Teaser for Day Dreaming #2
Not that he’d been surprised. Bethany had wanted out since she’d finished law school, and he’d wanted out for even longer, but they’d stayed together for the kids. Until the kids had realized that their friends’ parents didn’t fight all the time, so why did their parents?
Bad parenting 101. Nice example.
Reed took the steps two at a time.
At the top, the moment gusted over him like a cool breeze off a snowy slope.
The windows looked straight out over the mountains, the tops of the forest a nice border along the bottom, blue sky filling the top, and in the distance between, endless rows of snow-capped mountains. A wide wooden deck was just big enough for a few outdoor chairs to sit and admire the view.
Inside wasn’t exactly the socially planned house he used to share with Bethany and the kids, but this was much more his speed.
A cozy L-shaped couch faced the fireplace, with a TV mounted onto the shiplap wall above.
A dining area with a table that looked to be made of reclaimed barn wood.
He wasn’t an interior decorator by any means, but the white stone countertops, ceiling-height cabinets, and stainless appliances nicely contrasted the dark wooden floors in the spacious kitchen.
Open, uncluttered, and cleanly decorated, the condo was pleasantly Scandi, compared to the big and bold of the house that was now Bethany’s.
While he took it in, one set of footsteps pounded up the steps quickly, the other trudging slowly.
“Damn, Dad, this is definitely an upgrade from the apartment,” Lucas said as he walked straight in, aimed for the deck. He swung open the half-width French doors and opened his arms wide. “Fuck, that’s a nice view.”
Correcting his son’s language would be too cliché. Today wasn’t the day to remind his son that part of a dad’s job was to prevent his teenagers from saying “fuck” every other word.
Aria finally reached the top and pursed her lips as she absorbed every detail, scanning the endless view, lingering over the small living area, the simple treescape paintings on the otherwise blank white walls.
“This okay?” Reed asked. He walked over and hooked his arm around his youngest’s shoulders, pulling her in tight.
She didn’t shrug away, but sighed and nodded and leaned into him.
He smacked a long kiss on the top of her head. When had she gotten so tall? At six feet, he wasn’t expecting his almost-thirteen-year-old daughter to reach her full height already, nearly to his chin.
Lucas was out on the deck, hands on the rail, ready to take on the world.
Reed whispered to Aria, “Go pick out your bedroom.”
She looked up and smiled, nodding before she took off.
She ran down the short hallway and halted. Two bedrooms ahead, a big bathroom and laundry closet to the left, a small pocket bathroom and a stairway to the right.
“Upstairs is mine, so don’t even think about it,” he yelled with a grin as he stopped in the kitchen to drop his wallet and phone.
“Da-ad,” she whined, but ornery glinted in her crystal blue eyes.
Lucas must have overheard, and he came running in, sprinting past Reed.
“No running in the house,” Reed said to no one in particular, knowing neither would notice nor care.
While they argued, Aria winning brilliantly by using menses as the gross-out factor for her squeamish older brother, and securing her win on the bedroom-of-choice with the bigger closet, Reed headed for the stairs.
Plush carpet compressed under his feet, around the turn and across the landing, more carpet, and he reached the top.
A set of double doors, and the carpet ended where the landing opened to a massive primary suite.
This. Wide windows spanned the width of the room with a killer view of nothing but mountains and blue sky, with a fireplace on one wall, and a broad space begging for something cozy.
A king-sized bed was centered in the room atop a plush tan area rug, the same dark walnut wood flooring spanning the rest of the massive room.
On the town side of the oversized bedroom, a walk-in closet bigger than the kitchen was only half closed in, so windows on both sides filled the room with daylight.
Also overlooking the mountains, was a bathroom with separate sinks, double showerheads, and a toilet tucked back in its own tiny room. Not that he would be sharing the space with anyone, but the layout would have saved a lot of fights with Bethany over the years.
He trudged toward the bed. Eyes heavy, the tension of the long day melting away, he felt the call of the cloud-like bed, its oversized pillows, the fluffy down comforter…
“Dad?” Lucas shouted up the stairs. “We’re hungry.”
Almost. So fucking close. “Okay,” he hollered back.
Shaking off the beckoning comfort, he dashed down the steps and into the empty kitchen. “What are you guys hungry for?” he asked. As the house had no food, he stuffed his wallet and phone back in his pockets.
“Pie,” Lucas said.
