by Elena Aitken
She glanced around and grabbed her phone from her purse and sent a text.
* * *
Dinner tonight? I’m cooking. As a thank-you for helping Morgan.
* * *
It was a feeble excuse, she knew it. But as she sent the text to Evan, she didn’t care. Cam needed a few questions answered because now that he was back in her life, even in a small way, she thought she might like to keep him there.
“So open it.”
In an effort to procrastinate the ever growing list of projects his mother had for him over at her old house, Evan had stopped in to see Ben at the Log and Jam for a game of pool to blow off a little steam after his shift the night before.
Morgan’s words were still ringing in his ears. You’re not my dad.
How could he tell the kid that there was actually a chance, no matter how remote and totally off base, that he might be her dad?
He couldn’t.
Evan may not be an expert in child psychology, but he knew that much. If he even mildly suspected it, which clearly he did if last night was any indication, it was a conversation he was going to have to have with Cam, not Morgan. The trick would be finding the right time to bring it up. Their relationship, or friendship, or whatever it was, was still developing. Too much time had gone by. They needed to rebuild things between them before he could go asking questions like, “Is Morgan my daughter?”
“Open what?” Evan blinked at Ben and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“The envelope.” His friend rolled his eyes. “You must have it bad. I swear, you can’t even have a conversation for a full five minutes before you’re off in la-la land thinking about her.”
“Who? Cam?” Evan lifted his pool cue and lined up to make the shot. He was stripes.
Wasn’t he?
Shit.
He couldn’t remember.
Instead of asking Ben, and proving his point, Evan took a wild shot that hit all the balls and mostly scattered them. If Ben noticed, he didn’t say anything. But of course he noticed. He was Ben.
“Um…yeah. Cam. You’re clearly all twisted up over her again and as far as I know, you haven’t even kissed her.” He raised his eyes in expectation.
Evan shook his head. No. He hadn’t kissed her. But not because he didn’t want to. Damn, did he ever want to. “It’s not like that with us,” he said, and it was the truth. There was still a distance between them. A big one.
But it was getting smaller every day. And if the dinner invitation he’d received earlier was any indication, maybe he was finally closing in on things with her.
“Well, whatever,” Ben said. “You’re going to need to figure that situation out. And the school situation. Why don’t you just open the envelope?” He pointed to the bar table where their beers sat, as well as the envelope that Evan had started to open, but hadn’t quite gotten around to looking at the night before. “Don’t you want to know if you even got in to school?”
“Of course I want to know.”
“Then why don’t you look and find out?” Ben asked his question and turned to make his shot. He easily sank the blue two in the corner pocket. Good, so Evan was stripes. “Or are you afraid?”
“Why would I be afraid?”
Ben missed his next shot, and it was Evan’s turn. He lined up and easily sank the twelve. Vindicated, he moved onto the next one, sinking the fifteen before missing again.
“What if you get accepted?” Ben lifted his bottle of beer to his lips and grinned as he took a sip. “You’d have to move. Away from Cam. Right after she got back.”
Shit. His friend knew him too well.
The thought had definitely crossed his mind. More than once.
He glanced at the envelope on the table and reached over it to grab his beer. “That’s only if I get in,” he said. “And that’s a very big if. Never mind the even bigger if of Cam.” He took a deep slug of his beer. “And that’s the biggest if of all.”
Ben laughed. “I don’t doubt that for a minute,” he said. “The two of you always were…well…” He shook his head and sunk his shot.
“We were what?”
“You were…big,” he finished.
“Big?”
“Yeah.” Ben sat across from Evan and slid the envelope toward him. “You guys were always big. Like you would suck the air out of a room when you walked in together. Every head would turn. The way you would look at each other as if there literally was no one else in the world.” He shook his head, as if remembering the two of them in high school. “The two of you were just…big. Everything about you.”
Evan thought about it for a minute and finally nodded. “I guess you’re right. We were big. Because everything I ever felt for Cam was so huge that I couldn’t even explain it back then, and I’ll be damned if I can explain it now. But it’s still there, man. It’s still so very much there.”
“I figured as much. But you know what that means?”
“What?” Evan blinked and looked at his friend. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’re going to have to decide what to do about school, buddy.” Ben waved the piece of paper he’d withdrawn from the envelope without Evan even noticing.
Evan stared at his friend for a moment before the reality of what Ben said sank in. “I got in?”
Ben nodded.
“I got in?”
“You got in.” Ben grinned and held the paper out to him. “You are the newest member of the School of Social Work at the University of Washington. Congratulations, man. You’re going to change lives. I just know it.”
Stunned, Evan reached out and took the letter from Ben. He scanned it once, then twice before looking up. “Holy shit,” he said. “I never thought I’d actually get in.” He couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face if he’d tried. Ever since he’d started thinking about doing something different, helping kids the way he’d once been helped, it had been a pipe dream. Something he never thought he’d actually realize.
Until now.
