The Single Dad (Red's Tavern 4)

“No, that wasn’t the neighbors,” I said. “I was... consulting with a landscaper.”

It wasn’t a total lie. But it still felt fucking rotten to say it.

“Cool,” Rachel said. She barely cared. It almost felt like since we’d decided to divorce, she tried not to care, and maybe that was the right decision. Even though my kids would have asked a billion questions, Rachel didn’t ask anything more at all. “You’ll have them back by six?” she asked, her voice breezy.

“I will,” I said.

“Good. Barb is sending a face painter to the house at seven. A little over the top, but I think the kids will like it.”

“There’s going to be a face painter?” I asked, a strange twisting in my chest.

I’d felt weird about having two separate birthday parties for Dayna all week, but now I was worried that the party at Rachel’s new house would be more fun for the kids. Barb was one of Rachel’s work friends, who always had helped out with party planning. Rachel seemed to have a friend for everything. Barb for kids’ parties, Heather for adults’ parties, Nicole for planning trips, Dennis for car questions.

In the past, I’d just asked Rachel for help with anything, and like some sort of wizard, she could always use her network to figure it out. Now, I just had myself, Google, and whoever I could find.

In fact, if I hadn’t had Luke around this morning, I don’t know what I would have done.

“Yeah,” she said. “Nineteen kids from the school RSVP’d, so I guess Barb wanted to make sure there was plenty of entertainment.”

I felt like I’d just been punched in the gut. “Nineteen, huh?”

“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s gonna be a zoo. It’ll be fun, though.”

“Christ.”

“Have fun, guys,” she yelled into the living room before nodding at me. “I’ll see you later.”

I cleared my throat. “See you, Rach.”

As I watched her walk quickly back to her SUV, I saw Luke’s truck at the very end of the street out front, driving down the slope and rounding the corner. I had a strange urge, wishing that I could run after him, to apologize and explain and tell him to come back.

But I couldn’t do that. It didn’t matter right now, anyway. I was going to make sure Dayna’s birthday party—the Dad’s House version—was the best it could be.

6

Luke

Gravel crunched under my shoes as I followed the winding trail, snaking in between a thicket of trees. Sunlight dappled through the leaves, making patches of light and shadow along the way. My breath was heavy with every step.

This was what I had wanted all week. Needed. I wasn’t going to slow down for anything.

Liz was a few paces behind me, catching up quick.

“You’re off your game today, Warren,” she said. Liz always called me by my last name when she was trying to be competitive, like some sort of high school gym coach. I hated it and loved it at the same time.

“Might be off my game,” I said, taking a breath as I reached a bend in the trail. “But I’m still ahead of you.”

We were on the Capatchka trail, an intense but short hike which led up a small mountain. Liz and I hiked here when one or both of us needed a break from everyday life. It was about an hour outside of town, and one of the places I knew I could clear my head.

Being up here reminded me that I didn’t need anybody. Not really. I’d been so caught up in my night with Cam, in a way that I hadn’t been in a long while. I’d gone to three different bars on three different nights this week, and each time, I hadn’t met anybody I was interested in.

Usually, I was unstoppable. I could bring home cute guys coming through the nearby towns—tourists, new locals, whatever.

But they hadn’t interested me. A guy last night had even asked me back to his motel room, and I’d declined.

The trail was lined with early summer new green grass, trees, and bushes. It wasn’t as lush and green as my gardens, but the views from the top were unbeatable.

“Gonna lap you,” she said, coming up from behind me, jogging until she was at my side. She grinned at me, her short purple hair bouncing in a little ponytail at the back of her head.

“Try me,” I said.

I took off in a sprint up the path. I’d been waiting to run a little, and finally feeling the deep burn in my muscles was invigorating. The golden afternoon sun shone behind me, and I followed my shadow up ahead.

I liked running when it was like this. When it was relaxing. Controlled. I wasn’t running away from anything, and I had no fear in my heart.

I could hear Liz’s footsteps behind me as we ran the rest of the way up to the summit. Finally the trees cleared, the sky opened up, and we reached the top, looking down over the land and tiny towns below.