“Is there a problem with me being a part of the PTA?”
“Nope,” I said, popping my p. “I better collect Parker from your table.”
“She’s fine,” he told me. “Are you always this friendly?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t really have a kid that goes to this school, do you?”
I touched my finger to my lips. “I just—I don’t think I owe you any more answers.”
“I’m sure Brett will give me all the answers I need,” he said, threatening my incognito-ness. “I’ll just give him a call.”
Brody turned away, heading back to the line of linen-covered tables. “Uh, wait, don’t call him. He’s in an important meeting. That’s why I’m here, helping.”
As if he didn’t hear me, Brody continued walking, searching through his phone. “The things I have to do around here,” he muttered.
“Seriously, what is your problem?” I asked him.
He twisted his head and peered over his shoulder. “You’re the one who lost my niece, remember?”
“I didn’t lose her. She walked away.”
“She walks away a lot. Were you aware?” he quizzed me.
“No, I did not know, but it might have been helpful information.”
“Probably,” Brody said, continuing his pace down the line of tables. He stopped abruptly in front of a table where I found Parker and, who I assumed to be Brody’s daughter, sitting.
“Parker, why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” I asked her.
“I did,” she said, keeping her eyes locked on the stack of napkins she was straightening.
“Well, I didn’t hear you.”
“Dude, call me back when you’re free,” Brody spoke into his phone.
I tug at Brody’s arm. “You’re going to rat me out? Do you have nothing better to do?”
“My dad likes to be in charge at all times,” Brody’s daughter said, smirking at me.
“Clearly.” I rolled my eyes because it happened as naturally as breathing. “Parker, we should get back to our table and start cleaning up.”
Parker stands up and presses her shoulders back. “Okay.”
“Hey, Park,” Brody addressed her. “Does Miss Journey have a daughter in this school?”
Parker gave me an off-putting expression. “You have a daughter?” she asked. “Why didn’t she come with us tonight?”
I took Parker’s hand and guided her away from the table, hoping Brody wouldn’t follow. “Is your uncle always such a pain in the butt?”
“Mmm, pretty much,” Parker confirmed with a giggle.
For the following thirty minutes I agreed to be there, I stayed safe from Brody’s watchful eyes as I noticed a line of moms searching for a reason to chat him up off in the corner. Thankfully, I could get Parker and me out of the school without another encounter with the grizzly-beard.
The parking lot was lit up well, and parents were shuttling their kids into cars. We parked farther away, so we were still walking by the time some cars began pulling out of the lot. “Why did we park so far away?” Parker asked.
“I don’t like to park close to other cars.”