Chapter Ten
Cam danced around the kitchen, fully aware that she was acting more like a teenager than her own, actual teenager, who had been glaring at her from the kitchen table for the last thirty minutes. Cam had done her best to ignore Morgan, who was obviously upset at her for something. Sadly, it wasn’t unusual, and for the life of her, Cam couldn’t think of anything she’d done wrong.
Unless letting her have a sleepover at her friend’s house was the wrong choice. Instead of getting into it, Cam turned up the dial on her radio and danced a circle around Morgan.
“Seriously?”
“Yes,” Cam said, straight-faced. “Seriously, you need to shake off whatever funk you’re in this afternoon.”
“Why?” Morgan crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
“Because life is too short to be so serious. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and things are finally looking up.”
Morgan lifted an eyebrow. “Are they?”
Cam realized a moment too late that her daughter might have been more affected by her dad bailing on their plans than she’d let on. Morgan said she was fine, and she’d rather spend time with her new friend anyway, but maybe she was just putting on a brave face.
Dammit. She should have known better.
The smile slipped off Cam’s face.
“I thought things were looking up.” She sank into the chair next to her daughter. “But I forgot that things didn’t go as planned last night with your dad.” She took Morgan’s hand and squeezed. “I’m really sorry that—”
“It’s fine.” Morgan jerked her hand back and tucked it under her legs. “I don’t care.”
She was lying, but Cam didn’t push. She could have killed Ryan for cancelling his weekend with her. Not only that, but he was too much of a coward to even call Cam and let her know himself. No doubt because he was afraid of what her reaction would be. And with good reason, too. She would have torn him a new one if he’d
been brave enough to tell her. As it was, Cam was having a hard time keeping silent when what she really wanted to do was call Ryan and tell him what a jerk he was being when it came to Morgan.
Never mind everything else.
But she’d promised her lawyer not to make things worse by contacting him directly. She still hadn’t looked at the divorce papers. Cam let her eyes travel to the stack of books and magazines that still sat on top of the offending envelope. She glanced back at her daughter and made a private promise that she’d look at them the next day.
But she wouldn’t ruin her good mood today and the fact that Evan had agreed to come for dinner by letting Ryan intrude on her thoughts more than he already had.
“Well, even if that is true, you know you can talk to me whenever you need to. Right?”
Morgan blinked and for a minute, Cam thought Morgan might actually start talking to her. But whatever she’d seen flash through her daughter’s eyes was gone as quickly as it showed up.
“Yeah,” Morgan said. “Whatever.”
Not going to be deterred so easily, Cam wrapped Morgan in a quick hug and released her before she had a chance to protest. “I love you.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Cam jumped up from the chair, but before she walked away, she tried one more time to lighten the mood. She took her daughter’s hand and pressed a kiss into the palm the way she used to when Morgan was a little girl.
To Cam’s surprise, Morgan didn’t pull away. She closed her fingers slowly and smiled. As far as Cam was concerned, she might as well have won the lottery. She winked and went back to dancing around the kitchen and pulling ingredients out of the fridge. “I’m making lasagna tonight.”
“What’s the special occasion?”
“Nothing really.” It was a lie, but the last thing Cam needed was to try to explain something to Morgan that she couldn’t even explain to herself. “I’ve invited Evan over for dinner. As a thank-you,” she added quickly.
“A thank-you? For what?”
Morgan’s face shifted and the color leached from her face, causing her eye makeup to look even darker. The effect was more than a little alarming.
“Are you okay?”
“What are you thanking him for?”
“For being so great helping you out with your community service.” Cam examined her daughter. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Is that all?”
She nodded. “Yes. Should there be more?”
“No.” Morgan slammed her textbook closed and gathered up her things. “I think I’m going to finish this in my room.”
Cam watched her go and shook her head as the bedroom door closed. She was never going to understand teenagers. Whoever said newborns were hard had obviously never parented a hormonal teenage girl. It was a wonder any of them survived to adulthood, as far as she was concerned.
“Your parents don’t know anything, right?” Morgan kept her voice down and glanced at her bedroom door before pressing her phone closer to her ear. “They haven’t said anything to you, have they?”
“About last night?” Jess questioned. “No. I don’t think so. I mean, if they do, they haven’t said anything. And if they knew that Officer Anderson dropped us off, they would have flipped out.”
“So you don’t think he said anything?” Morgan wasn’t convinced. Maybe it wasn’t a totally far reach to think that her mom would have him over to thank him for the community service, but still it seemed…a bit of a stretch.
“Why are you so paranoid?”
Morgan flopped backward on her comforter. “He’s coming for dinner.”
“No!”
“Yes.” She sat up again. “See what I mean?”
“Totally. But it’s not like your mom is having him over to grill him on what teenage parties he’s broken up lately, right? I mean, they’re friends or something, aren’t they? My mom said they were pretty serious in high school.”
Morgan knew that they’d dated once, but obviously it wasn’t too serious because they’d broken up and she hadn’t given it more thought than that. It was gross to think of her mom dating anyone, especially Officer Anderson.
“Maybe they’re dating again,” Jess said.
