“Great,” I tell him, and he eyes me doubtfully. “It’s just been a weird day.” I wave off his concern.
“Weird how?” he asks, and I shrug. “I ran into your sister and a friend of hers at the store, then watched her have it out with her ex. Then, when I—”
“Margret had it out with Taylor’s dad at the store?”
“No . . . I mean, kind of. It wasn’t a fight fight. I just don’t think she expected to see him there, so when she did, she got upset.”
“Sundays are his day to spend with Taylor,” he tells me—something I already kind of figured out. “He must have canceled, which he does, and normally it’s to spend time with other women, which makes it worse.”
“He was there with a redhead,” I tell him, and his eyes narrow. “Or I think they were there together. She didn’t hang around very long.”
“There is only one redhead I know, and that’s Margret’s friend Beth, so I hope it wasn’t her.”
“I don’t know,” I tell him, even though I’m pretty sure from the way Margret reacted to seeing them together it was her friend—or probably now her ex-friend.
“I’ll ask her about it at dinner.” He turns for the door, and my eyes widen.
Reaching out quickly, I latch onto his T-shirt and shake my head when he looks at me over his shoulder. “You can’t do that.”
“Pardon?” His brows dart together.
“You can’t tell her that I told you about what happened.”
“Why not?”
“She might not want you to know, for one, and for two, she will know I told you.”
“She won’t care that you told me.” He frowns, and I roll my eyes.
“You can’t be serious.” I shake my head at him. “She will care if she didn’t plan on telling you about it.”
“She won’t.” He sighs, reaching around and grabbing my hand before pulling me with him down the front hall to the entryway.
“Does she tell you everything?” I ask, stopping to lock the door when we get outside, and when he doesn’t respond, I answer for him. “I have an older brother, and I don’t tell him everything, so I’m going to go with no, she doesn’t tell you everything either.”
“We’re close.”
“I don’t doubt that, but you keep things from her, so you shouldn’t be surprised if she keeps things from you,” I tell him, and he lets out a long sigh and takes my hand once more. When we get to the truck, he opens my door, ordering me to get in before he puts Sam in the seat in the back, a seat that’s nicer than even the one I own.
“Are you nervous about dinner?” He turns to look at me after he’s got his seat belt on, and I shrug.
“Not really. Should I be?”
“No, you know my sister and my mom, and my dad’s cool, so you’ll love him. I’m not sure if my grandmother or one of my childhood friends, Mason, will be there tonight, but if they are, you’ll like them too.”
“I met Mason today at the store. He was with Margret,” I tell him as he pulls out into the road, and he glances my way, looking unhappy.
“He was with Margret?”
“Why are you asking that question like I should say no?” I turn around to check on Sam and give him the duck toy that’s hooked on the outside of his bag. “Please tell me that you’re not still telling your friends they can’t like your sister.”
“I never said that,” he says defensively.
I don’t even try to hide my smile. “Right.”
“I haven’t.”
“Okay, so what would you do if one of your friends started dating Margret?” I ask, honestly curious, because Margret is young, pretty, and sweet. And from what I could see today, Mason is protective of her and is around Taylor enough that she took comfort in his presence during a difficult situation between her parents. I mean, I don’t know what is going on between them, but I could definitely see them together.
“Not going to happen.” He waves the question off, and I laugh. “You think that’s funny?”
“No, I just think you don’t have as much control as you think you do. And anyways, if one of your friends and your sister got together and made each other happy, you should be happy for them,” I tell him, and he doesn’t say anything more about it.
Actually, he’s surprisingly quiet as we drive out of town and up the side of the mountain, where the houses are spread farther apart. He turns down a paved driveway with forest on both sides and a beautiful log home at the end of it. Having met his mom, I should’ve been able to picture the house she would own, because it looks as warm and inviting as she is in person. The lights inside the house are glowing, making the windows golden, and planters of flowers leading up the large front porch are overflowing with color. As he parks, the front door opens and his mom steps outside, followed by a man who’s just as tall and attractive as Blake.