Page 92 of If We Never Met

"So, Mandy is still in town."

"Yes. When I told my mom about her, she said she saw a red-haired woman sitting in a car in front of this house when she came back from church with her friend. The woman drove off after they went into the house. I don't like that Mandy was here. She must have thought that Mark and my mom were together."

"Maybe it's good that they weren't."

"Exactly." A troubled glint entered her gaze. "But if this woman is even a little off, I don't want her around my mom."

"What did your mother say?"

"She dismissed the whole thing. It's Mark's private business, and he doesn't have to tell her everything. She hasn't told him everything. She said she knows him, and she trusts him. She did agree to talk to him, but she didn't want to do it tonight. Now, she won't have that opportunity, anyway. I wonder if he cancelled because he needed to see Mandy."

"Who knows?" He didn't like the idea of Mandy being in front of the house, either. If she was stalking Mark, then Ruth could be an obstacle in her path. "If your mother won't confront Mark, maybe you need to do it, Keira. Or I'll do it. He has the room next to mine. I can knock on his door and tell him what we know."

"I appreciate that, but I think I'd rather do it myself, if my mother won't." She blew out a breath. "Anyway, that's all going to have to wait. I can't say I'm totally unhappy about him not showing up. I worked a lot today, and now we can just have a nice dinner. I'm sorry your brother has to cook. It was very generous of him to offer."

"He loves to cook. It will be a good meal."

"But he's supposed to be having a fun weekend."

"Cooking is fun for him. Or at least it used to be. I'm not sure what's going on with him now. He's very mysterious about his food truck." He paused as Ruth rejoined them, a glass of wine in her hand. "Does Micah have everything under control?"

"He seems to," Ruth replied. "He insisted I come out here and have a drink. But I think you should go and help him, Keira. I'll entertain Dante."

He could see the determined glint in Ruth's eyes. So could Keira.

"All right," Keira said, as she got up. "But don't ask Dante twenty questions." She gave her mom a pointed, warning look and then headed into the kitchen.

As Keira left, he smiled at Ruth. "You can ask me as many questions as you want."

"Actually, I thought you might have some questions for me."

"About?"

"My lovely daughter. Would you like to know more about her?"

"I would," he admitted. "What was Keira like when she was a little girl?"

"Stubborn, independent, and creative. She was also very active. She always had a ton of energy. In the winter, she would spend hours skiing or snowboarding. She was a bit of a daredevil. Gave me a few gray hairs, I'll tell you. In the summers, she'd paddleboard or swim or spend time with her friends. Actually, whatever she did, she rarely did it alone. She had a great group of girlfriends. Most of whom still live here."

"I've met some of them. They are great."

"I don't know if Keira told you, but we've always been close. It was just the two of us for a long time. I was really sad when she went to college in New York, but I was also excited for her. I wanted to see where she would take her artistic talent. Unfortunately, I had my accident, and she gave up everything to come back and take care of me. My daughter is one of the most loyal, generous, loving people you'll ever meet."

"It's great how close you are."

"We get along really well. Sometimes we butt heads, but what mother and daughter don't? Are you close to your family?"

"With my brothers, yes. My mom died when I was young, and my father retreated from the family after that. My brothers and I raised ourselves with a little help from my grandmother."

"I'm sorry about your mother."

"Thanks. I wish now I'd known her better. But when I was a kid, I just thought of her as Mom. I never asked her about her life before I was born. I heard bits and pieces, but I feel like I didn't really know the woman she was."

"I'm sure your father or grandmother could help."

"My grandmother passed away several years ago, and my father hates to talk about my mother. He basically leaves the room if her name comes up."

"It must be painful for him."

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