Page 18 of Third Time Lucky

“Mostly blues. Muddy Waters. Robert Johnson. A few songs by the Bee Gees.” He says that last bit under his breath and I grin at his discomfort.

“You have now openly admitted to liking the infamous balladeers of disco. Out loud. In front of witnesses.”

“One witness,” he grumbles. “No one else needs to know about it.”

“You’re secret’s safe with me, Disco Duck.”

“I had a coach who was a fan, that’s all.” His licks his lips and my attention is immediately drawn to his mouth again. “It sounds like I might need to bite the bullet and catch up to this decade if I want to keep impressing my daughter. She’s always listening to music. Always humming something.”

“You said she’s five?”

The crease between his eyebrows reappears. “She had a birthday this summer. About two weeks after I met her.”

He’s gauging my reaction again so I try not to give away too much. I’m not as surprised as he expects me to be. Like I said, I spend a lot of time around parents, and Elliot’s been acting more like a new father than an old hand.

“You didn’t know about her?”

His expression hardens and I curse myself for prying. “Forget I asked. It’s none of my business.”

“You’re the first one who has asked. The question I usually get is whether or not I’m sure she’s mine.” He sets the bottle down and leans his head back. “George is going to kick my ass for dropping all my bullshit on your doorstep. He’s been looking forward to having a neighbor. Preferably a woman who could cook. His words, not mine.”

Apparently, I was right to judge my real neighbor. “He’s shit out of luck on both counts then. And not to insult your friend, but he sounds moderately sexist.” I shrug. “Unfortunate, since that means I’ll have to keep him away from my best friend, who is drop-dead gorgeous and cooks like a dream.”

He laughs and nudges my leg with his foot, inviting me to join in. “You’re a funny guy.”

“I’m a good listener, too, if you need to talk.”

“Joe.”

“Joey is the only name I came with.” True story. Redmond was the town I was left in and people referred to me as the Redmond Rescue for months. It seemed fitting to keep it.

“Joey,” he echoes dutifully. “I’m still raw about not knowing she was out there, sure. But in my head, I know I have no right to be angry. Rue is healthy and happy, and her mother made sure I was in her will, so I’d be able to look after our child in case the worst happened.”

Maybe it’s the darkness around us, or the fact that he doesn’t know me. Maybe I have a trustworthy face or balconies at night almost feel like confessionals. Whatever the reason, it’s clear he needs to get this off his chest.

Even clearer is that the worst happened. Elliot only discovered he had a child because the mother died and left him their daughter in her will. And he took her home with him instead of letting her get lost in the system.

I’m back to wondering if he’s real. “It’s normal to be upset about what you missed. About not getting a choice.”

“I don’t have the right,” he says again, as if it’s a mantra he’s been repeating for a while. “It was a one-night thing.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” He pulls into himself, hands on his bent knees as he continues. “She made it clear she wasn’t looking to get involved, which was good, because I wasn’t either. I was in a bad place and she was kind to me. I remember talking for hours, but I couldn’t tell you what we said. Then there was a bottle of tequila and body shots. I swore there was protection. The next morning, I was on a bus out of town.”

His eyes darken with self-recrimination. “I didn’t think about her when we passed through her city again. And she never reached out to me or let anyone else drag my name through the mud, though she could have gone that way. So I have no right to be upset that she didn’t include me in her personal choices.”

“That sounds…” Sad. Lonely. The reason I’ve never liked hookups. “Evolved.”

He scrubs a hand over his head and snorts. “Is that what you call it? I don’t think I’ve ever laid it all out like that before. I’m not sure what I’ll say to Rue when she asks how I met her mother.”

My physical reaction to him has been unsettling me all evening, but this unfiltered honesty is more subtly seductive. He’s reaching out, and it makes me think of my father and those balloons again.

Rick had known exactly what I needed to feel safe. If he had doubts, I never saw them, and he always told me the truth when I shared mine. If I can help Elliot get there, help him give that kind of security to this little girl who loves music and recently lost her mom, why wouldn’t I try?

“Tell her that what you told me. Her mother was kind when you needed kindness. Strong, independent and devoted to her daughter. Skip the body shots section until she’s in her forties.”

His chuckle is gratifying. “Still too young. But you’re right. She was devoted. We were there for about a month, dealing with paperwork and putting her things in storage for whenever Rue is ready to go through them. Her friends shared stories about Rue as a toddler with her mother. And pictures. They were both laughing together in every one. She didn’t have relatives, but she wasn’t alone. She looked happy.”

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