“Thanks”—a soft laugh escaped—“I think.”
The Carters were easy, comfortable, and kind. And boy, did they love each other. It showed in everything that they did. The way they interacted and talked, in the things they said. I wasn’t envious for what they had because I was lucky enough to have it, too, but it made me miss my dad and home. Chance must have sensed it at one point because he reached under the table for my leg and gave me a small squeeze before moving his hand.
I loved and hated how in tune he was with me. How did a guy I barely even knew seem to understand me so well? It was beyond all reason, but this night had already demonstrated that. The Carters and the Marchettis were connected, in more ways than one.
Dinner flew by too fast, and when I offered to help clean up, Cassie insisted that she had it handled and that we’d better get back to school. She wanted Chance to get a good night’s sleep before his big test. She was a good mom.
“Thank you so much for coming and bringing my boy to see me. He wouldn’t have come without you, so I’m grateful,” Cassie said as she hugged me good-bye at the front door.
“I’m grateful. I can never thank you enough for what you’ve given me and my dad tonight. And for being so gracious and welcoming.”
“Please come over anytime. With or without him.” She nodded toward Chance, who stood there, watching us with a joyful expression.
“Please come without him. You’re so much cooler than he is,” Jacey added from where she stood next to her dad.
“I know I am. Don’t tell him though. We might hurt his precious ego,” I said, and Jacey gave me a high five.
“Okay, okay. We’re leaving, and when we don’t come back, you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves,” Chance teased, and Jacey stuck out her tongue.
We headed outside with Chance leading the way, and I knew his family was still watching from the front door. I hadn’t heard it close yet. When we got to his car, he unlocked the doors and opened mine for me … again. Damn Chance Carter and his chivalrous ways.
He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine with one last wave toward his family. I watched as they closed the door, blocking all the light that had been spilling out from behind it. It was only then that I reached for my phone in my bag and checked it. I’d put it on silent before we walked in the house, afraid that Jared might text or call and start drama like Chance had mentioned. I was thankful I had as I looked at the string of texts from my boyfriend, each one more annoyed than the last.
“Jared?” Chance asked, his voice breaking the silence.
“Yeah. I didn’t look at my phone once while we were there,” I said, not sure why I’d offered up that extra bit of information.
“I noticed,” Chance said, and I shouldn’t have been surprised that he had been so observant. “Is he pissed?” he asked.
“A little, but I think it’s because he’s more worried than anything else. I just need to text him back really quick.” I started typing on my phone, letting Jared know that I was sorry but that I’d been tutoring and I’d call him as soon as I got home.
My phone vibrated in my hand, and I hesitated before Chance suggested, “You should probably answer it.”
I knew he was right, but answering it would lead to questions I wasn’t in the right state of mind to get into. Plus, I wasn’t comfortable with Chance hearing me on the phone with Jared, especially if he was upset.
“I’ll wait until I’m home.”
I could tell that Chance didn’t agree and wanted to say something else, but he kept quiet instead.
“I’m really sorry about your mom. I can’t imagine losing mine.” Chance sounded choked up, just thinking about it.
“It was awful. I mean, one day, she was full of life, and the next, she was fighting for it. I know it wasn’t that sudden in reality, but looking back, that’s what it seemed like. Like everything changed in an instant.”
“Was it cancer?”
“Yeah. Out of nowhere. She had this pain in her stomach, so they took an ultrasound, looking for a possible rupture, and they found tumors instead.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“When I first found out, I was so positive, you know? Telling her that she could fight this and we’d beat it. That kind of thing,” I said, remembering exactly the level of denial I’d felt back then. “But when reality started to sink in and I saw how fighting it only killed her differently, I stopped being so positive and optimistic.”
“I’m really sorry.”
My eyes started to water. “She stayed as long as she could. Held on for way too long because she knew I didn’t want her to go.”
“How old were you?”
“I was sixteen when she died. Thirteen when she was first diagnosed.”
His hand moved from the steering wheel to the top of my leg, like it had at dinner. He squeezed, his thumb rubbing across my thigh almost absentmindedly. I looked down, and he jerked it away.
“I’m sorry. I seem to have this need to comfort you. I do it without thinking.”
I swallowed hard and tried to blow it off. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. It’s not my place. I keep trying to stay away from you, Danika, but you make it really hard.”
Huffing out a choking sound, I argued, “I make it hard? I’m not even doing anything.”
“You exist,” he said, and I found myself struggling for anything to say after that. “Did he know your mom?” Chance’s voice sounded strained.
“Who?”
“Your boyfriend.”
I nodded even though I knew Chance couldn’t see my head in the dark cab of the truck. “He did. Our families were old friends, and we went to school together. He was there for me when she died.”
“Were you dating already when it happened?”
“Not really. Jared was around a lot, and after it happened, he just never really left,” I said the words out loud and realized how odd they sounded.
“You needed him.” Chance sounded almost defensive.
“I guess I did,” I said because I’d never thought about it that way before. Was it truly Jared that I needed, or did I just need someone, anyone?
“He made you happy?” Chance asked without bitterness.
“He did.” I nodded as I thought back to when we’d first gotten together. And even though I had been mourning the loss of my mom, Jared made me excited. “He was there for me. Without Jared, I would have felt really alone and been consumed in my sadness I think.” He distracted me from my pain because everything with us had been brand-new.
“What about your dad?” Chance asked, and I couldn’t help but smile.
My dad was my best friend. I not only loved him, but I also respected him. “My dad’s really great. But he was always working. And once my mom died, he worked even more. I don’t know how that was even possible, but even then, I knew that he was just doing anything he could to avoid his broken heart.”
“Were you one of the things he avoided?”
The question sliced through me as I sucked in a steadying breath.
“No. It wasn’t like that. I don’t have daddy issues, if that’s where you’re headed,” I said with a lighthearted laugh.