Chapter 10
A fter a week of overanalyzing my options for declining the weekend hike, I still hadn’t come up with an empathetic way to decline without hurting Lila’s feelings.
It was this thought that had me mentally kicking myself as I sat quietly in Jeff’s immaculate living room, avoiding eye contact with him.
We were waiting for Lila to finish packing.
Apparently packing is one of the most fun things in the world at her age.
“Does she think we’re going camping? We’re just walking, right?” I asked in a half-joking way in an attempt to slice through the awkwardness of sitting in Jeff’s townhouse.
His eyes rose to meet mine as his elbows remained on his knees, and he leaned forward on the small couch across from mine. “This is just a day trip, Roxanne. An hour or so, hopefully, but it’s up to Lila.”
I frowned as I took in his implication. He wanted this to be over as fast as possible, probably because of me. He didn’t want to spend time with me, and he wasn’t even going to try to hide it.
I mean, this wasn’t a surprise. I didn’t want to be here anyway. Yet, his words stung a bit.
My lips stayed tightly closed as we waited for Lila.
I avoided his eyes and instead looked around the room.
It was tidy and sparsely decorated with tasteful navy blue and dark brown accented furniture and matching lampshades flanking both sides of a small, clean fireplace.
A few small photos of Lila, including one with the two of them together, lined the mantle.
So this was where Jeff the Jerk lived. It sort of humanized him a little .
When my eyes accidentally landed on him, I stopped short.
The sunlight streaming through the open bay window had shifted closer to him, and I noticed how different he looked here at home.
He was wearing shorts, a tech shirt, and a baseball hat.
I’d never seen him in anything but dress slacks, button-downs, and neckties.
Did I think he was going to wear business attire while hiking in the woods?
I hadn’t thought about it, actually. I didn’t usually notice or think about how he looked.
But there was something about seeing him in casual clothes that made him more attractive.
And I already knew he was attractive; I wasn’t blind.
It just hadn’t mattered. And it still didn’t.
Crap, I’m staring at him.
I jerked my eyes away. They landed on Lila, who was just coming in, walking a bit lopsided with a giant backpack on her back. Her eyes lit up when they met mine. “Roxy! You came!”
“Of course,” I said, pasting on a bright smile. “Wouldn’t miss it!”
“Well, Daddy told me you might not come,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But he’s wrong a lot.”
“I heard that,” came his cross voice. We looked at him as he rose and grabbed his smaller pack. “I packed the sunscreen and bug spray. You can put it on in the car,” he said as he looked her over.
“Yay! Did you pack all the snacks I asked for?”
“Yes,” he said with a sigh. “Sweetie, I’m going to have to carry that overstuffed bag of yours, aren’t I?”
“As if! I’m strong, Dad.” She turned to me and rolled her eyes. “He’s so cringe sometimes.”
“Right?” I winked at her. “Bets.”
Lila’s eyebrows quirked up. Shoot, did I use that wrong? I’d spent an hour last night trying to learn the latest slang that kids use.
“I think you mean ‘bet.’ No one says ‘bets.’ Well, except maybe Dad.” She gave me a conspiratorial look and giggled.
“Heard that too,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking between us. “Are you ready to go, or do you two want to have a gab-fest?”
Lila grinned. “What’s a gab-fest? Let me guess, it’s a thing from your generation, Dad?”
“It is,” I said, unable to resist poking the bear.
His eyes rose in my direction. “And you only know that because you’re from the same generation as I am.”
“It’s not worth it, Roxy. He never lets anyone win an argument. Trust me, I’ve tried.” She had a sparkle in her eye, so I knew she was still teasing him. It was so strange; I hadn’t known he was capable of being teased.
The corners of his mouth twitched up slightly. “Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, sweetie. There’s another old expression for you.”
Lila just grinned and shook her head before abruptly turning around and wobbling toward the kitchen. We followed as she headed to the door to the garage.
I hadn’t even realized he was so close when suddenly he whispered, “Sorry you got dragged into this. I’ll do my best to keep it short.”
Just to be contrary, I shrugged and said, “I’m cool with whatever.” As though I was some kind of cool girl.
I opened the backseat of the SUV and realized I wouldn’t be sitting there. One seat back was down to accommodate the length of … “Tiki torches? Why are we bringing those?”
Lila popped her head into the other side of the backseat. “They’re for decorating.”
“Decorating what?” I asked as I climbed into the front seat at the same time Jeff slid into the driver’s seat.
“It’s a mystery,” he said dryly. Then he shrugged and turned the car on. “She wanted to bring them.”
