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  He walked into the kitchen not realizing Tawny’s parents were already in there. Man, he must have really been lost in his own thoughts. Tawny’s mom handed her a stack of dishes with instructions to set the table outside.

  “David, perhaps you can start the fire in the pit outside. It’s nice, but there’s a nip in the air.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Tawny showed him where the wood was kept, and he got to work on the fire while she set the table and ran back inside. After a few minutes, Mr. Torres came out and disappeared into his shed. Determined to win over at least one of Tawny’s parents, Dave followed the man inside.

  He was sitting at his workbench with his back to the door.

  “Mr. Torres, I’ve got the fire started. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

  He turned around holding a sharp awl used for making holes in wood. At least that’s what Dave hoped he intended to do with it.

  “Hand me that mallet.”

  Dave did as asked, and when he stepped closer he saw that Mr. Torres was actually punching holes in a small leather belt. “What are you making, sir?”

  At first he didn’t answer, simply drove the awl through the leather and into the wood beneath. He repeated the process a few more times before he slid the belt through a canvas Dave hadn’t noticed before. When Mr. Torres was done he turned around, holding up a small tool belt. “It’s for my grandson, Georgie. He wants one like his papa.”

  “It’ll look good on him.”

  The man grunted and set the belt down. Thinking their conversation was over Dave turned to leave. “You’re a good boy, or so my friend Daniel Ryan says. You fixed their electrical panel for them.”

  “I try, sir.” Dave wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation was going, but he stayed put.

  “My girl has a good head, she’s smart, but doesn’t always think before she acts, especially when it comes to boys.” Tawny’s dad picked the awl back up. He didn’t do anything with it, simply stared at the tool. “I never worried about my older boys. They’ve always made good choices. Those two younger ones are a lot alike, leading their lives by their hearts. Alastair is good for Mateo. He’s got a good head and heart. Are you good for my girl, David?”

  “I think so, sir.”

  “You make her smile. You also make her think about other things than work.”

  Dave crossed his arms in front of him and planted his feet. “Sir, life is more—”

  “Than just work.” Mr. Torres looked around the shed and Dave tracked his gaze. This was Mr. Torres’s playground, he could see it from the gleam in his eyes before they landed back on him. “She’s not as tough as she looks. Do you understand me?” He flicked his thumb over the end of the tool.

  Loud and clear. “Yes, sir.” Dave stepped back out into the cooling air and figured that was the closest he was going to come to getting Tawny’s dad’s blessing. Not that he was asking for anything life altering.

  “Hey, there you are.” Tawny walked up and slipped her hands behind his neck. “Thought maybe you snuck out the side gate and were halfway to Canada by now.”

  He smiled down at her. “Nope, was in the shed talking to your dad.”

  Pain crossed her face. “Tell me he was nice.”

  “I think he likes me.”

  “Good to know. Okay then, well, the snorefest in the living room is almost done, and Mom’s got dinner ready to come out. I have no idea why Matty insisted I be here. He didn’t need me at all. If anything, he put the pressure back on me with that whole ‘we’ll adopt in a couple of years’ bit.”

  Dave had a pretty good idea what his old friend had been up to, and Tawny nailed it on the head. The guy directed his mother’s attention back onto his sister and away from him. For once, Dave was kind of glad he’d been an only child. “I’ll start carrying the food out.”

  “Thanks. I’ll go let Dad know.”

  Dave made a couple of trips back and forth between the kitchen and the table. Tawny’s mom had made enough food to feed the neighborhood. On his last trip out he heard the priest joking with the guys and figured they’d be out any minute. He’d also noticed Tawny and her dad hadn’t emerged from the shed. Worried about her, he headed in that direction. He knew Tawny had been upset for several weeks because of something she’d said that came out wrong and hurt her dad’s feelings, enough so that he’d hardly talked to her for the past couple of months now.

  “Dad, when are you going to forgive me?”