“Gross.”
“I’m just saying…”
“Don’t say anything.” From the other room, Morgan heard the knock on the door, followed by Evan’s voice. “They’re not dating. They’re just friends.” Even as she said it, she wasn’t sure. “Besides, my mom isn’t even divorced yet.”
“I’m not sure that matters.”
Morgan squeezed her eyes shut. Jess was right. Marriage didn’t seem to matter. At least it hadn’t for her dad. “Ugh. I can’t talk about this right now.”
“So tell me about Trent. Did he text you today?”
Not only had Trent texted Morgan, he’d called her right after she’d gotten home from Jess’s early that afternoon and they’d talked until her mom got home from the grocery store. Morgan had never had a boyfriend before, not really—not that Trent was her boyfriend. But he sure felt like he could be. The girls talked for a few more minutes as if they hadn’t just spent the night together talking until the early hours of the morning. They made plans to go to a movie at the local theater later that night, and when Morgan’s mom called from the other room, they said good-bye with the promise of seeing each other in only a few hours for the movie.
She walked out into the living room hesitantly, still unsure whether Officer Anderson was going to keep his word and not say anything about dragging her out of the party the night before.
“Hi, Morgan.” He waved casually and smiled when he saw her.
“Hey.” She shrugged and shuffled from foot to foot.
“Kiddo, I was hoping you could make a salad to go with dinner.”
Kiddo? Morgan rolled her eyes. Her mom hadn’t called her kiddo in years.
“Is that a yes?”
She shrugged, went to the fridge and started gathering ingredients. Making the salad for dinner had always been her job, and she didn’t mind. She used the opportunity to watch her mom and Evan on the couch. Was it her imagination, or was he sitting a little closer than he needed to? Did her mom just put her hand on his leg?
Maybe Jess was right—maybe they were dating.
She shook her head and sliced a tomato. It was too strange to wrap her head around.
But when they were all sitting around the table, plates of cheesy lasagna in front of them, and her mom was laughing at something Evan said, Morgan couldn’t take it anymore. “Why did you guys break up?”
Her mom dropped her fork and Officer Anderson choked on his wine. “Pardon?”
“Why did you guys break up?” Morgan asked again. “Everyone says you two were pretty hot and heavy in high school. So what happened?”
“Who’s everyone?” her mom asked.
“Jess’s mom.”
“That’s everyone?”
Morgan shrugged. “Close enough. So why did you break up?”
“Well…I…it was…”
“Sometimes things don’t work out when you’re eighteen,” Evan finished.
Her mom stared at him, and for a moment the two of them shared a look that made Morgan feel bad. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked.
“We were young,” her mom added.
“Are you dating now?” She tried to keep her voice light. After all, it was an innocent question. Or maybe it wasn’t. Either way, she wanted to know.
Morgan knew she was probably pushing her luck and her mom was going to lose her shit on her later, but it seemed like a good opportunity to get some answers, and if she could keep them talking about themselves, maybe she could guarantee that Officer Anderson wouldn’t say anything about the party the night before.
“No. We’re not dating now,” her mom answered quickly. Too quickly. “We’re just friends.”
“Good friends.”
Morgan rolled her eyes and shoved the last of her lasagna in her mouth. �
�Whatever you say. Hey, is it all right if I don’t help clean up tonight? Jess and I wanted to go to the eight o’clock show. Her dad said he’d drive us home because it will be late.”
“Are you asking me, or telling me?” Her mom challenged her with her eyes and Morgan realized her mistake. Some days she could push it. Maybe today wasn’t one of those days.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I was going to ask but things were busy and then Officer Anderson came over and I just kind of forgot.” She was careful not to meet his gaze. “I should have asked. Is it okay if I go to a movie with Jess tonight?” Morgan couldn’t imagine the answer would be no, especially considering they were very clearly trying not to act like they were dating when it was so obvious that they were. Either that, or they would be soon.
“I suppose it will be okay,” her mom said after a minute. “Her dad will drive you home?”
Morgan nodded.
“Is it just the two of you going?”
Morgan whipped her head around to stare at Evan. Her mouth fell open but she closed it quickly. “What?”
“I was just wondering if it was just you and Jess going to the movie or if there was a group of you?”
She knew exactly what he was asking, and it pissed her off. He may have kept his promise not to say anything about the night before to her mom, but that didn’t give him the right to interrogate her about who she was spending time with. Besides, it’s not as if he had any right to ask anyway. He wasn’t her dad. She shot him a look, but aware that her mom was watching them, Morgan finally said, “Well, I’m sure there will be other people at the theater. We’re not renting it out.”
She grabbed her plate and took it to the sink where she rinsed it with a little more force than was probably necessary.
“Morgan. You don’t have to be rude,” her mom said behind her. “Sorry, Evan. I don’t know what—”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I was just curious. But she doesn’t have to tell me.”
Guilt washed through her. He really wasn’t a bad guy and she did owe him one. “It’s just Jess and I tonight.” She looked him in the eye. “Sorry I was rude.”