Page 11 of Fake It True

Josie was newly in love with a childhood friend. There was a little drama around it because they’d been cheated on by their respective partners in high school. I personally thought it was perfect karma that they ended up falling in love.

“Leo,” I said under my breath.

“Oooooh!” she exclaimed. “Leo is a good guy. I told you a month ago he thought you were cute.”

She looked so satisfied with herself I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

She shrugged. “I love being right about love.”

“We’re having dinner,” I protested. “I think talking about love is getting a little ahead of things.”

“I like Leo. And he’s a single dad. Points for him.”

“How do you know that?” I couldn’t even restrain my curiosity.

“Uh, Tate. They’re firefighters together,” she pointed out. “Tate says Leo’s great, so he gets my vote.”

I snorted. “Well, good. So, if I have more questions about Leo, are you the one I should ask?” I teased.

Josie lifted one shoulder in a light shrug. “I may not be as shameless as Janet, but I’ll find out anything I can. My mom usually has the down-low on all the gossip.”

Our conversation was interrupted by a large group of customers. I proceeded to obsess about Leo during any spare moment. When I went home that night, I was restless. I tried to watch some distracting TV shows, but nothing sucked me in enough to stop thinking about Leo.

My body kept remembering his kiss while I wondered just what kind of mess I had potentially made for myself. Whenever I started to worry too much about anything, not just Leo, I reminded myself I’d already been through something rough. Surely, in the wheel of random events, I’d get a pass for a little while. My sister had died, and I would miss her for the rest of my life. Worrying about a dinner date didn’t rank too high on the list of things to be particularly concerned about. With the tangle of complications I was facing with my sister’s death, I knew that I couldn’t run away from my problems. They followed me no matter where I went.

Chapter Nine

LEO

“I want to go!” Dora announced, resting her hands on her hips and lifting her chin.

She held my gaze as I looked at her from where I stood beside the couch. She was maybe two feet away, ready to fight this one out.

If you had told me that having a daughter would change my life and that I would love her more than I could imagine loving anyone, ever, in the universe, I would’ve laughed. And yet, in the short time Dora had been with me, I couldn’t imagine life without her now, and I loved her so much it literally hurt sometimes.

“Do you now?” I asked lightly.

She pressed her lips together, a little furrow forming between her brows. Maybe her eyes were the color of mine, but she carried a lot of her mom in her. When she narrowed her eyes, she looked a lot like her mom. She also shared the same glossy dark hair.

I wasn’t sure where her feisty attitude came from, although my mom claimed I’d been a pretty opinionated kid. When I saw the glimmer of worry in Dora’s gaze, I instantly realized I couldn’t tease. Maybe I would never know everything mydaughter had been through, but if she wanted to go spend the weekend with my mom and dad on a trip to Juneau, of course I was going to let her go. They were going to a local arts and crafts fair. There wasn’t even an iota of doubt I’d support her going.

“You’re going,” I said quickly. “You definitely don’t need to worry about that.”

Dora’s shoulders dropped when she let her breath out dramatically. “Oh, goody! Grammy said I had to ask you.”

The tension around my heart eased a little when Dora beamed and that glimmer of worry disappeared from her eyes. She squealed, “Yay!” before flinging herself toward me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

I squeezed her tight and let her go. It was hard to describe the emotional joy I felt whenever she hugged me. It was also fascinating to observe just how much a child lived in the moment. Seconds after that, all worry dissipated, she announced, “And, tonight I have a dinner party with Grammy.”

I bit back a chuckle. I’d told my mom I was meeting friends for dinner. I think she assumed I was having dinner with the guys on my crew because I did that once a week or so. If my mom knew I was having dinner with a woman and the whole story behind it, she would be freaking right the hell out and asking five million questions.

“Are you planning to help with dinner?” I asked.

My daughter was all business now and nodded. “I’m gonna make a sugar cake. Grammy is gonna let me do stuff in the kitchen.”

I tweaked her ponytail as I walked by. “Sounds like fun.”

Dora paused as she reached for her jacket hanging on the small row of hooks I’d put there just for her. Below the hooks were some cubbies where she kept her boots, mittens, and other winter gear. Her gaze sobered as she looked up at me. “Are you gonna be lonely tonight?”

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