I see Robin’s face light up when she scans the choices.
“What would you like?” she asks.
“I’m good with anything. You pick.”
It takes her two seconds to choose and the waitress leaves with our order in hand.
“Thank you for this. I haven’t been out in forever. I was actually really nervous, but you make it easy.”
The fact she apparently suffered the same jitters I had immediately settles any remaining nerves.
“I could say the same,” I admit. A sudden urge to haul her over the table has me grabbing my glass of water for a sip.
“You really must like water,” she notes. “Other than coffee, it’s all I’ve seen you drink.”
“I don’t have a problem with drinking, I just prefer keeping a clear head.” She looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to elaborate, so I lean over the table and grab her hand. “It’s about control,” I admit. “I’m afraid to lose it.”
“Because of what happened to you?”
It’s a different way of looking at things, almost absolving me for my actions. I give her hand a squeeze; touched she chooses to see me as a victim of circumstance. It’s tempting, but I can’t allow myself to deny the responsibility I carry. Besides, I want her to know who I really am. What I’m capable of.
“Because of what I did,” I say firmly, and she nods her understanding.
I’m amazed at this woman, so readily accepting my need to hold myself accountable. So willing to accept me where I’m at.
I open my mouth to tell her as much when the waitress appears with a stack of warmers, setting them down in the center of our table. A few minutes later, we are separated by a smorgasbord of fragrant dishes and when I look across the table at Robin, her gray eyes are bright and her lips smile wide.
“This looks delicious,” she comments.
“It does,” I agree, my eyes firmly fixed on her face.
Over dinner she asks about the bar and my plans, and I tell her I’m moving into the apartment over the Dirty Dog over the weekend, but plan to keep working at Olson’s. At least for now.
She talks about her daughter, Paige, with great pride. She mentions her mother and the new man she’s seeing. She confesses that despite wanting her mom happy after her father’s death a few years ago, she struggles with the concept of a ‘new man.’
When she asks, I find myself sharing a little about my sister, something that still isn’t easy to do but she seems to understand that as well.
The night has cooled off significantly when we step outside, and I drape my arm around her shoulders, tucking her close as we walk to my truck.
“You’re going the wrong way,” she says when I purposely turn towards the lake instead of back home.
“I’m not.”
“Oh, it’s so pretty.” She looks at me with a big smile when we head in the direction of the lakefront park.
When I checked into the restaurant yesterday, I saw mention of the annual Festival of Lights held here. Everywhere you look are Christmas light displays and at the center is a Christmas market.
This is my attempt to apologize for freezing her out after mentioning Thanksgiving.
“Are you sure?” she asks, putting a hand on my arm when I turn off the engine.
“Positive.”
The chaste kiss she leans over the center console to give me is all the forgiveness I need.
When she slips her hand in mine as we walk along the displays, my chest swells.
For everything I’ve done wrong in my life, at least I got this right.
Chapter Sixteen
Robin
“I thought you were flying?”
I’m parked outside the Dirty Dog, talking to Paige.
Gray said I should drop in on the weekend, since he planned to get a lay of the land and work in the bar.
He stayed in touch via text, but I haven’t seen him since our night out on Thursday. He messaged me this afternoon to tell me he was all moved in and if I wasn’t too tired after my shift, to meet him for a drink.
I was definitely not too tired, but went home first for a quick shower and change before heading back to town.
Paige caught me as I was parking the SUV.
“We talked about it, but thought the road trip might be fun. We’ll be careful, Mom. Josh found us an Airbnb not too far from Charleston to break up the trip. I’ve never been that far south.”
I can hear the excitement in her voice and try hard not to let my motherly instincts spoil her mood. There are so many cautions on my lips, but I don’t allow myself to give voice to any but one.
“Promise you’ll call every day? At least while you’re driving?”
“I promise, Mom,” she says patiently. God, I raised a great kid. “Have you talked to Gram?”
“I did. They arrived safely yesterday and she says the place is even better than she imagined. She was going to take some pictures this weekend and send them.”
“Does she even know how?” Paige asks, snickering.
“Apparently Ken does.”
I lean my head back against the rest and stare at the ceiling of my car. I’m still having a hard time imagining Mom with any other man than my dad, let alone one who is so much younger, but she seems smitten.
“I talked to him for a few minutes before they left, you know?” I add.
“How is he?”
“Well, from what I could hear over the phone, he sounds nice enough. He gave me emergency contact information and the address, just in case. That helped.”
I have to admit, when he told me he was sure I had concerns and wanted to do his best to alleviate them, it took me by surprise. He seemed quite taken with my mother as well.
“Gram may be a bit of an innocent, but she’s not stupid, Mom,” my daughter informs me. “In fact, when she met Josh while she was here, she gave him the
