She sucked in a breath. She hadn’t recognized him because of his hair and bushy beard.
Rocky.
She must’ve said the name out loud. Because his eyes homed in on her face and his congenial smile wilted. “Maggie? What are you—? I can’t believe you’re here. I didn’t recognize you at first. I think about you all the time.”
Josh cleared his throat. “Hi, I’m Josh, Ethan’s brother.”
Rocky extended a hand, smiling once again. “Of course. Josh. I feel like I already know you. I’ve heard so many stories.”
Josh’s gaze darted toward Zoey. “We’d love a chance to chat. Maybe when the food gets here we could sit over there.” He nodded toward a booth across the way.
The adrenaline that flooded Maggie left her in a state of heightened awareness. She’d been thinking about everything except how they might handle this with Zoey.
“Yeah, sure. I’d love to. Your food’s probably coming up any minute now. Let me find someone to cover my tables.” He strode toward the kitchen.
Josh grabbed Maggie’s hand and she found in his expression the same excitement that bubbled up inside her. They were about to get their answers.
He squeezed her hand.
Despite her best efforts to remain realistic, hope expanded inside like helium, filling her until she thought she might float to the ceiling.
A few minutes later Grant returned and began unloading their plates from a circular tray. “Here we are.”
When he set down Zoey’s plate, Maggie automatically began cutting her pancakes and strawberries.
“I can do it, Mommy. Can I have syrup?”
“Jeez, I totally forgot.” Grant seemed as flustered as Maggie felt. “You need refills too. And did you want gravy with your biscuits?” he asked Josh.
“No, thanks.”
“Be right back.”
When Grant returned, Maggie set the syrup by Zoey’s plate. “Honey, this is our friend Grant. Grant, this is Zoey.”
His gaze softened on her daughter. “It’s sure nice to meet you, sweetheart.”
“Uncle Josh and I are going to sit right over there with our friend while you eat.”
Zoey stuffed a bite of pancake in her mouth and nodded.
One hurdle down. Maggie and Josh left the booth and joined Grant across the way. This was happening so fast. She hadn’t expected to find Rocky in the restaurant, and she’d been so intent on how to extract information from his parents, she hadn’t given much thought to what she’d say to Rocky himself.
Josh must’ve caught on to her panic. He leaned onto his elbows and lowered his voice. “Thank you for being willing to talk to us.”
“You kidding? It’s so nice to meet you guys. I feel like you’re practically family.”
He hasn’t asked about Ethan.If he were still alive, Rocky would’ve asked where he was or how he was doing by now. The thought punctured a gaping hole in her hope.
“You must be wondering why we’re here,” Josh said. “I guess we need to hear what took place the day of the explosion. Were you there when it happened?”
Grant’s face sobered, then he stared at his hands on the table. “I was. I’ve relived that day a million times. Still have nightmares about it. Sometimes dreams where I did something different. Somethingthat changed the outcome. Then I wake up and realize all over again that it really did happen.”
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Josh said.
“It must be hard to talk about,” Maggie said. “But it would be very helpful if you could tell us what happened.”
“Of course.” Rocky’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He glanced up at Maggie. “Least I could do. I should’ve contacted you sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
