The Dad Next Door. Stephanie Dees

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СКАЧАТЬ coyote howled again, and this time he was joined by his friends. She closed the door and locked it. It was going to be a long night.

      * * *

      Joe lifted the cup of coffee and savored a moment of peace before the battle began again. The battle for ground with Amelia, the battle to rehab his shoulder and regain his range of motion. He clenched his fist and uncurled his fingers one at a time.

      In the kitchen, pans clanged, bacon sizzled and Martin, the cook, yelled, “Order up.” His mother bustled behind the counter, a ready smile and a fresh cup of coffee for everyone.

      Behind the silver aviators, he watched his twelve-year-old daughter across the Formica table from him. Her eyes were on her cell phone, thumbs flying. She might as well have been in another state for all the attention she was paying him. “What do you want for breakfast, Amelia?”

      She didn’t look up.

      Lanna, best waitress at the Hilltop, stopped at their table. “Hey, Joe, what’ll it be?”

      They’d been friends since middle school when they used to sneak behind the gym for a smoke. She’d written him letters every single month while he’d been overseas. “I’ll have my usual and Amelia will have blueberry pancakes.”

      Lanna topped off his coffee from the pot on her tray and raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. “Pancakes today. All right, then. Be back in a jiff.”

      Every day Joe insisted that Amelia join him for breakfast before school at his mother’s diner. Every day she refused to eat. Every day he ordered her something different off the menu, figuring eventually he’d order something she wouldn’t be able to refuse.

      “How’s school going? Have you gotten to know any of your teachers?”

      No answer.

      “My favorite teacher was Mr. McAdams. We called him the Mac Attack. He brought doughnuts to our homeroom every Friday.” He looked up as Lanna brought their food and slid it onto the table, along with a warm pitcher of maple syrup.

      “There you go. Y’all holler if you need anything, okay? Bertie said to tell you she put extra blueberries in the pancakes, just for you, Amelia.”

      Amelia still didn’t look up, but he saw her swallow hard. The edges of the pancakes were crisp and buttery, the scent of blueberries and warm maple syrup mingling in the air. It had to be getting to her.

      The chimes at the entrance jingled and Claire Conley came through the door, light brown ponytail swinging. She had jeans and a sweatshirt on, but as she got closer, he saw the edge of a flannel pajama top sticking out from under the sweatshirt. There was a crease in her cheek from a pillow. She obviously needed coffee more than he did. As she caught sight of him, he held a mug up to her, an offering.

      Claire cupped it in both hands and took a long, greedy sip, sighing in appreciation. “Thanks. Obviously, I didn’t think this through. No electricity means no coffee. And I didn’t get to sleep until about four. Crazy coyotes.”

      “Claire Conley, this is my daughter, Amelia.”

      Amelia still didn’t speak, but she did look up to check Claire out.

      Claire smiled at her, seemingly oblivious to the tension between the two of them. “I just came in to pick up some breakfast. I have to get back to the farm. My horse is being trailered in today. Amelia, you’ll have to come and see him.”

      Amelia’s blue eyes widened. “Is she pretty?”

      “Yes, very handsome. His name is Freckles.” Claire dug her cell phone out of her back pocket and showed Amelia a picture.

      “He’s awesome. I want to be a vet one day.”

      Joe looked from Amelia to Claire. Amelia had just said more words in the last sixty seconds than Joe had heard in two weeks. He jumped into the conversation. “I’ll pick you up after school and we’ll go see Claire’s horse, if you want.”

      She shot him a quelling look, grabbed her phone and shrugged into her backpack at the faint sound of a bell ringing in the distance. “It’s time for school. See you later, Claire.”

      Watching as she crossed the street to the school, Joe couldn’t help but think she looked so small with that enormous backpack. He turned back to Claire. “I can’t believe you got her to talk. She’s been on a conversation strike.”

      She shrugged and he waved at the bench across from him. “Feel free to eat the pancakes. She didn’t touch them. She’s on an eating strike, too.”

      Sliding onto the red vinyl bench across from him, Claire looked up, startled. “She’s not eating? For how long?”

      “Don’t worry, she eats. Just not with me. She doesn’t trust me and, really, I don’t blame her. She thought I didn’t want anything to do with her for twelve years.”

      Lanna slid a to-go box onto the table in front of Joe. “For the pancakes. Coffee for you, miss?”

      “Claire Conley. It’s nice to meet you. I’d love some coffee, thanks.”

      “Claire...got it. I’m Lanna.” The light dawned in Lanna’s eyes as she poured a mug for Claire and placed some cream on the table. “You’re the mayor’s daughter. No one even knew the mayor had a daughter. Everyone’s talking about it. Need anything else, just yell.”

      “It was a closed adoption, so I didn’t know the mayor was my father, either, until recently. I guess my arrival will be fueling the town gossip for a while.” Claire’s eyes sparkled with amusement as Lanna hustled back to the kitchen.

      “No worries. Pretty sure Amelia and I still occupy the top spot.” Joe cleared his throat. “So, the coyotes kept you awake?”

      “I didn’t even know coyotes were a thing, but I looked it up on the internet on my phone. There are hordes of them.” She shuddered. “But they’re afraid of donkeys, so guess who will be getting a couple as soon as the funds allow?” Claire grinned and shoved a huge bite of blueberry pancakes into her mouth.

      “I’m guessing that would be you.”

      “These are so good.” She took another big bite out of the pancakes and picked up her mug. “Okay, so when you come out to the farm to look at the cabin later on, bring Amelia to see Freckles. He really is good with kids.”

      “Believe it or not, that exit this morning was progress. The first week, she wasn’t nearly as friendly and affectionate.”

      She laughed and almost choked on her coffee. “I know you probably keep hearing this, but give it some time, you’re doing fine.”

      Joe narrowed his eyes at her. “And you know this because you have a bunch of teenage daughters who hate you, so you’ve been through the process?”

      Claire laughed again, her lake-blue eyes wide-open now. “Something like that. I’m a social worker. I had a bunch of teenagers in my caseload who hated my guts and a few younger kids who could give them a run for their money. I loved the feeling when they eventually learned they could trust me. And you will, too, once you get past this stage.”

      “How СКАЧАТЬ