The Parent Trap

She felt sorry for Kate, though. In spite of her polished exterior—the girl certainly knew how to put an outfit together—and an outward air of confidence, Sarah thought the girl could use a healthy dose of self-esteem. There was also an underlying sadness to her, which was not a surprise. Between the hormones and impending womanhood, the early teen years were a confusing time for girls, and there was probably never a time when a girl needed her mother more than at this age. All the phone calls and text messages and lavish gifts in the world couldn’t replace a warm hug and a shoulder to lean on.

Sarah hoped the girls would become friends. She cherished the close bond she had with her daughter, but she also understood the importance of having close friends, and Kate might be as good for Casey as Casey could be for her. That would also provide a chance for Sarah to offer a shoulder once in a while, encourage Kate to pursue her dreams.

What about Jonathan?

What about him? Sure, she had concerns about his daughter, starting with his attitude, but she had no intention of interfering.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the lights were still on in his kitchen, but there was no sign of anyone in it. Apparently the man could cook, and that intrigued her. Over dinner tonight, he’d said he would like to reciprocate by having her and Casey over for homemade pizza next Saturday. Paolo’s were good, but his were better. She had accepted, thinking it would be good for the girls, and she was curious about the man’s made-from-scratch pizza. And her curiosity ended there. Letting herself ponder any of his other attributes was simply too risky.

* * *

CASEY SWITCHED ON her laptop and went back to work, posting the rest of the photographs she’d taken of the dogs at the shelter. She wasn’t posting Petey’s picture, though. Instead, she clicked on it and set it as her desktop background. After Kate hinted that she should guilt her mother into letting her have a dog, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She wouldn’t have thought that up on her own, that’s for sure. Her mom was just her mom. She didn’t go on dates and it was weird to think of her having a boyfriend.

Casey barely remembered her dad, wouldn’t know what he looked like if it weren’t for the photograph on her dresser. She’d been sitting on his shoulders and they’d been laughing about something when her mom had taken the picture. Even though she didn’t remember him or anything about the day that photograph was taken, he was still her dad. She’d always thought it would be fun to have a sister or a brother, but another dad? The idea had never crossed her mind.

Casey liked her new neighbor, though. Kate wasn’t like any of the other girls in Serenity Bay. Not even the coolest ones were as cool as Kate. Her clothes were super trendy and her manicure was crazy cool. All the girls at school who were into those kinds of things would have gone on and on and on about them—seriously, sometimes they made her want to scream—but Kate hadn’t said a thing. Instead of talking about clothes and hair and makeup, she said she wanted to work for a big fashion magazine someday, probably starting as a photographer and maybe writing articles, too, but eventually she’d be editor in chief.

She’d also seemed interested when Casey told her she was going to be a veterinarian, even though she’d been squeamish about some of the critters. Not everyone was comfortable with rodents and reptiles, but she’d said Manny the praying mantis was the grossest thing she’d ever seen.

Casey leaned in for closer look at her terrarium. “Good thing I didn’t feed you a fly while she was here.”

If Kate thought Manny eating a cricket was gross, watching her tear a housefly apart and gobble it up would totally freak her out.

They’d talked about their families, too, since having only one parent was something they did have in common. Kate’s mom was alive and well and living in Europe with her new and disgustingly rich husband. They traveled a lot so Kate couldn’t live with them. Then she’d said she didn’t think they wanted her anyway.

Casey had a hard time believing that. Her mom was strict about some things, like homework and curfew and not friending strangers on Facebook, but they also had fun doing things together. Like Saturday movie-and-pizza night, which had still turned out okay tonight even though Kate and her dad had been here and they hadn’t watched a movie.

Kate had confessed to being mad at her dad for making her move away from her friends in the city. Casey had tried to sympathize, but she hadn’t told Kate that she didn’t have many friends, mostly because other kids thought her obsession with animals was weird and her determination to get straight A’s was completely lame. If Kate thought she was weird or lame—or both—she hadn’t let on.

Casey’s phone whistled and she grabbed it off her nightstand. A text from Henry! He must be back at home, finally.

How R U?

Good. U?

Also good. Won’t B back 4 school tho.

No way. We R supposed 2 go 2gether.

Still visiting the fam. Back Fri.

Rats. This was not how things were supposed to go. Henry was her best friend. They always went together on the first day of school, and this was the first day of high school. She needed him there.

UR loss. Getting a ride to school with new neighbor anyway.

The new teacher?

Yep & daughter Kate.

Is she hot?

Let’s just say some of the girls at SBH were going to freak when they saw their new competition. Instead she typed:

Don’t be gross.

Ha! She is!

But UR not so 4get it.

Ouch. How R things with U and Dex?

There is no me and Dex.

That bad huh? U still haven’t made a move?

No, she had not, and even if she had wanted to, she had no clue what the moves were.

I said don’t be gross.

Gotta go. Mom’s yelling lites out.

What time is it in Montreal?

After 11.

K. G’night.

TTYL.

She set her phone back on the nightstand, slid off the bed and walked over to the window. It was getting dark and across the driveway she could see the light was on in Kate’s room. No sign of her, though. Maybe she was helping her dad unpack.

Casey had never considered the possibility that Henry wouldn’t make it back in time to start school. Good thing she’d accepted Kate’s dad’s invitation to get a ride with them. The first day of high school seemed like kind of a big deal, and she’d never imagined having to go alone.

Casey was looking forward to high school because she would finally have science classes with real labs, but she wasn’t looking forward to some of the other stuff. Like not having anyone except Henry to hang out with after school. But maybe that would change. Maybe she’d be heading to high school, not just with a friend but with one who was totally cool. That’d sure make people sit up and take pay attention. Maybe even Dexter would notice her.

Her uplifted spirits took a sudden dip. Would Kate still want to hang out with her once she realized Casey wasn’t one of the cool kids? Better question. Was there even the remotest of chances Dex would notice Casey, or would he only pay attention to Kate?

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_3a8728c5-4ede-598e-bdce-3eba4e378762)

ON THE MORNING of the day school started, Jon was up before dawn. He pulled on running shorts and a T-shirt and, with a pair of socks in hand, padded downstairs to the kitchen in bare feet. He started a pot of coffee and checked that the bread maker was doing its thing, then sat on a kitchen stool and pulled on socks and laced his running shoes.

Princess strolled into the room, meowing loudly to announce her presence and to indicate it was time someone served her breakfast.

“Good morning, girl.” He rubbed the top her head and she started to purr as she did a sideways sashay around his legs, back arched, tail in the air.

He retrieved a can of cat food from the fridge and scooped some into a bowl, dumped kibble into a matching bowl and returned the can to fridge. After he fulfilled his role, Princess promptly lost interest in him.

He poured himself a glass of water and stood at the kitchen counter while he drank it. He would never tire of this view. The bay would soon reflect the sunlight, but in the faint light at this early hour, the surface was flat and dark gray. A lone sailboat slowly motored past the end of the breakwater, on its way to open water where the sailor would hoist the sail and catch a breeze.