a sip of his soda and then leaned back in his chair. “This was a good idea. Although it’s so quiet and cool that once I have a meal in me, the hum of the air-conditioning might put me to sleep.”
“If you and Oliver nod off here at the table, I’ll just sithere and read a book on my phone. I’d probably enjoy it, to be honest.”
“If you think the campground’s a lot right now, wait until the Maine crew shows up.” When her eyes widened, he chuckled. “Sean stayed in New Hampshire after he met Emma, but my dad still has four other cousins in Maine, and they’re all married and they had kids around the same time, so there’s an entire pack of teenagers coming.”
“If theentirefamily plays Water Ball of Doom, you’re going to need a bigger pool.”
His laugh was deep and warm, and Siobhan definitely didn’t like the way it made her want to lean closer to him. “The doom is limited to this bunch, for the most part. And the family in Maine also runs a lodge and campground on ATV trails, so needless to say, it’s their busy time, too. By getting married on a Monday, Steph made it so they can come, but most of them will only be coming for the day. There shouldn’t be time for swimming, especially since we’d have to do it in shifts to fit everybody.”
“You havesomuch family. I only have…” Her words trailed off as she remembered who she was talking to. “Well, my mom and my sister, as you know. And Oliver, of course.”
She felt the energy shift when she brought up her family, as if she’d summoned a rain cloud to hover over their meal. And she thought about a rapid change of subject—just saying anything that had nothing to do with Kelly—but Kenzie walked up to their table with their drinks, and the tension just hung there between them.
* * *
Brian wished he could go back in time and steer the conversation into any direction that didn’t lead to his ex-wife. They had to talk about her eventually, though, andmaybe it was best done quietly, away from his large and very curious family.
Siobhan managed to fend off conversation for a while by focusing on Oliver. She drew shapes on the back of his placemat and they went through color names as he used crayons Kenzie provided to color them in. He watched them in silence, wishing he could find the right words to restore their easy way with each other, but nothing occurred to him and eventually their food arrived.
He watched her preparing Oliver’s meal for him—
cutting the larger pieces of popcorn chicken in half and moving fries around to cool them off. She popped one of the French fries into her mouth, and he laughed when she immediately ate a second while very obviously avoiding looking at him.
“I told you the fries are unmatched,” he said, pointing one at her before putting it in his mouth.
“I don’t know about unmatched, but they’re very good.” Once she was satisfied Oliver’s food was cool enough, she squirted a dollop of ketchup next to the fries and slid the plate to him.
After centering her own plate in front of her, she took a bite of the popcorn chicken and smiled as she chewed and swallowed. “Okay,thesemight be unmatched.”
He nodded, but he knew his return smile was forced as the distraction the food arriving had offered faded and his mind returned to his ex-wife. “Speaking of your sister, since it may or may not be relevant in the near future, where is Kelly living these days?”
