Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you sure you’re ready to spend the night away from home?” Carson asked Lily.
His daughter opened a drawer, pulling out her PJs. “Daddy, you’re spending the night, too.”
Well, she was right about that. Not that sleeping on the couch was where he wanted to be.
He would rather be in Mila’s bed.
As Lily put her nightgown into her backpack, Carson told himself to put on the brakes.
After all, he had been the one who had told Mila that he wanted to take things slowly.
Yet here he was, chomping at the bit, like a thoroughbred in the gate at the Kentucky Derby, ready to race when the bell sounded.
He needed to take his time getting to know Mila.
Yet his heart told him he already knew everything he needed to know.
Carson had never believed in falling in love at first sight.
Even with Angie, they had started as friends and study partners.
It had taken months before he’d gotten the notion to kiss her.
When he did, his gut told him she was the right person for him.
He had never looked at another woman after that.
Meeting Mila seemed to awaken him after some deep slumber.
The only thing he could liken it to was Sleeping Beauty, who had been cursed by an evil fairy and slept one hundred years.
He had been ravaged by Angie’s murder, but he had pulled himself together for Lily’s sake.
Carson had numbed himself to all feelings, burying himself in work and caring for his daughter.
When he was introduced to Mila, however, it was as if a heavy curtain had been drawn back, and he could see the world clearly for the first time in a long while.
He was torn, though. His loyalties should lie with Angie—but the deep loneliness which had filled him ever since his wife’s death had become too heavy a burden to bear.
Mila was all light and sunshine and exuded positive energy.
That’s what he had been drawn to. Her goodness.
Her outlook. It was why he had been willing to risk a job he had just accepted. Because he saw a future with her.
And that scared him shitless.
That’s why he needed to rein in all the crazy feelings running through him, the giddiness of a schoolboy who’d asked his crush to the school dance and went to the moon and back when she said yes.
He felt he would be doing Angie a disservice if he got too involved too fast with Mila.
Still, he eagerly looked forward to their date tonight.
He also couldn’t help but recall how Mila had said Angie would want him to move forward with his life and not be stuck in the past.
“Daddy, these don’t fit,” Lily complained, trying to shove her tennis shoes into her backpack.
“Hold on, Peanut.” He moved to her. “Let’s take out what you’ve already put in.”
Carson emptied the backpack, pulling out clothes for tomorrow, clean underwear, and her nightgown. He also removed Ralph Rabbit.
“Ralph is taking up too much space,” he told his daughter.
“But I can’t leave him!” Lily said, her voice rising in hysteria.
He had learned touch calmed her, and so he gently put his hands on her shoulders, saying, “Let’s pack your clothes and shoes. You can carry Ralph. I know you don’t want to leave him behind because he wouldn’t be able to sleep without you.”
She sniffed. “Okay.”
Folding what he had just removed, he replaced everything in her backpack, including her tennis shoes.
“I need Crocs,” she announced. “Gina has them. So does Bobby. And some of the kids at Happy Hearts.”
“Then we’ll get you a pair soon,” he promised. “I’ll have to find out where to buy them.” He zipped the backpack closed. “Ready?”
They went downstairs, and Carson slipped into the sport coat he had hung on the back of a kitchen chair.
“You look nice,” Lily told him.
“Why, thank you.”
Carson had wanted to dress up since they were going to a fancy steakhouse.
He wore slacks and a crisp, white dress shirt.
No tie. He thought that would be too over the top, but the navy jacket gave him a more polished appearance.
As they went to the car, he found his heart beating faster in anticipation of spending tonight with Mila.
When they reached her brother’s house, he saw another car sitting in the driveway and assumed the Perrys had already arrived. Mrs. Perry opened the door and greeted them.
“Hello, Lily. I’m glad we’re going to hang out tonight. We’re going to play Chutes and Ladders and Disney Yahtzee.”
“I love Disney Yahtzee,” his daughter said enthusiastically as they entered the foyer. “I have Elsa on my pajamas.”
“That’s wonderful. Hi, Carson.”
“Hello, Laura. Thanks for giving Mila and me a break and watching the kids tonight.”
“Oh, it’s a pleasure. Michael and Cecily don’t go out of town often. When they do, we usually watch Gina and Bobby. Since it was summer, though, and I’m busy at the boutique, Mila was available to do so. We’re happy to help out.”
“Lily!” Gina cried. “Come to my room.”
Both girls ran up the stairs, giggling. He placed the backpack at the foot of the stairs.
