Page 55 of The I Do Over

Oh, good…here it comes…

Leaning back in his seat, Knox put his feet up on his desk and clasped his hands behind his head. “Oh, really? What makes you say that?”

His friend threw him a sardonic look. “Seriously? That’s how you want to play this?”

Shrugging, Knox grinned. “I’m just curious about how you or Xander have any right to tell me that I’m distracted. Need I remind you how you’ve both been exactly like this?”

Sitting on the corner of his own desk, Daniel crossed his arms and grinned. “And need I remind you how you rode both our asses and complained about how distracted we were?”

Oh. Right.

“Look, I get it,” Daniel said after a moment. “No one’s pissed and you haven’t dropped the ball around here. If anything, the only thing that’s seriously changed is you’re out of here early on Fridays and gone for the weekends.”

“And I already know I’m on next weekend, so you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to ask either of you to switch off with me or anything.”

“I wasn’t worried, Knox.” He paused. “Okay, I’m a little worried, but not about the weekend thing.”

“Dude, we’ve been over this…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I’m just wondering how it’s all going. You blew us off last weekend and we all took it as a bad sign.”

With an overly dramatic sigh, Knox let his feet hit the floor and straightened in his chair before explaining how Maddie was just feeling overwhelmed about the stuff going on with her mother. “It wasn’t anything personal and we’re fine,” he clarified.

“Okay. Great,” Daniel replied. “I’m glad.”

“But…?” Because there was always a but.

And fortunately, Daniel didn’t pretend otherwise.

“It just begs the question…what about her parents?”

“What are you talking about? I just told you what was going on with her mother. As for her father, that bastard lives up in Maine and I don’t think Maddie sees or talks to him very often. She mentioned how she reached out to him for some help—or maybe just some moral support for all the stuff she’s trying to handle—and he wasn’t particularly helpful.” He shrugged. “Not that I’m surprised.”

“But she does still see and talk to him.”

“Well, yeah. I guess.” He paused. “What are you getting at?”

Laughing softly, Daniel turned and sat down in his chair. “You obviously have issues with these people and for good reason.”

All Knox did was nod because…yeah.

“Don’t you think this is going to be an issue at some point?”

“I don’t see how. It doesn’t sound like her father’s looking to come and visit and if Maddie wants to go and see him, I’m not going to stop her.”

“But you won’t go with her either.”

“Exactly.”

Now it was Daniel’s turn to sigh. “Are you really this clueless? Do I have to spell this out?”

“Obviously you do because I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“If things progress with you and Maddie—let’s say to the point that you ask her to marry you—you don’t think you’re going to have to actually see this guy? Talk to him? Look him in the eye and shake his hand?”

Actually…he hadn’t.

Out of sight, out of mind.

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