Lakeside Family

The old man who had been giving him the evil eye appeared at his side. “Mind if someone else takes a gander at the paper?”

“Have at it.” Nick pushed it toward him.

The man shuffled through the pages until he found what he had been looking for. “Hey, you did the crossword! In pen. I don’t believe it.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I do the crossword. Every morning at 7:15, I get a coffee, a banana nut muffin and then do the crossword until it’s time to visit my son.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll head outside and buy you a new paper.” Nick grabbed his coat.

“Don’t bother. No time now. The morning’s been disrupted enough.” The man shoved the paper back onto the counter.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Josie come from the kitchen. He put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I am sorry. I promise not to touch the crossword again. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

He strode to the counter to catch her before she pulled another disappearing act. She wasn’t hiding because of him, was she?

She spun away from the register and pushed open the swinging door, but Nick caught her elbow. She whirled around to face him.

“Nick.”

“We were supposed to talk. Remember?”

She shot a glance at the clock and then sighed. “Oh, that’s right. I’m so sorry. It’s been a crazy morning. Listen, I’m not trying to blow you off or anything, but I have a major water leak to deal with, a doughnut order to rush and then I have to take Hannah to the doctor at two. Can we talk later?”

“Where’s her doctor?”

“A couple of blocks from here. Dr. Kym.”

“I have an appointment at 11:30, but I could meet you at the doctor afterward.”

“That’s not necessary.” She cast a glance toward Hannah and then edged toward the still-open kitchen door.

Nick gave her a pointed look. “She’s my daughter, too. Remember? I need to know what’s going on with her.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. “I haven’t had time to tell Hannah about you. You can’t just show up as some random guy. And I’m not going to introduce you in the doctor’s office. You’re bound to be a shock to her.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Josie made sense. He remembered last night’s stunned feeling when he learned he had a daughter. How would the kid feel once she learned dear old dad finally showed up? “All right, then. How about if the three of us go to dinner?”

“Can’t.” Josie picked up a rag and wiped crumbs off the counter.

Nick crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “You want me to get tested, but you don’t want me to be a part of her life?”

With her back to him, she rinsed the dishcloth in the sink. “No, it’s not that at all. My family is coming to dinner tonight. Hannah can’t be around a lot of people right now with her immune system being so weak. I risked her health by bringing her into the shop this morning, but I had no choice.”

“What happened?”

She turned around. “I overslept. My grandfather had an appointment today and won’t be home until dinner. My stepsister is coming to pick up Hannah. Because of the water leak, I don’t want her in the kitchen.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “It’s been one disaster after another.”

“Sounds like you need a vacation.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen.” Her eyes filled with a sadness that tugged at his heart.

He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, but touching her was the last thing she wanted. Plus, he didn’t believe in giving false hope or meaningless platitudes because he didn’t know if everything was going to work out. From his past experience he knew how life had a way of dishing out trash no one deserved.

Chapter Four

If Josie had a quarter for every “if only” that popped into her brain, she’d be able to pay off the rest of Hannah’s medical bills and head south to their dream beach house on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

She stared through the gaping hole in the bathroom floor in the upstairs apartment down to her shop. Like the one in her pocket.

Was this how Alice felt when she peered down the rabbit hole?

Okay, maybe not quite, but Josie had the sensation of falling into a very deep well—one not lined with Ben Franklins.

Footprints had been tracked through the plaster dust and muddied the water-stained brown tile in the storeroom. The same dust coated the metal storage racks and plastic totes. Swollen ceiling tiles lay tossed on the floor.

All because of a tiny...what did Harv call that little doohickey thing? She tried, she really did, to listen as her contractor explained the plumbing problem in lingo she could understand. He was the expert, after all. But her thoughts kept returning to the cost to fix the mess. Not to mention the stench pickled her brain.

If only she hadn’t forgotten to call Harv to fix that leaky toilet when her previous tenant had mentioned it. But once Hannah’s leukemia returned, everything else dropped on her priority list. If only... No, she wasn’t going there. She didn’t have time for pity parties. Especially when Hannah had it so much worse.

“Josie, did you hear what I said?”

Josie swung her gaze to Harv, who stood next to Ian James, her insurance man. Both men wore grim expressions that did little to soothe the ache in her stomach. “I’m sorry, Harv. I disappeared down a rabbit hole.”

“Climb back out, Alice. We have some figures to discuss.” The creases around his eyes deepened as he winked at her. He tugged his John Deere baseball hat out of his back pocket and plopped it on top of his balding head.

Josie jerked her head toward the door. “Let’s go downstairs. I’ll get you guys some coffee.”

Ian held the door for them. “Say, Josie. Is Agnes working?”

As Josie passed by him, she took in his black suit, white creaseless shirt, shiny shoes and trimmed hair. “Yes, Ian, but roll up your tongue. She doesn’t need another man in her life right now.”

“When did you become her mother?” he muttered, following her down the stairs.

“After I cleaned up the train wreck of her marriage. You saw what that jerk did to her.” Josie opened the door and stepped onto the sidewalk. A late-winter breeze whisked across her cheeks.

“Josie, chill. I’m not going to cheat on her. I just want to take her to dinner.”

Entering the coffee shop, Josie sniffed the scent of freshly baked blueberry cobbler. Her stomach growled. “Everyone’s charming on the first date, aren’t they?”

“When did you become so cynical?” He smoothed a hand over his hair.

Josie opened her mouth and then shut it. No need to yank those skeletons from her closet. Shelby Lake was her fresh start.

She gentled her voice and placed a hand on his arm. “Listen, Ian, you’re a great guy, but take it slow, okay? Agnes looks like she has it all together, but her heart is pieced together with Scotch Tape.”

Ian pocketed his Clark Kent glasses and stared over her shoulder a minute. Then he pulled his gaze back to meet hers. He touched the tip of her nose. “Are you sure you’re still talking about Agnes?”