“She’s got her nightgown, toothbrush, and clothes for tomorrow inside it. Shoes, too. You wouldn’t happen to know where to buy Crocs, would you?”
“There’s a children’s store on the square,” Laura said.
“They have a variety of colors.” She told him the name, and he decided he’d take Lily by there tomorrow.
He recalled feelings of being left out, when kids at school wore something he didn’t own.
Aunt Jayne had never been interested in helping him fit in, and that meant never buying what she had termed “trendy items.” He never wanted his daughter to experience the teasing and loneliness he had.
Laura led him into the kitchen, where Mila and Dr. P were sitting at the kitchen table.
“Carson,” the superintendent greeted.
“Hello, Bill,” he said, grinning at the older man.
“Oh, so now I’m Bill?”
“I’m trying. Doesn’t mean I won’t slip and forget.”
Laura went to the stove and stirred something boiling in a pot. “I hope Lily likes spaghetti.”
“She does. But she’s not big on the sauce. She prefers butter on it.”
“Until she sees Gina eating it with sauce,” Mila said. “Kids that age imitate one another all the time.”
“You, Layne, and Piper certainly did,” Bill said. “If one of you said you didn’t like green beans, the other two would pipe up, stomp your feet, and declare you also hated green beans.”
Mila laughed. “One time, Chief Roberts paid me a dollar to say I liked carrots.”
“Elmo did what?” her dad asked, amusement in his eyes.
“Piper barely ate vegetables, so her dad pulled me aside and told me he’d give me a dollar if I said I liked them. I didn’t have to eat any. I just had to say I liked them.” She shook her head. “I told him I would say it and eat some if he gave me five dollars.”
“Mila Marie Perry,” Laura chided. Then she paused. “So, did Elmo give you five?”
She smiled smugly. “He sure did. Told me I could stay for dinner. Mrs. Roberts served carrots and English peas.”
Bill laughed. “Even I know you don’t like peas.”
“I ate them,” Mila revealed. “I was afraid not to. I thought Chief Roberts might ask for his money back. It’s so funny because Piper loves vegetables now. She could eat her weight in zucchini or broccoli or corn. I like to think I put her on the road to good eating habits.”
“So, what’s Steak on a Plate like, besides serving steaks?” Carson asked.
“Their salads are cold and crisp,” Mila said. “Their best sides are sautéed mushrooms and mac and cheese, but the mac and cheese is delicious .”
“I get enough mac and cheese with Lily,” he joked.
“Then try their roasted carrots with honey herb butter or the mashed potato casserole.”
“Their steak fries are good,” Bill added. “Laura likes their sautéed green beans with pomegranates.”
“Hmm. That sounds different,” Carson said. “To be honest, I haven’t had steak in forever. This is a real treat, getting to dress up and go out with a beautiful woman and eat a fancy dinner.”
“Save room for dessert,” Laura cautioned. “Their coconut chiffon cake is to die for.”
“Nope, it’s chocolate bread pudding for me,” Mila said. Looking to Carson, she added, “And that’s not something I plan to share. Sides? Yes. Chocolate? Never.”
Everyone laughed, and he said, “We better get going. It’s a six o’clock reservation. Sorry it’s so early, but all the later times were booked up.”
“I don’t mind,” Mila said. “I never like to eat late.”
Laura removed the pot from the stove and dumped the spaghetti into a colander. “Why don’t you go and say goodbye to the kids? And have them come downstairs since dinner’s almost ready.”
Carson went upstairs with Mila. She stopped at the loft.
“Here’s where the kids will be sleeping. Since Lily didn’t have a sleeping bag, I got Cecily’s for her.”
“Thanks again for letting me sleep downstairs.”
“I know it’s probably rougher on you than it is Lily to be away from her. Now you’re in the Bay, though, she’ll be making all kinds of friends. Going to birthday parties and sleepovers. Tonight will help ease you into that.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for her to be big enough to spend the night away from me.”
“Get used to it, big guy. You’re going to blink—and she’ll be dating.”
He groaned. “Don’t go there. I hope I have at least a decade before all that starts. Hopefully, longer.”
They gathered the kids and brought them downstairs, where Laura had ladled spaghetti into melamine bowls. Cups of milk sat next to the bowls, and the kids climbed into chairs.
“We’re going to go now, Peanut,” he said, kissing his daughter’s head. “Be good for Miss Laura and Dr. P.”
“I will, Daddy.”
Mila picked up her purse from the counter and slid into a pair of heels which sat by the door.
“I usually don’t torture my feet this way,” she told him as they went out the door and to his car. “But they do look good with this dress.”