Darius inclined his head toward the door. “Someone removed that block of wood and let the door shut.”
Foster’s eyes widened. “Why would someone do that?”
“Why, indeed?” Peyton’s eyes narrowed. Was there something to Darius’ suspicions?
“Do you know the best thing about your mother’s walking out on me?” Simon Knight’s voice seemed to carry to every corner of the Books & Bakery café Saturday morning.
Seconds ago, Darius and his friends had been exchanging banter and laughter over breakfast at the café’s counter. Now the group grew silent as Simon joined them. Darius cringed inwardly as his father dropped onto the bar stool beside him. Tension poured down his spine, stiffening his back like cement.
“This isn’t the place.” Darius lowered his voice and used his coffee mug to gesture toward the people around them.
Behind the counter, Megan stood with Ramona and Doreen. On the other side of the counter, Darius sat beside Ean Fever, his childhood friend who was also Doreen’s son and Megan’s boyfriend. Jackson Sansbury, Darius’s boss and a member of the town’s founding family, sat with his girlfriend, songwriter Audra Lane.
Simon ignored Darius’s perhaps-too-subtle request to change the subject. “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. Last night, I ate dinner in bed.”
Megan gave a slow blink of her cinnamon eyes. “Why would you want to eat an entire meal in bed?”
Ramona almost choked on her coffee. “What my cousin’s trying to say in her overly diplomatic way is, unless you’re sick, eating a meal in bed is one way to make sure you always sleep alone.”
Simon settled back onto the bar stool. “Maybe I should tell Quincy to enjoy his final days of freedom before you join him in Philadelphia in January.”
“Your wife walked out on you.” Ramona shook her head. “I don’t think Quincy would benefit from your relationship advice.”
Doreen cut into the conversation. “What can I get for you, Simon?”
Darius gritted his teeth. It had been too much to hope his father would say whatever he had to say, then leave.
“I had breakfast at home.” Simon pointed toward the pastry display. “I’ll just take a slice of Boston cream pie and a coffee.” He slapped Darius’s back. “I’m really here to keep my boy company.”
Darius had relived this nightmare every Saturday since his parents’ separation in July. It was like a macabre version of the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.
“I have plenty of friends here.” Darius took a calming breath and drew in the scent of coffee, bacon, confectioner’s sugar, and cinnamon. He shoved his bacon and eggs around his plate. Maybe in time his appetite would return.
Simon accepted the mug of coffee Doreen gave him. “Yeah, but you’re the only single one. Jackson’s dating Audra. Ean’s with Megan. Ramona’s moving to Philadelphia to join Quincy. Even Doreen’s dating again.”
“Gee, thanks.” Doreen offered Simon his slice of pie. It was served on a white porcelain plate that probably had more sense than he did.
“You give me hope, Doreen.” Simon plunged his fork into the pie. “If you can reenter the dating scene so easily after being widowed after more than thirty years of marriage, the transition will be easy as pie for me.” He chuckled at his own humor.
“Where’s Alonzo?” Audra asked, referring to Alonzo Lopez, the town’s sheriff and Doreen’s boyfriend. “He usually joins us Saturday mornings.”
In the songwriter’s voice, Darius heard a desperate attempt to change the subject.
Simon chuckled. “Yeah, Doreen. You’d better check on your man. You don’t want him running away with a younger woman.”
Ramona crossed her arms. “You would know all about married men and younger women, wouldn’t you?”
“Ramona.” Jackson’s low voice held a cautionary tone.
Darius appreciated his boss’s concern for his feelings, but it wasn’t necessary. He’d known for years the kind of man his father was.
He turned to Simon. “Why are you here?”
“You need someone in your corner.” Simon jabbed Darius’s upper arm with his elbow as he washed down more pie with a swig of coffee. “Don’t let them pressure you, son. There’s nothing wrong with being single.”
Darius regarded Simon in disbelief. “You’re not single. You and Mom are still married.”
Simon scowled. “We’re separated.”