  The anger in Tawny’s voice pulled Dave up short outside the shed.

  “I already have.”

  “Then why won’t you talk to me?”

  “Would you listen to me if I did?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’re a smart girl, but you don’t always use your brain before doing.”

  “Dad, it wasn’t my fault, getting laid off from the bank. I told you, it was because of the economy.”

  “You lied to me, to your mother. You should have come to us when it happened and told us. We could have helped you.”

  “Daddy, I didn’t need help. At least, not yet. And everything turned out okay. I really like my new job and they love me there. So you don’t have to keep worrying about me.”

  “Are you sure?” her dad asked.

  “Are you talking about work or David now?”

  “You haven’t been seeing him that long, yet you brought him home today. You know what your mother will think.” The old man chuckled. “She had her sights set on that Ivan.”

  “I know she did and what she’s thinking right now. Ivan isn’t the one for me. I’m not sure if Dave is either. I care about him a lot, Dad. He makes my life better, more fun, more balanced, makes me feel good about myself, and I’m not so scared of the future anymore. I know you’ll still worry about me, but I think I’m going to be okay. I hear Mom, which means dinner’s ready.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute and, mija, if he hurts you, I’ll hurt him.”

  Tawny was laughing as she came out of the shed and ran straight into Dave’s arms. He’d been so shocked by what she said he hadn’t thought to move.

  “I take back what I said yesterday. Your dad scares me.”

  As if one family event in a week wasn’t enough, Dave got a call in the afternoon from his mom begging him to come to dinner. Not just any dinner, but one with him and both of his parents. A family dinner with just the three of them.

  He’d rather be at Paddy’s Bar celebrating hump day with his buds, or spending the evening with Tawny, or getting a limb cut off without anesthesia. Not that the first two fell into the same category as the last.

  In all honestly, he was dog tired and really wanted to kick back on the couch with a beer in one hand and his girl snuggled up next to him as they watched Doctor Who. He didn’t have the energy to deal with his parents, to jump in the middle and referee their arguments (because he highly doubted they’d make it all night without one), or even worse, watch them make googly eyes at each other. If they could conduct their whatever they were doing without him and then update him when it was over, he’d be fine.

  Nope, his mom’s goal in life was to torment him, thus here he sat in front of her house trying to talk himself into going inside. At least as a kid, he could drag Brody or Jason home with him to break up the tension. He didn’t even know what to say to his parents together.

  He slid out of his truck and made the trek over the lawn to see his mom standing in the doorway.

  “I was beginning to think you were going to sit out here all night.”

  “Thought about it. Where’s Dad?”

  She stepped out of the way and headed to the kitchen with Dave in her shadow. “He ran to the store for ice cream to go on top of the pie I baked.”

  Dave automatically reached for the dishes and began setting the table. “You baked dessert. You never baked when I lived here.”

  “You didn’t need me to. Dena baked, and you boys ate enough at her house that you didn
’t need more sweets when you came home. Besides, I have more free time these days. So I learned to bake. Take most of it to the local shelter. Maybe Jason and Cherry will give me an honorary grandchild I can spoil.”

  Was it something in the air? First, Tawny’s mom with the grandkids, and now his mom. “I’ll mention it to them.”

  “Unless you have something you’d like to tell me?”

  “Like what?”

  “You and Tawny looked pretty cozy at the party. Things getting serious between you?”

  Dave sat the last of the condiments on the table, being sure to grab the ketchup for his dad—he put it on everything. “I don’t know what we are, but I know it’s way too soon to think about grandkids. You’re too young to be a grandma.”

  “You’re thirty-two, which means I am not too young.”

  “Too young for what?” Dave’s dad asked from the kitchen doorway.

  “Grandkids.”

  “Nothing.” They answered together.

