I fall asleep with tenderness in my heart but at the same time wishing solemnly that Nate could let go of his burning need to prove himself to someone who doesn’t deserve his consideration. I wish Nate could focus instead on those of us who are proud of him no matter what. Whether the restaurant succeeds or fails, we will always love him. Why can’t he appreciate that?
Chapter Thirteen
Dogs
I’m sitting in my car with the heat blasting, waiting for Amanda to finish her shift at the swimming pool. Oscar sleeps on my lap, like a baby in my arms, his heavy head resting in the crook of my elbow. How peaceful he looks in slumber. I stroke his head and finger his soft, velvety ear, then bend forward to kiss the top of his head.
In the next instant, I jump with fright when Amanda opens the car door and drops onto the seat like a bag of bricks.
Oscar startles awake and scrambles to stand on my lap, tail wagging.
“Hello, Oscar!” she coos and scratches behind his ears.
I recover my calm and watch her buckle her seat belt. “How was your shift?” This was the first time she’d seen Jeff since we filed the police report, so I’m more than a little curious.
“Great,” she replies, eyes smiling. “It was amazing, actually.”
My daughter’s happiness is like a drug to me, and euphoria surges through my bloodstream. It’s especially intoxicating after our stressful conversation this morning when she was worked up, afraid of what Jeff might think of her.
I pass Oscar across the console so she can hold him while we drive. “What happened?”
“As soon as I walked onto the pool deck,” Amanda explains, “Jeff came straight over to tell me that he heard I went to the cops.”
My eyebrows fly up. “Really? How did he know?”
“He said Marissa texted him and went on a crazy rant, calling him a ... let’s just sayloser, but that’s not the word she used. Anyway, she told him that I went to the cops and that I was the crazy one, but he doesn’t think so.” Amanda clasps my forearm. “Mom. He actuallythankedme.”
Overcome with relief, I meet her gaze. “No way.”
“Yes, because she’s been harassing him too, and he didn’t know how to make her stop. He said he wished he had ‘balls as big as’ mine.”
I laugh. “I love it.”
Amanda laughs too. “I know, right? He’s awesome. And just now we were talking, and he was really understanding, and he said it must have been tough on me, and he apologized for it happening. I told him it was definitely tough but that it turned out to be a good thing because I got a dog out of it.” She rubs Oscar’s belly, kisses the top of his head, and speaks baby talk. “You’re worth every minute of the hell I went through.”
“Every cloud has a silver lining.” I chuckle as I watch her snuggle with Oscar.
“But there’s more,” she says, giving me a coy look.
“Do tell.” I shift into drive and head for home.
“Jeff has a dog too,” she says. “And guess what kind.”
“I don’t know.”
She pauses for dramatic effect. “A giant Yorkie.”
“No way!”
“Her name is Tootsie, and she’s eight years old.”
“Maybe they’ll be best friends.” I wink at her, and she smiles.
We reach a busy intersection, and when the light turns yellow, I consider hitting the brakes but decide to speed up.
“Here’s the best part,” Amanda adds. “Jeff asked if I wanted to meet up tomorrow and take the dogs for a walk.”
I glance briefly at her. “Interesting. Is this a first date?”
