Putting the truck in gear, Tony grunted. “Why? It wouldn’t have made any difference.”
Nick considered it and wasn’t sure his brother wasn’t right. Over the past ten years, he hadn’t grown any fonder of Becca. Not that he hadn’t thought of her. But he had always resented the way she had so casually dumped him. By the time he heard she had married, he wasn’t in the mood to wish her well. After that, he did his best to forget her. And now this had happened.
“At least I would’ve known what I was up against,” he managed to reply.
“Nick, the thorough planner,” Tony replied with a touch of disgust, as he backed the truck down the drive and onto the road.
“It’s worked well to this point.”
“Yeah? What about—” Tony pressed his lips together and shook his head.
Nick knew he was thinking of Edie, his ex-wife. “There are some things you can’t plan for,” he said.
Tony avoided looking at him as they headed for Katyville. “So what do you do when something like that happens?”
Nick shrugged, thinking of how he had handled what he called the bumps in the road. “Regroup. Find another way.” And that was exactly what he would do now.
Chapter Three
“Mom?”
Becca turned from the window where she had been watching Nick climb into Tony’s truck. “Rest time isn’t over yet, Danny.”
He scrunched up his face and shrugged. “But I need to ask you something.”
Taking him by the hand, she led him to the sofa and pulled him onto her lap. “What is it, honey?”
“That…that man that brought you to Raylene’s last night…”
“Nick,” she prompted with a nod.
“Yeah, him. Well, you know, you always told us never to talk to strangers and I know you had to when he stopped to help you with the car, but isn’t that kinda danger…dangerous?”
Becca smiled. He was far too wise for his five years. From the moment his dad had left them, Danny had been her protector. The man of the house. He never stopped looking out for her and his sisters.
“You don’t have to worry,” she told him, brushing his hair away from his eyes. “Nick isn’t a stranger. I knew him a long, long time ago, when I was young.”
Danny tipped his head up and looked at her, his blue eyes serious. “You’re not old, Mom.”
She couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up inside her. “Okay. When I was younger. How’s that?”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything. When he looked at her again, she couldn’t read his expression. “Do you…” He ducked his head.
“Do I what?”
He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then looked up at her. “Do you like him?”
Completely taken by surprise, Becca wasn’t sure how to answer. “Like him?” she repeated. “He’s a friend, I guess. Is that what you mean?”
His lips curved up in a mischievous smile. “Sort of.”
“Now, Danny—”
“It’s okay, Mom. I just wanted to make sure he was okay, that’s all. And if he wants to come around, that’s okay, too.”
“Oh, really?” She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Or maybe it was to keep from crying. She wasn’t sure which. There was no reason for Nick to come around again. In fact, she hoped he wouldn’t. He couldn’t do anything to help her, even if he wanted to, and she was pretty sure he didn’t. He really, really didn’t understand her situation. While it was true that he hadn’t had the advantages she’d had growing up, she doubted he had ever lived in fear of losing his home or worrying about how to feed his family. But for her—
The phone rang, and Danny jumped from her lap, shouting, “I’ll get it!” as he ran to the kitchen. Becca hoped it wasn’t Mrs. Watkins calling to hassle her for the rent money again.
Danny poked his head through the doorway. “It’s Grandpa,” he announced with a sour expression.
Becca’s heart stopped momentarily, but revived instantly to beat a heavy thud. Her father rarely called, so it must be important. She took the phone from her son and covered the mouthpiece. “Go check on your sisters for me, will you?”
As soon as he was out of the room, she put the receiver to her ear. “Hello, Daddy. What a surprise to hear from you.”
“Surprise? Why would you be surprised after sending a request for money?”
She bit back the threatening groan. She had completely forgotten, in a moment of madness, that she had written her father and asked for some help with the rent. “Oh, that.”
“Yes, that,” he grumbled. “Do you think I have money to throw away?”
Bristling at the inference that a small loan from him would compare to wasting money, she quickly and silently counted to ten. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not losing any sleep, that’s for sure. If you’d been the wife you should’ve been to Jason, you wouldn’t be doing without.”
If only her father had really known the man he had chosen for her, he wouldn’t have the nerve to say the things he said. But there was no sense telling her father that. As always, he was right and she was wrong. “It really doesn’t matter, Daddy. It’s a done deal now. I just found myself a little pinched for money, that’s all.”
She’d found herself a lot pinched for money. The child support Jason was ordered to pay was always late and often not the full amount, when he even bothered to pay it. For the most part, when he did, it kept the four of them fed and a roof over their heads, but little more. She had been looking for work, but she hadn’t found anything just yet.
“So how are things down under?” she asked, changing the subject. Discussion of Jason would always be to his advantage and never to hers.
“It’s hot, and Cecily is waiting for me to join her on the beach. Before I forget, look for some Christmas gifts in the mail for your kids. Ceci picked them out. I don’t have any idea what would suit them.”
You would if you took the time to know them. But she couldn’t come right out and say that to him. No matter how far away he was now, he still had a measure of control over her, so she thanked him instead. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy whatever you’ve sent,” she added.
When the brief conversation ended, Becca leaned against the wall next to the phone and closed her eyes. The house was peacefully silent. She suspected all was well with the girls and Danny had found something to immerse himself in. She tried so hard to keep a happy face in front of her children, but some days were harder than others.
Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was the coffee cup Nick had used. The sight of it spurred her into action. She wasn’t going to think about Nick. She wasn’t going to worry about the rent, the bills, or moving. She had things to do. There was laundry to finish and the boxes in her trunk to bring in. These were the things she could control. Daisy and April would be waking up soon, and once that happened, she wouldn’t have time for feeling sorry for herself.
As she started to work, she flipped on the television to catch the noon news, expecting to hear something about the comet she had seen the night before. To her dismay, there was nothing mentioned. By the time the program was over, her family was awake and clamoring for her attention.
After fixing lunch and entertaining them with a game of hide-and-seek, she was exhausted, but her chores weren’t done. Standing in the laundry room, she watched the