  His mom took the bag, but not before kissing his dad. Dave’s stomach knotted up. Not in the “eww my parents are kissing” that kids get. This was more that he could see the happiness on both of their faces when they looked at each other, and he was afraid if things didn’t work out this time, he’d be put in the middle. For a kid from a broken home, he’d done okay. Neither of his parents had tried to turn him against the other one. Once they split, they’d kept their feelings about each other to themselves. Mostly. Visitation days and pickups tended to run right below the detonation level. They’d maintained, at least in front of him.

  “You men go sit at the table. I have everything ready and will bring it over.” His mom shooed them toward the dining area of her small Cape Cod–style house, which meant the eating area was three feet from the cooking space.

  Dave sat and watched the interaction between his parents. His dad took the hot plates from the oven even though his ex told him she had it. Instead he’d replied he wanted to help. For a brief moment, Dave thought his mom was going to lose her temper. Instead she smiled and grabbed the salad from the fridge. Once his mom relented her control of the kitchen, the two of them worked in sync to bring the food to the table and sat down together.

  Maybe they had learned a thing or two over the years.

  “How’s the B-and-B coming along, son?” His dad handed him fried chicken and took the cheesy potatoes from him.

  “Good. Almost done, barring any more problems. It’s an old place, so you never know what you’ll find around the next corner.”

  His parents exchanged a look before looking back to meet his gaze. “What?”

  “It’s nothing,” his mom said.

  “Look, I know I’m not used to seeing you two work together, but I remember that look.” He pushed his plate away and rested his arm in front of him.

  “Cheryl, it’s okay. He’s not going to get mad. We were worried that your ADD might cause a problem for you. You know, something’d get missed and you’d get hurt. You’ve always had Jason to watch out for you on your other jobs, so we didn’t worry about it before.”

  Dave sat back in his chair and stared at the people across from him. “I thought I didn’t have ADD, Mom? Isn’t that what you said all those years ago when the doctor wanted to give me medicine to keep me focused? Now you admit it.”

  He should have gone home.

  “I didn’t want to admit there was something wrong with you. You’re my baby.” She reached out and held his dad’s hand and looked to the man for what, Dave wasn’t sure. Guidance, support? As if she hadn’t been standing on her own two freaking feet for the past twenty years.

  “No, you’d rather have believed I was just acting out or being a brat. I’m pretty sure those were the exact words you used to describe me.”

  “David Scott Farber, don’t talk to your mother in that tone.”

  He jumped up from his chair. Enough, he wasn’t twelve anymore. “Dad, don’t take this wrong. You’ve been a great father, when you were around, but it’s a little late to play the disciplinarian. I’m going to leave now before I screw up what the two of you have together again.”

  He made it to the front door before his dad’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Son, I think we need to talk. Please, come back to the table?”

  “Why? So you can tell me what a fuckup I am? How if I’d behaved better, done better in school the two of you wouldn’t have always been fighting? How I’ve made you lose the last twenty years together?” All the guilt he’d been feeling since he was a young teen rushed to the surface. He dropped his head forward and focused on his breathing to keep the anger and tears at bay. Crying in your thirties to your daddy wouldn’t solve a thing.

  “David.” When he wouldn’t turn around, his dad walked in front of him and enveloped him in his tight hug. “Son, if that’s what you think, then we have a lot more to apologize for than we thought.”

  Dave let the warmth and love from his dad’s embrace hold him in place. It wasn’t until his mom squeezed in between them and wrapped her arm around him that the anger started to fade. It took a couple of minutes for him to get a grasp on his emotions and shove them back where they belonged. “I’m sorry. Mom, I shouldn’t have raised my voice to you.”

  She patted his back and stepped back to where she could look up to him. “No, you shouldn’t have, but obviously I’ve wasn’t listening, and you needed to do something to get my, get our attention. You have it now. Will you please come back to the table and hear us out?”

  He’d never been much good at telling his mom no, so he followed his parents back to the dining room and took his seat.

