“Sure.What do you want?”
“Tuxedo cheesecake?”She rubbed her hands together in delight.It was her favorite dessert.Ever.
I chuckled, letting the conversation that made her feel awkward float away.We ordered the cheesecake and finished our meal without another word about her crush.
Three
“Have fun,and be careful.No drinking,” I told the girls as Evie got into Maddie’s car.Katie was in the backseat, so I swung my gaze to her, too.
“We won’t,” the three of them chorused.They were good kids, but they were still kids.Living in a small town like Amethyst Bay meant they didn’t get away with much, but it didn’t mean they didn’t try.
“I love you,” I said as I stepped back.
“Love you,” Evie said without hesitation.
I never wanted her to think she wasn’t my priority.It didn’t matter that my marriage to her mother didn’t work out, I loved my daughter fiercely, and she would always know that.
“Will you be home tonight?”I asked, pausing before I closed the door.
“Yeah.But it’ll be late.”
“What time is late?”
“One?”
I nodded.“Text me if that changes.”
“I will.Love you.”Evie waved, prompting me to step back and let her go have fun.
I closed the door and waved as the girls pulled out of the parking lot.Maddie was the oldest of the three of them, so she drove most of the time.It was good for them to have some freedom, but it was still terrifying to watch my one and only child drive off with another teenager behind the wheel.
With the girls gone, I went to my truck.The radio was quiet from the drive to the restaurant, but I turned it up and let the music and cool evening breeze drift around me on the short drive home.
The red convertible was still parked next door when I pulled into my driveway.Lights were on inside the house.I debated apologizing to Ashlyn’s friend, but I didn’t want to intrude on their evening.
That and I didn’t want to open the door for more shit from Hannah.
I let myself into the house and exhaled slowly.I moved through the space, depositing my keys and wallet on the table by the door, then kicking my shoes off into the closet.The house was scattered with Evie’s things.Shoes, jackets, her forgotten backpack.Lip balm and mascara were left on end tables and bathroom counters.It was clear she was a regular fixture in my house.
But all that would change in a few weeks.
For thirteen years, Evie was shuffled between my house and Hannah’s.When she was with her mother, I busied myself the best I could.Working, dating, playing hockey, spending time with my friends.But it was always temporary.It was a few days at a time.As Evie got older, she wanted to spend more time with me than Hannah, mostly because both Maddie and Katie lived within walking distance from my house.Hannah lived in one of the nicer houses on the edge of Amethyst Bay, a status symbol to show everyone how well-off her new husband was.
Brian Greenleaf was a very successful businessman.He made sure everyone knew it, too.I was never really clear what he did to earn his money, but he had a lot of it.He built the newest house in the area, with all the fancy features he wanted.And he filled it with furniture no one was allowed to sit on and artwork no one was allowed to get close to.
It was another reason Evie hated going there, but she never told her mother that.
Regardless of their financial situation, and the divided time between my house and theirs, in a few weeks, Evie would be away at college.The quietness of my house wouldn’t be temporary.It would last for months.And far too quickly, Evie would be on her own, and my house would be just a place she used to live.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and carried it to the couch.The urge to turn on the TV was strong, but I needed to sit with the silence for a few minutes.I hadn’t slowed down much in the last twenty-plus years, and the reality of my life was hitting me square in the face.
I was fucking lonely.
My fingers itched to call Oscar or Christy, to fill the emptiness with something or someone.I hoped to have found someone to share my life with by now, but Hannah made sure that never happened.
I swore and reached for the remote.I flipped until I landed on a sports channel.Baseball wasn’t my favorite sport, but it was better than the path my thoughts were taking.
When I finished my beer, I dropped the empty bottle in the recycling and headed for the shower.My thoughts went to Ashlyn’s friend as I stepped under the hot water, her curves tempting me.She had to be a decade younger than me, but there was no harm in fantasizing about the woman when no one else was around.
