Thea turned, beaming at him as she made her way up the steps. “Tim,” she said, wrapping him in a warm, familiar hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“I’m glad you’ve come,” he said and meant it.
She pulled back, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I don’t think you’ve met my friend, Rebecca Woodbine.”
Tim turned, expecting someone just like Thea—a little bohemian, maybe wearing Birkenstocks and carrying a woven tote bag. But the woman standing just behind Thea was nothing like what he had imagined. She was older, closer to his age than Thea’s, with silver threaded through her chestnut-brown hair. Attractive. Very attractive.
And suddenly, from somewhere deep in his brain, he saw her as a teenager. Someone he once knew.
Thea, oblivious, gestured between them. “Rebecca, this is Tim Rivers, my stepfather.”
Rebecca extended a hand. “Hello, Tim. It’s been too long.”
Tim, who had never been at a loss for words, suddenly found himself unsure of what to say. He took her hand, her grip steady, reassuring.
“Wait,” Thea said. “You know each other?”
Rebecca met Tim’s gaze with a gentle smile, her eyes warm and knowing, like she was already in on some quiet joke. “To be honest, I recognized the name, but I wasn’t sure ... until now.”
“Becky Benton.” Tim’s brain kicked back in. “The little sister of my best friend from high school.”
Rebecca’s smile deepened. “You remembered!”
A quiet warmth unfurled in Tim’s chest, a sweetness he hadn’t felt in a very long time—like the first hint of spring after a long winter.
Scout dropped her hairbrush and hurried back into the living room just as her father stepped inside and ignored her mother’s icy stare. “Dad,” she said, exasperated. “Really? Now?”
“Scout, there never seems to be a good time.” Her father grabbed a cookie from the tray her mother was holding. Then, turning to Naki, he added, “Aren’t these something else? My grandmother’s recipe. They’re my favorite.”
Mother scowled. “They aremygrandmother’s recipe.”
Dad walked into the small living area. “Well, Lucille, I can see your touch. You do have a way of making a house a home.”
Mother didn’t know what to do with a compliment. “You can just take your cookie and leave, James Henry.”
“Nope,” her dad said, popping the rest of the cookie into his mouth. “I haven’t seen my daughter in ten years—”
“Eleven,” Scout said dryly.
“And it’s high time I got some time with her.”
“Dad, you can’t just disappear without a single word for over a decade and then show up because it suits you.”
“Without a single word?” Dad scoffed. “Hardly that.”
“Not hardly at all. Not a single word from you since you left us that day. Right here. In Acadia.”
Dad shot a questioning look at Lucille. “What does she mean?”
Naki cleared his throat. “Perhaps I should leave.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Scout said firmly.
“I think I need fresh air,” Mother said. “I’m goin’ to step outside.”
Her dad stepped forward, blocking her exit. “Hold it right there, Lucille. You’re not going anywhere. What does Scout mean by ‘disappear without a single word’? You gave them to her, didn’t you?”
“Gave me what?” Scout frowned, trying to figure out what her parents were bickering about.
