“I got donuts!”
Dad walked into the kitchen, a wide smile on his face. The kind of smile that screamed, “I got lucky last night!”
I shivered and tried to chase the memory away.
My mother took the donuts from my father, put them on the table, and then turned Dad to face Sydney. She had only walked into the kitchen a few seconds earlier.
“Dex, meet Sydney.”
My father pulled Sydney in for a hug. Her eyes went wide but quickly softened.
“This is our Sydney, huh?” Dad asked, giving her a once-over and then looking back at me. He winked, not even trying to hide it as he sat down at the table. “Beautiful and smart. You’ve got good taste, like your father.”
Sydney’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. God, she was so beautiful.
“Dex, do you have your list of places you want to visit?” Sydney asked, clearly changing the subject.
Mom huffed. “Does he have his list? He’s been talking about it for days. I have the damn thing memorized.”
The toast popped up behind me, and Mom quickly got to work putting Sydney’s plate together. Then she worked on Dad’s while I leaned against the counter and drank my smoothie.
“The Salem Witch Museum is a must.” Dad said.
Sydney nodded, taking a bite of eggs.
Dad took a few bites of food as he scanned his list. “The House of the Seven Gables. Paula wants to see that one, too.”
“Oh! The Witch House and the Dungeon Museum, too!” Mom added.
I couldn’t help but smile. Even I could hear the excitement in her voice. When I’d decided to leave the Chicago PD and move back to Massachusetts, I thought my mother would be upset. She had been sad, of course, but now that I thought about it, she hadn’t been that upset. Maybe at the time I thought it was because of Karen. Now I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of dad as well. Me being closer to Dad gave Mom more of an excuse to come visit him as well.
Nausea rolled through my stomach as I thought of last night.
“Mike? Darling, are you okay? You look sick.”
I lifted my gaze to my mother. “No, I’m fine. Just had a flashback of something.”
Sydney shot me a look and covered her mouth to hide her smile.
“The Beverly John Cabot House is also a great stop,” Sydney said.
Dad picked up a pen and said, “Yes! We are adding that to our list.”
“Dad, you don’t even know what it is,” I said with a chuckle.
“If our Sydney recommends it, then it is going on the list.”
I glanced over at Sydney, who raised a brow and gave me a saucy smile.