I heard Frankie say she wasn’t missing the chance to explore now that they’d finally gotten me out of the house. Guilt washed over me, but I shoved it away. Convincing myself it was for her safety, not my fear.
We entered the diner to the jingle of a small bell above us, and every head turned to look in our direction. I’d never felt more self-conscious in my life. I pulled Frankie against me as I stepped to the left, letting Slyce shield us.
“Mom, they heard a noise and looked,” Frankie whispered. “They’ve already forgotten about us. Look.”
When I peeked around Slyce, Frankie was right. No one paid any attention to us. They’d all gone back to eating their food and talking to each other.
“Sit anywhere you like!” the waitress yelled across the room, drawing more attention to us, and I groaned. Frankie shook her head as she chuckled at me.
Frankie and I followed Slyce to a booth, and we sat down. My daughter chose to sit across from me, next to Slyce, rather than with her mother. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a twinge of hurt, but I understood it. Slyce was new and exciting. She was like G.I. Jane in the eyes of a twelve-year-old.
Still, I wasn’t ready for someone else to be her hero yet.
“What are you having?” Slyce asked Frankie.
“Pancakes,” she answered quickly, giving Slyce a look that said it was the only option.
“Okay, okay. I get it; we’re carb-loading today.” Slyce perused the menu dramatically and slapped it on the table. “Waffles it is.”
Frankie smiled at her with adoration, and I struggled to keep my emotions in check. Slyce’s words ran through my head. Was I holding Frankie back because I was afraid of losing her to someone else? Afraid that another person would take my place in her life?
If Frankie left me, I’d be alone.
Maybe that was what I was afraid of. It made sense why I latched on to all the wrong men so quickly in a desperate attempt to be loved and not forgotten. Abandoned.
“Hi, are you ready to order?” the young girl asked, setting the coffee carafe on the table. Frankie stared at me, begging with her sad puppy eyes.
“One cup!” I insisted.
The waitress laughed at Frankie’s little dance as she flipped her cup over and poured some coffee in it, then reached for the cream and sugar.
“I think we are,” I said, opening my menu so I could read off what I wanted. She wrote down everything we wanted and then smiled.
“My name’s Rhoda. I haven’t seen you in here before. Did you just move here, or are you passing through?”
“We moved here a few months ago,” Frankie answered. “Do you know any kids my age?”
“How old are you?”
“Twelve.” Frankie beamed.
“Well, I don’t technically live here. I live in the next town over, but kids your age come in here all the time. And my little sister is thirteen.”
“What’s her name?” Frankie asked excitedly.
That was when I saw it. The exact moment everything clicked into place for me. My daughter was starving for friendship. For a real, genuine connection with her peers. Someone who laughed at her jokes and shared her secrets.
“Her name is Cami. Maybe if it’s okay with your mom, I could have her come for dinner one night this week and you two could get to know each other.”
Frankie’s eyes snapped to mine, and she didn’t have to say a word for me to hear the pleading tone. I nodded with a smile as warm as I could make it, while inside I was dreading the way things were turning. If Frankie made friends, she’d never want to leave. And I wasn’t sure Diamond Creek was the right place for us.
The bell over the door jingled, and the focus of my doubts and fears walked in, looking entirely too sexy in his worn jeans and flannel shirt. His jeans had dirt stains on the knees as if he had been kneeling in mud. The toes of his boots showed signs of long-term wear, with cracks causing the leather to peel back, and I wondered if he couldn’t afford to buy new ones, or if they were just so comfortable that he refused to give them up.
“Derek!” Frankie yelled across the room and waved.
His smile caused a soft groan to escape my lips, and I heard Slyce snicker. I glared in her direction, and she winked before chuckling even louder.
Derek waved to someone in the back, and before I could blink, he was standing at the end of the table. “How are you, Curly Sue?”
