Just Friends?

“My old man is the same as ever,” he drawled.

Her lips tightened. “Drew is your dad.”

Thank the good Lord. And he felt his usual tangle of guilt for feeling the way he did when Drew was his dad in every way that ought to matter. “Yeah, and we all know why that came about.” Drew had married his mom after his half brother Darian had gotten her pregnant and left her flat.

Her eyebrows pulled together, making a crease in her pretty face. “Nobody in this town has ever thought that way.”

He let that slide, since she was probably right.

His feelings about Darian were his own.

Didn’t make it any easier to get rid of them, though.

“Is your grandmother well?”

“Other than that she still hates my mom, dotes on Darian, pretty much ignores Hannah and sort of tolerates the rest of us, she’s fine.”

“She never was the brightest of women,” Leandra muttered. Her cheeks turned pink. “Sorry.”

He shrugged. “Not everyone has grandparents like yours.”

“Well, Squire is a one-of-a-kind man.” Her lips curved faintly. “And Gloria’s pretty much a saint.”

“How’re the plans for the party shaping up?”

“Good.” She seemed almost as relieved as him at the change of subject. “The trick of course, is to keep Squire from finding out. Not an easy task when practically the entire town will be turning out for the fete.”

“He and Gloria are still out of town?”

She nodded. “I can’t believe he’s turning eighty-five.” She didn’t seem to realize that she’d forked up some scrambled eggs, and looked at the results with some surprise.