Page 48 of A Place for Daydreams

He stood up, knowing that he needed to get back to work and that he shouldn’t keep her. Still, he felt reluctant to be parted from her. “You want me to take a look at your car, now that you’ve brought it all the way down here?”

“No, that’s okay.” She laughed, standing up as well. “I trust your initial analysis.”

For a moment, they stood there smiling at each other. Dean felt excitement coursing through his body, and he felt more energetic than he had in years.

“I guess I’d better let you get back to work,” she said, starting toward the door. “I’ll see you on Saturday. Text me the details?”

“I will.”

They exchanged one more grin and then she slipped out of the shop. Dean stood in the lobby watching her go for a moment. Then he turned around and headed back to his office, eagerness bubbling inside of him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Hazel took a sip of the lavender tea that she’d made for herself, hoping it would help steady her nerves. She glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen, biting her lip. It was just a few more minutes until Samantha was going to leave for the school dance, and all of Hazel’s nervousness about the event had returned.

Two days earlier, Samantha had vaulted into the house after returning from school, looking wild with happiness. She’d squealed out the news that Austin had asked her to go to the dance with him. Hazel had been torn between happiness for her daughter and a sudden storm of worries about the event.

She listened to the sound of Samantha’s footsteps on the ceiling overhead. Her daughter seemed to be walking more heavily than usual, and in a more rhythmic way.

Hazel chuckled to herself, realizing that Samantha was probably practicing her dancing. Then she imagined Samantha dancing with Austin, and she pressed her lips together.

I wish I’d gotten a chance to meet him before all this, she thought, taking a frazzled sip of her tea.I think she’s really too young to be going with a boy. What kind of parents does he have? Are they encouraging this?

She shook her head. When Samantha had told her that Austin had asked her—describing the scene in minute detail, gushing over the way he’d approached her in front of her locker and handed her a card that said,Will you go to the dance with me?—Hazel had considered telling her daughter that she was too young to go with a boy, and she would have to just spend time with Austin at the dance, not go officially as his date.

But the ecstatic happiness of her daughter had convinced her not to do that, at least not during their initial conversation.

Afterward, she’d wrestled with the idea. She’d worried that she should have put her foot down right away or told Samantha weeks ago that she was too young to go with a boy.

But the more she thought about it, the more she remembered Julia’s advice that she needed to trust her daughter to make smart decisions. She didn’t want to push Samantha away by holding onto the leash too tightly. She knew how much it meant to her daughter that Austin had asked her to the dance, and she knew that she would be crushed if she had to tell him that she wasn’t going with him after all. Besides, there would be chaperones at the dance, and Samantha was a good kid going with a boy who sounded like he was a good kid too.

Hazel drank more of her tea, staring into space and wondering when Samantha was going to come downstairs. They’d spent the last hour together, getting her ready. Samantha had put on the pink dress that they’d found with the rest of the Owens women, and she looked as pretty as a picture in it.

Her cheeks were so flushed and her eyes were sparkling so much that she didn’t need makeup, even if Hazel would have allowed her to wear it. They’d found a pair of low pink heels to wear with the dress, and they matched it perfectly. Hazel’s heart had given a bittersweet pang when she’d seen her daughter wearing heels for the first time. Samantha had been practicing walking in them almost non-stop since they’d been purchased.

Hazel glanced at the clock again. “You’d better come downstairs in a minute, honey!” she called. “It’s almost time to go!”

“Okay!” Samantha called.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Hazel’s heart jumped up, wondering if it was Austin and his parents arriving. Samantha had told her that they’d offered to come pick her up, since Austin wasn’t old enough to drive yet.

She hurried through the living room to the front door and yanked it open. Instead of three strangers, however, she saw Julia standing there.

“Hey!” Hazel pulled her sister into a hug. “Thanks for coming over.”

“I figured you could use the company.” Julia smiled sympathetically. “I know you’re nervous about this whole thing.”

“Oh, gosh.” Hazel let out a long sigh. “I’m trying not to be, but you’re right, I am. Were we this into boys at her age?”

“Alexis was.” Julia laughed. “And I think I kind of was too. I don’t think you were until you were older, but you’d be the best person to answer that.”

“I honestly don’t remember.” Hazel ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s all become kind of a blur.”

“I hear that.” Julia stepped inside. “How are you doing?”

“Jittery. Drinking lavender tea.” Hazel laughed.

“Oh, really? Could I have some too? That sounds delicious.”

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