bellybutton. “He can’t force me to sell, can he?”
“I don’t see how he could force you. Not when you don’t have any outstanding debt.” Dad paused. “How persistent is he?”
An image of Ian ran through her mind. His David Beckham looks, his tailored clothes. The way he seemed to charm everybody who crossed his path, even the people who should be charm-resistant—like Amanda and Joe. “About as persistent as a used car salesman.”
Dad let out a short-lived hum.
Robin shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb.
“Have you talked to him about his offer?” Dad asked.
The question stole her wind.
“Robin?”
“Did you really just say that?”
“I’m thinking as your lawyer right now, sweetheart. And as your lawyer, I have to ask. After hearing his offer, is there a possibility you’d be interested?”
“Of course I’m not interested.”
“Looking into your options doesn’t mean you have to sell.”
“If I looked into my options, Ian McKay would tear me apart like a hungry piranha. And anyway, I’m not interested.” Robin frowned. He, of all people, should understand.
“How about we talk about it this weekend?”
“This weekend?”
“I was thinking about buying some plane tickets. I haven’t seen that grandson of mine in entirely too long.”
“Seriously?” She stopped at a stop sign and waved a car to go ahead. “You’re coming to Peaks?”
“As long as you don’t have any plans.”
“Just the picnic, but you can come to that.” Excitement soothed her growing unrest. With the youngest Price brother, Gavin, out of town for a photo shoot and the oldest unable to get away from his job in Arizona, maybe Dad’s presence would fill up some empty space at their annual Pricefamily picnic. They’d thrown one the Saturday before Memorial Day for as long as Robin had known the Prices. With Micah’s parents flying in from Arizona and her father flying in from Ohio, maybe the picnic would be festive after all. She accelerated through the intersection. “Caleb’s going to be ecstatic.”
Her son perked in the backseat.
She winked at him in the rearview mirror.
“If it’s okay, I’d like to bring Donna.”
“Donna?”
“She hasn’t seen you since Thanksgiving.”
“Dad, that’s the only time she’s seen me.”
“I’d really like to bring her.”
Her excitement waned. She rewound to last Thanksgiving. Dad had introduced Donna as a friend. She even ate dinner with them. Robin had watched them through the evening, looking for any sign that he and Donna might share anything more than a platonic camaraderie. She hadn’t found a thing. “Dad, isn’t that a little awkward? Flying Donna to Iowa? You don’t want her to get the wrong impression.”
“Donna is important to me.”
After sixteen years of it just being her dad, his words poked at something in her gut—a longing she didn’t want to feel. Her brain yelled at her finger to hang up before he could say anything that would make the unwelcome longing expand, but she was too late.
“I love her, sweetheart.”
Sunshine heated the back of Robin’s head as she slammed the car door and took Caleb’s hand.
“What’s a matter, Mommy?” he asked, trotting to keep up with her long strides.
The grass whispered in the breeze. A mocking taunt.
“I love her. I love her.”
She quickened her pace until Caleb’s trot turned into a run, but she didn’t stop until the familiar willow tree towered in front of them, bendingover the small pond as if checking its reflection in the water’s surface. She stepped inside the embrace of the weeping branches and slid down the massive trunk.
Caleb sandwiched her face with his warm palms. “Are you sad?”
She placed her hands over his. “I just needed to visit our willow tree, Bug-man.” She nodded to the pond in front of them, a resting point for Feather Creek, which wandered through town, keeping company with an old blacktopped bike path. “Do you want to
“I don’t see how he could force you. Not when you don’t have any outstanding debt.” Dad paused. “How persistent is he?”
An image of Ian ran through her mind. His David Beckham looks, his tailored clothes. The way he seemed to charm everybody who crossed his path, even the people who should be charm-resistant—like Amanda and Joe. “About as persistent as a used car salesman.”
Dad let out a short-lived hum.
Robin shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb.
“Have you talked to him about his offer?” Dad asked.
The question stole her wind.
“Robin?”
“Did you really just say that?”
“I’m thinking as your lawyer right now, sweetheart. And as your lawyer, I have to ask. After hearing his offer, is there a possibility you’d be interested?”
“Of course I’m not interested.”
“Looking into your options doesn’t mean you have to sell.”
“If I looked into my options, Ian McKay would tear me apart like a hungry piranha. And anyway, I’m not interested.” Robin frowned. He, of all people, should understand.
“How about we talk about it this weekend?”
“This weekend?”
“I was thinking about buying some plane tickets. I haven’t seen that grandson of mine in entirely too long.”
“Seriously?” She stopped at a stop sign and waved a car to go ahead. “You’re coming to Peaks?”
“As long as you don’t have any plans.”
“Just the picnic, but you can come to that.” Excitement soothed her growing unrest. With the youngest Price brother, Gavin, out of town for a photo shoot and the oldest unable to get away from his job in Arizona, maybe Dad’s presence would fill up some empty space at their annual Pricefamily picnic. They’d thrown one the Saturday before Memorial Day for as long as Robin had known the Prices. With Micah’s parents flying in from Arizona and her father flying in from Ohio, maybe the picnic would be festive after all. She accelerated through the intersection. “Caleb’s going to be ecstatic.”
Her son perked in the backseat.
She winked at him in the rearview mirror.
“If it’s okay, I’d like to bring Donna.”
“Donna?”
“She hasn’t seen you since Thanksgiving.”
“Dad, that’s the only time she’s seen me.”
“I’d really like to bring her.”
Her excitement waned. She rewound to last Thanksgiving. Dad had introduced Donna as a friend. She even ate dinner with them. Robin had watched them through the evening, looking for any sign that he and Donna might share anything more than a platonic camaraderie. She hadn’t found a thing. “Dad, isn’t that a little awkward? Flying Donna to Iowa? You don’t want her to get the wrong impression.”
“Donna is important to me.”
After sixteen years of it just being her dad, his words poked at something in her gut—a longing she didn’t want to feel. Her brain yelled at her finger to hang up before he could say anything that would make the unwelcome longing expand, but she was too late.
“I love her, sweetheart.”
Sunshine heated the back of Robin’s head as she slammed the car door and took Caleb’s hand.
“What’s a matter, Mommy?” he asked, trotting to keep up with her long strides.
The grass whispered in the breeze. A mocking taunt.
“I love her. I love her.”
She quickened her pace until Caleb’s trot turned into a run, but she didn’t stop until the familiar willow tree towered in front of them, bendingover the small pond as if checking its reflection in the water’s surface. She stepped inside the embrace of the weeping branches and slid down the massive trunk.
Caleb sandwiched her face with his warm palms. “Are you sad?”
She placed her hands over his. “I just needed to visit our willow tree, Bug-man.” She nodded to the pond in front of them, a resting point for Feather Creek, which wandered through town, keeping company with an old blacktopped bike path. “Do you want to
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