it again, right?”
“ Right. I mean, Troy’s a
great guy and I love him to death but he’s made
mistakes.”
“ Yes,” Casey agreed, staring
at Felicity, struck by the sadness in her voice.
“ Good guys make mistakes but
can they recover?” Felicity asked. “That’s the
question.”
Casey nodded, a funny sensation
slipping in.
“ Maybe Troy would stay and
do right by you if he knew how important it was to you and the
baby.”
“ Maybe.”
“ But the fact is”—Felicity
turned away—“some dads don’t.”
Gripped by an urgent curiosity, Casey
asked, “Did you miss your daddy when you were growing up?” Startled
by the question spurting from her lips, she was suddenly intrigued
to hear the answer. Had Felicity ever thought of her father? Did
she care that he didn’t call, wasn’t present? Casey had met him
once. She was sitting at Fran’s Diner with Delaney and he showed
up, asking questions about Felicity. He seemed normal enough, came
from a decent family. Technically he was her uncle, now that her
mom was married to Cal Foster. What did Felicity think of
him?
Glancing sideways, Felicity’s eyes
became fluid with emotion, as though her entire childhood was
swimming in her vision. “Yes. I did. A lot at first but then I got
over it.”
It was a simple answer to a complicated
situation. Delaney’s mom divorced him and never looked back.
According to her mom, the two never should have gotten married.
Jack Foster was wild and crazy and Delaney was not. She was brazen
and tough but not rowdy the way Jack had always been. After the
divorce, Felicity’s dad moved to Nashville. For years he was gone
until he showed up recently over Thanksgiving. It must have been
strange for Felicity. Casting her gaze back out over the mass of
cars and trucks, Casey wondered which was worse—knowing and having
contact with a father who was a jerk or living with the knowledge
he might be an okay guy who didn’t want you?
Lowering her gaze to the stretch of
fabric over her stomach, Casey realized it was a question she was
going to have to ask on behalf of her own daughter.
Chapter Six
Seated at the lunch counter at Fran’s
Diner, elbows propped on the counter, Felicity read from a
paperback novel. Three thirty, there was hardly anyone around, the
bulk of the lunch crowd cleared out and the early bird diners not
expected until four. It suited her fine. Fran Jones welcomed her to
hang out, served up a plate of burger and fries too. Dining alone
gave Felicity quiet time to read while she waited for Travis to
finish with his dad. They were fixing the screen around the patio
of their home, a job she wasn’t invited to help with nor did she
care. She was content to read.
Her current book was a book about a
family in crisis. The father was an over-achiever, the mother an
alcoholic; a young son lived in their shadow with his own set of
problems at school. Written in three points of view, it was one of
those stories that wrenched your heart from the inside out. It made
Felicity feel like no one was right, no one was wrong, but everyone
was lost in a confusing mess. Slapping the open-faced book down,
she reached for her coke and sucked in a mouthful of sweet
carbonated soda. It was ridiculous the dysfunction that went on in
a family. Why couldn’t people work together? Help each other out
like a team?
“ Looks like some pretty
heavy reading.”
“ Oh!” Felicity spit liquid
onto her hand. Turning, she wiped the soda away as she came
face-to-face with her father, Jack Foster. His dark gaze shot to
her book and a smile crossed his lips. She flashed a glance to the
obvious title. When Families
Hurt . “I’m reading it for school,” she
blurted. “It’s a psychology class.”
“ They make you read over
summer break?”
“ Yeah.” She tried to shrug
it off. “Go figure.” Flipping the book closed with one hand, she
set it cover-side down. “I guess professors don’t believe in taking
breaks.”
He
“ Right. I mean, Troy’s a
great guy and I love him to death but he’s made
mistakes.”
“ Yes,” Casey agreed, staring
at Felicity, struck by the sadness in her voice.
“ Good guys make mistakes but
can they recover?” Felicity asked. “That’s the
question.”
Casey nodded, a funny sensation
slipping in.
“ Maybe Troy would stay and
do right by you if he knew how important it was to you and the
baby.”
“ Maybe.”
“ But the fact is”—Felicity
turned away—“some dads don’t.”
Gripped by an urgent curiosity, Casey
asked, “Did you miss your daddy when you were growing up?” Startled
by the question spurting from her lips, she was suddenly intrigued
to hear the answer. Had Felicity ever thought of her father? Did
she care that he didn’t call, wasn’t present? Casey had met him
once. She was sitting at Fran’s Diner with Delaney and he showed
up, asking questions about Felicity. He seemed normal enough, came
from a decent family. Technically he was her uncle, now that her
mom was married to Cal Foster. What did Felicity think of
him?
Glancing sideways, Felicity’s eyes
became fluid with emotion, as though her entire childhood was
swimming in her vision. “Yes. I did. A lot at first but then I got
over it.”
It was a simple answer to a complicated
situation. Delaney’s mom divorced him and never looked back.
According to her mom, the two never should have gotten married.
Jack Foster was wild and crazy and Delaney was not. She was brazen
and tough but not rowdy the way Jack had always been. After the
divorce, Felicity’s dad moved to Nashville. For years he was gone
until he showed up recently over Thanksgiving. It must have been
strange for Felicity. Casting her gaze back out over the mass of
cars and trucks, Casey wondered which was worse—knowing and having
contact with a father who was a jerk or living with the knowledge
he might be an okay guy who didn’t want you?
Lowering her gaze to the stretch of
fabric over her stomach, Casey realized it was a question she was
going to have to ask on behalf of her own daughter.
Chapter Six
Seated at the lunch counter at Fran’s
Diner, elbows propped on the counter, Felicity read from a
paperback novel. Three thirty, there was hardly anyone around, the
bulk of the lunch crowd cleared out and the early bird diners not
expected until four. It suited her fine. Fran Jones welcomed her to
hang out, served up a plate of burger and fries too. Dining alone
gave Felicity quiet time to read while she waited for Travis to
finish with his dad. They were fixing the screen around the patio
of their home, a job she wasn’t invited to help with nor did she
care. She was content to read.
Her current book was a book about a
family in crisis. The father was an over-achiever, the mother an
alcoholic; a young son lived in their shadow with his own set of
problems at school. Written in three points of view, it was one of
those stories that wrenched your heart from the inside out. It made
Felicity feel like no one was right, no one was wrong, but everyone
was lost in a confusing mess. Slapping the open-faced book down,
she reached for her coke and sucked in a mouthful of sweet
carbonated soda. It was ridiculous the dysfunction that went on in
a family. Why couldn’t people work together? Help each other out
like a team?
“ Looks like some pretty
heavy reading.”
“ Oh!” Felicity spit liquid
onto her hand. Turning, she wiped the soda away as she came
face-to-face with her father, Jack Foster. His dark gaze shot to
her book and a smile crossed his lips. She flashed a glance to the
obvious title. When Families
Hurt . “I’m reading it for school,” she
blurted. “It’s a psychology class.”
“ They make you read over
summer break?”
“ Yeah.” She tried to shrug
it off. “Go figure.” Flipping the book closed with one hand, she
set it cover-side down. “I guess professors don’t believe in taking
breaks.”
He
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