  “First off, you aren’t a screwup. We screwed up, not you,” his mom said, this time reaching out to take Dave’s hand. “We failed you as parents when we walked away from each other.”

  “You weren’t a bad kid either. None of you boys were, and you’ve all grown up to be admirable men. Look at you. You and your best friends own a business together, one that’s doing rather well. You’ve never been arrested. Never knocked any girls up—hey, that matters. And you’ve got a beautiful, smart, sharp lady to call your own now.” His dad rattled off his list of accomplishments like he’d won a blue ribbon.

  “Honey, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to the doctors. If I had, school probably would have been a lot easier. It’s hard for a mom to believe anything could be wrong with her child. I blamed myself. I thought if I fed you healthier food, kept you on a better bedtime schedule, maybe gave you more to do so you wouldn’t have so much excess energy, you’d be okay. But I didn’t have time to do all those things. Money was tight, even when your dad and I were together. My pay was a joke. Your dad was gone all the time for work. I was young and didn’t know better.”

  His chest felt lighter than it had in years. He’d always thought his parents blamed him for the divorce.

  “We didn’t know better. Our marriage failing was completely on us. So young, dumb, and in love, we thought we could conquer the world together. Then reality set in with rent, utilities, food, long hours, and demanding jobs. With my mom on the other side of the country, she couldn’t help, and your maternal grandparents had their health issues. What we’re saying, Dave, is what happened is no one’s fault. It’s life, and hopefully, we’ve learned our lesson. I’ve never stopped loving your mom. She’s always been the one for me.”

  “The same is true for me.” His mom leaned over and kissed his dad, but this time his stomach didn’t knot up at all. For the first time, he had hope for them that they’d finally found their happiness.

  “I should have told you both how I felt years ago. I was afraid if I did, I’d add to your burden, and it was heavy enough. I’m sorry I’ve acted like a jerk.” He stopped his mom from disagreeing with a shake of his head. “No, I’ve not been supportive and I’ve only thought of me. I really am happy for both of you, and come the holidays, my waistband on my jeans might be happy that I’m not eating two meals.”

  They did that wei
rd, in-sync parent look again and smiled silently until he couldn’t take it anymore.

  “What this time?”

  “You know how we said we were thinking of moving in together?”

  Dave nodded, waiting for the shoe to drop.

  “We’ve decided to get married instead. If you’ll give us your blessing,” Dad said.

  “Heck yeah, you have it.” And he meant it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  After the week she’d had, the only thing Tawny wanted to do today was lie in bed, read, and make love with Dave.

  The week had been filled with planning sessions (big decisions to be made, white or pearl white tablecloths), meetings (snagged another client, thank you!), a birthday party (preteens—ugh, kill her now), followed by a retirement party, and a dressing-down by Momster DeSalvo. While she couldn’t lounge around in bed today partaking of her carnal desires, at least it was for a good reason—cutting the ribbon on the Johnson family’s new home.

  Standing on the edge of the crowd, Tawny gazed at the house she’d help build. Yeah, that bedroom window—she’d framed it, and that east wall, she had a hand in that too. If she went inside there would be more touches from her, but the one she smiled about the most was the tree fort, which she’d not only helped build, but had suggested it. The Johnson kids were going to have a blast shooting down aliens, kicking zombie butt (everyone knows zombies can’t climb), and probably hosting a tea party or two.

  “You sure you don’t want to give up event planning and come work for Valentine Rehab?” Jason stood next to her, arms crossed over his chest, with his feet planted shoulder-width apart (typical guy stance) nodding in appreciation. “You guys did good. I especially love the tree house.”

  She scanned the growing crowd looking for Dave. He had gone for a last-minute check before the guests of honor arrived and should have been done. No big, he probably got waylaid by one of the crew. No way could anything be wrong with the house. The team leader had gone over the place, the building inspector had gone over the place, and she was pretty sure Jason had as well. “Thanks, Jason. Where’s Cherry?”