Fortunately, Emily’s metabolism couldn’t afford to be picky.
“Sure,” I said, “I think we can manage that.”
“Oh, and maybe some scrambled eggs,” she added thoughtfully. “Cheesy ones.”
“Good idea.”
“Yeah. I think I wanna be 5’3”. Just to be sure.”
* * *
My cell phone rang almost as soon as Mark left with McKenna after breakfast. At first I thought they’d forgotten something, but then I saw the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Allie said. “How’re you?”
“I’m fine. And you?”
We made small talk for a moment before she came to the point.
“I want to apologize for last night.”
“What? Why?”
“The way I handled things,” she said. “I was annoyed at the girls, not you.”
“I kinda figured. Besides, you don’t need to explain.”
“I know, but I wanted you to know.”
“That’s cool.” I had a thought and chuckled at the way my mind worked. Maybe I was more like Christy than I wanted to admit. “Speaking of cool…,” I continued, “do you have plans today?”
“Not really,” Allie said. “Why?”
“You’re welcome to come over and hang out.”
“We couldn’t,” she said automatically.
“Why not?”
“We don’t want to wear out our welcome. And I’m sure you have things to do.”
“Not really,” I said. “And you’re welcome any time. Besides, it’s supposed to be even hotter today. I know you have to be miserable without air conditioning.”
“Last night was awful,” she admitted.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“Not really.”
I chuckled. “You can take a nap in the pool house if you want.”
“That’s tempting.”
I could join you, the little head said in his bedroom voice.
Will you stop! She isn’t interested.
“Come on over,” I said aloud. “The girls can hang out, and you can cool off.”
“If you’re sure…?”
“I’m sure. Any time.”
“Is right now too soon?” she laughed.
“Nope. I’ll tell the girls. See you when you get here.”
Chapter 4
I grinned to myself when the driveway alarm beeped twenty minutes later. Allie must have left almost as soon as we’d hung up. I yelled upstairs to the girls and then headed out to greet them.
I’m telling you, the little head insisted, that’s why she called. She wanted you to invite her over.
I couldn’t argue, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up, either.
The little head was an eternal optimist. She totally wants it, man. She wants us!
You realize there’s no such thing as “us,” right? We’re the same person.
No, you’re the person, he said pedantically. I’m a talking penis, a figment of your imagination. Dumbass.
“Ha!”
Allie stopped with one foot on the ground and the other still in the car. Her smile faded to uncertainty.
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “Random thought. Never mind.”
She couldn’t read me as well as Christy, but my sheepish expression was enough. She figured out who I’d been talking to, and her smile returned, wry this time.
Car doors slammed on the other side, and Madison and Carly appeared.
I smiled a greeting and hooked a thumb at the house. “The girls are upstairs. Go on in.”
“Thanks, Mr. H.” They disappeared inside.
“Pop the back,” I said to Allie. “I’ll grab your stuff.”
She did, and she’d brought her laptop bag in addition to her usual pool bag.
“In case you need to work,” she explained. “Then I can get some work done too.”
“You probably won’t need it. I’m on vacation. Besides, it’s Sunday.” Still, I slung the laptop bag over my shoulder, grabbed the pool bag, and closed the lift gate with my free hand. Allie frowned when I faced her again.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about your work,” I said.
“What about it?”
“You only need a laptop. I always pictured you with a big pile of manuscripts or something.”
She laughed in relief. “A slush pile? No, not me. I’m all electronic these days, emails and Word documents.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I thought you had to work, though. You have a board meeting, right? For your big foundation?”
“Yeah, but it’s mostly reading. Scholarship applications, grant requests, that sort of thing.”
“Ah, okay.”
I opened the door to the house and gestured for her to precede me. I could already feel the sweat trickling down the small of my back, just from a few minutes outside, so the air conditioning was a welcome relief.
“Oh, God, thank you,” Allie said as we walked through the living room and toward the kitchen. She wore her hair in a loose French twist that kept it off her neck. It was her go-to look, especially in the summer. “We were blasting the A/C on the way over,” she continued, “but it still wasn’t enough. This is nice.”
“Environmental control,” I quipped. “One of my specialties.”
She gave me a curious look.
“Inside joke,” I said. “Long story.” And I still have the radio.
“You’ll have to tell me sometime,” Allie said. “I love a good story.”
“I dunno if this one’s any good,” I demurred.
“Ooh, now I’m intrigued.”
I set the laptop bag on the breakfast table and slid the larger bag into a chair. It was bulkier than usual, probably because she’d brought dry clothes for later. Madison and Carly had arrived in their swimsuits and shorts, and I realized that Allie had done the same. She wore a patterned cotton shirt and khaki mom shorts over her one-piece from the day before.
I started to answer her about the radio story, but a fight broke out between Thor and the Jötnar on the floor above us. The skirmish thundered down the stairs a moment later. Four girls burst into the room, followed by a pack of dogs. So, not the giants after all.
The kitchen suddenly felt crowded, especially when Spike and Buck barged through the group with tails a-wagging. Molly was almost as excited but more singled-minded about it. She sniffed Allie and then greeted her affectionately.
I wondered (not for the first time) why I’d thought three Labs had been a good idea. And all at once? Why not a small breed? Or a cat? Or fish! They were quiet, weren’t they? Fortunately, Emily piped up before I had time to question my other life decisions. Unfortunately, Emily was Emily.
“Hey, Dad… have you talked to her yet?”
Allie realized she was talking about her, but Spike got her attention in typical Spike fashion—he stuck his nose in her crotch.
Can’t fault him for his taste, I chuckled silently. Allie even rewarded him with a pat on the head. Note to self…
“Dad…? Dad…! Have you—?”
“No, not yet,” I said.
Emily gave me a pointed look that was straight out of her mother’s playbook. And, big surprise, she’d already been maneuvering behind the scenes.
“Can we, Mom?” Madison begged. “Please.”
Carly chimed in, “Yeah, please.”
“What’re you talking about?” Allie bent over to greet Buck. He was so excited that his tail thwacked my leg. Repeatedly. Allie scratched his ears and looked up at me for an explanation.
“The girls wanna go swimming…,” I began, but Emily couldn’t wait for me to finish.
“And we don’t wanna wear suits.”
Allie straightened, and her brows rose in surprise when her own daughters nodded emphatically.
“C’mon, Mom, please,” Madison begged. “You said we could.”
“I don’t know…” Allie deliberately didn’t look at me, but I felt the weight of her attention. “I mean, now isn’t the time—”