“Cookies,” Aria said with a laughing twitch of a sneer.
“No. Come on guys. Don’t make me spoil you with junk food to make you like me best.” He led the way down the stairs, loving the shit out of the giggles that followed.
Lord fucking knew they’d been terrified of how this was going to go. Too many movies, friends with divorced parents, who the hell knew, but they’d invented visions of their dad magically turning into a pushover who fed them sweets and bought them new game systems and TVs for their bedrooms.
Not that he didn’t have a new Xbox on order, but that was for the main room, to be shared amongst all three of them.
“Come on. There’s a family pub I saw on the way in. Might be good,” he said as he neared the bottom of the steps.
They didn’t argue.
Both headed for the door to the garage, but he stopped and shook his head. “It’s like, a block away. It’ll be faster to walk.”
“Oh,” Aria said, sticking her bottom lip out and almost grimacing.
“Come on. It’ll be nice to get a feel for the town,” he said in his chipperest voice. Little known fact, that cheerleading and exuding Pollyanna-like optimism were key in the purview of parenting.
Once the kids were out the door, he turned and pulled out his phone, reading the code again, and punched it in, waiting, and an electronic grinding sound let him know the door was locked. He checked it. Then tested the key to make sure it worked, in case the electronic lock shorted out.
“Lots of crime here,” Aria mumbled. “Better lock up tight. Someone might steal our clothes.”
At least she waited for him in the middle of the small parking lot. Lucas was already wandering up the sidewalk, head down, his focus entirely on his phone. “Look both ways before crossing,” Reed teased, only half kidding.
A middle finger lifted off the phone and rose to the air.
Smartass.
Reed walked backward a few steps as he looked up at the condo.
Not much for curb appeal, the “front” door opening to the parking lot, or, well, parking alley was more accurate, but the view from the front was worth it.
He dashed to the side of the building to see what shop they’d be living over, hoping to hell it wasn’t a restaurant or something noisy with odd hours.
“I’m hungry,” Aria grumbled, stopping him before he could explore.
“Yeah,” he said under his breath, jogging to reach her and catch up to his teenager before the screen-obsessed kid actually did get run over.
A cool evening breeze drifted up the street, setting the wildly colorful hanging baskets swaying. Hot enough, despite only being mid-June, the sun-soaked spots between long shadows were still toasty.
Amazingly, Lucas navigated the crowded sidewalks without even looking up from his phone. Must be a generational thing.
Aria walked quietly at his side, scoping out everything while she maintained the pensively broody but too-cool expression. Black leggings and black sweatshirt and black converse. She had to be roasting, but she’d deny it if he mentioned it.
Reed let them quietly adjust. Hell, this was a massive change of pace for all of them. Maybe he’d been overzealous, moving them here for the summer, but fuck, he needed the change, and hoped maybe the kids would appreciate it, even if it meant less summer camp and less time with their friends.
“Left,” he hollered ahead to Lucas.
Finally, his son glanced up from his phone and saw the rustic, sky blue door, the sign for Halseth’s Smokehouse and Pub painted in a stencil font above. Lucas lifted his eyes and tipped a lazy nod of acknowledgment.
“Look okay?” Reed asked as he caught up.
Aria stopped next to him and shrugged.
“Looks great,” Lucas answered for them both. “Smells good,” he added with a smile, and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.
The kids waited back for Reed to walk in first. The heavy wooden door squeaked as he pushed it open. There were three open seats at the bar, but the barstools were twenty-one and up only.
Too bad. In a black t-shirt that hugged bulked arms, the bartender poured a pint while visiting with the couple sitting in front of him.
He smiled easily and shook his head as he appreciated his customers’ story.
Big brown eyes and a short beard. Reed bit the edge of his tongue as he stood stupidly watching.
“Dad? You okay?” Lucas asked, eyes wide as he gestured to the server who sauntered over and had probably just said something.
Reed blinked and quickly nodded before his kids caught him checking out the bartender. Damn, it had been way too long since he’d let himself be interested. In anyone.
Even the idea of dating was terrifying, as he’d never been with anyone but Bethany.
Dating with teenagers was daunting as hell, period.
Dropping the bomb of, “kids, your dad is bisexual” right now would be one more lurching change, and they’d been through enough lately.
He smiled at the server, her ponytail ticking back and forth with a clock-like rhythm that matched her bouncy walk.
“Hi. How long’s the wait, for three?” he asked.