Who was this man? He looked almost relaxed as he backed out of the garage and down the driveway. He was gruff most of the time, but it was an affectionate kind of gruff.
He … he’d do anything for Lila.
It floored me .
I stayed quiet as Lila chattered, with occasional short replies from Jeff. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around this Jeff.
Had I been totally wrong about him?
“Roxanne,” he said sharply.
I blinked a few times.
Nope, I wasn’t wrong about him. He was still a jerk.
“Are you going to answer Lila?”
“I—what?” I swung my head around toward the backseat. “Sorry, what did you ask?”
“I asked what your favorite season and holiday are! Dad says he hates choosing favorites, so he’s no fun.”
I heard him sigh next to me as I gazed out the window at the array of trees beginning to show autumn colors.
“Sometimes it is hard to choose. I mean, this early fall is so beautiful. Watching the glistening white landscape after a long snow can be so serene. Spring is lovely because everything comes back to life, and the days get longer. And summer is … my favorite, I guess. I don’t even know why!
I don’t particularly enjoy the humid Midwest heat, the mosquitoes, pool parties …
but there’s just something about summer. ”
“Wow, you sound like a poet. The kind that doesn’t rhyme.”
“Thank you … I think?” I don’t even know what came over me.
I snuck a glance at Jeff, and he was obviously wondering the same thing. I never said stuff like that. And if I did, it wasn’t spontaneous.
It must be Lila.
Even a person with strong social anxiety symptoms can sometimes benefit from being around a person like that: someone who puts everyone at ease and yet draws them out. Not just fellow extraverts, but everyone .
Hazel was like that when we first met. But something changed in our dynamic over time, and I don’t know what happened. Apart from Hazel, I couldn’t recall meeting many people like that since I moved here .
Lila was only a child, yet she possessed that special quality. It definitely wasn’t hereditary in her case.
She prodded both of us with some more questions, and Jeff eventually convinced her to listen to some music.
Not long after, a bump jarred me upright. “What?”
Jeff’s cheeks were sucked in. “Wake up, we’re almost here.”
I pulled down the sun visor as I licked my lips. “Oh, I wasn’t sleeping—”
“You so were,” Lila chimed in. “You were kind of snoring.”
Jeff raised both his eyebrows a bit, but he said nothing.
“Lightly!” she added. “Not like all loud and gross.”
Her father cleared his throat. “Snoring isn’t gross. It’s not something people do on purpose. Besides, she—”
“ Fine , fine, maybe I had a slight doze,” I said, irritation lacing my tone. “It’s been a long week.”
“Actually, all weeks are the same length unless there’s a time change,” Lila pronounced.
“It’s just an expression, sweetie,” Jeff said.
“Oh, grown-up speak? Blah.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing, and Jeff pulled into a small parking lot surrounded by trees in every direction, a few nearly bare and several shedding leaves as we arrived.
As they retrieved the bags from the back, I stood outside the car and yawned as my eyes swept the area, landing back on Jeff.
“Are you really tired, Roxanne?” he asked.
“A little. But it’s no big deal, just—”
“Do you like ‘Roxy’ or ‘Roxanne’? I thought you liked ‘Roxy,’ but Dad calls you ‘Roxanne.’ You have to tell us which one of us is right, OK?” Her expression was gleeful as she snuck a glance at her father.
“I really prefer Roxy.” I paused, watching him spray bug spray on everything.
She laughed. “Dad, see, I was right!”
“Oh, your dad knows I prefer ‘Roxy.’”
Her eyes widened as she looked between us. “ Then why do you call her that, Daddy?”
“This isn’t relevant. Do you girls want to hike or not?”
Lila and I frowned at each other.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be grumpy, sweetie. I just want to be on our way. You know, not to miss the midday sun.”
The girl shrugged and started walking toward the trail entrance, marked by a sign I couldn’t read from here.
“Don’t be so slow!” she called back, laughing as I was trailing her, with Jeff a few steps behind me. She stayed within sight but ahead of us for the first few minutes but slowed down so we could catch her.
Jeff sighed and held out his arm. “Give me your bag.”
Lila grinned sheepishly. “OK, fine, I’ll let you carry it.”
“Aww, what a thoughtful daughter you have,” I chimed in. Her playfulness around Jeff was apparently catchy, as I couldn’t imagine any time I’d ever felt comfortable joking around in front of him. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Apart from occasional exclamations about random sightings in nature, we were all fairly quiet as we hiked for the first half hour and then came to a clearing that revealed a pond, peaceful and bright as the water reflected the sunlight.