The Single Dad (Red's Tavern 4)

“Just about everything, yes,” I said.

“Wow.”

“Luke!” Dayna called over from the other side of the yard.

“What’s up?”

“I know what you need,” she said, walking in a circle around the tent. “You need a fountain back here.”

“Already got her home-improvement glasses on,” Cam said to me quietly. But I didn’t mind the suggestion.

“That’s actually a great idea, Dayna,” I said, walking over toward the tent. “I’ve thought about it a couple of times. I don’t know where I’d want to put a fountain back here, but I agree. The yard needs one.”

“This is super cool,” Chloe said, approaching the greenhouse. I went over, opening up the doors and showing everybody inside.

The kids were fascinated by the different flowers, quiet for the first time as I explained the names and needs of each one. I suddenly had a feeling like I was the tour guide on a kids’ field trip, and strangely enough, I liked the feeling.

“These rocks are so cool,” Chloe said, inspecting the array of river rocks I had in the bottom of one of my bamboo plants.

“I get those from the Elk River trail when I go hiking,” I said. “I pick up a couple every time I go.”

“We’ve been there,” Cooper said. “We used to go every summer. It’s Mom’s favorite place.”

“Have you ever seen a Venus flytrap?” I asked. I remembered when I was a kid, flytraps were my first foray into being interested in plants, because they were just so cool.

“I’ve heard of them,” Cooper said.

“I’ll show you,” I said. “I think they were looking a little hungry this morning.”

“Hungry? Flowers?” Dayna asked.

“Oh, wait ‘til you see it, Dayn,” Cam said. “Venus flytrap flowers have jaws. They eat bugs.”

“No they don’t,” Dayna said.

“You’ll see,” I said. “It’s actually not even the flower part, either. Flytraps have pretty flowers that grow out of them, but lower down, the plant really does have jaws.”

The flytrap plants turned out to be a massive hit with everyone. Even Cam bent down close, fascinated to watch me feed them. And before long, any awkwardness of meeting a new person seemed to evaporate from the kids’ minds. They roamed around the yard. Dayna found the outdoor shower and giggled as she turned it on and off. Cooper and Chloe started to climb a tree, and in true good-dad fashion, Cam let them have fun with it, but didn’t let them get too high up.

About a half an hour later, I called in an order from JJ’s Barbecue, and soon we had a feast spread out across the back picnic table. Dayna went right for the mac and cheese, and everybody else put together pulled pork sandwiches with sides of baked beans, corn, and slaw.

As we ate, the kids all kept discussing the book Dayna had been talking about when they first got here. Apparently Chloe and Cooper had already read the whole series and Dayna was just getting into it.

“They didn’t meet at the castle,” Cooper said, shaking his head at Dayna. “They met on the first day of school. It obviously says that in chapter two.”

“But they met before that!” Dayna protested.

“She’s right,” Chloe said.

“You guys are idiots,” Cooper said, rolling his eyes and taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Be nice,” Cam said.

“Where did you guys meet?” Dayna asked, looking right at me.

Suddenly I was surrounded by four pairs of big blue eyes, all staring right at me. The Lyons-Erickson family were all good people, but damn if it wasn’t intimidating to have that much crystal blue on me all at once.

“Oh, we uh—we met at a… tavern.”

“The tavern where Uncle Perry works?” Dayna asked.

“Yes, hon. It’s a restaurant, basically,” Cam said.

I was very grateful for his interjection. I had no idea if I was supposed to tell his kids that we met at a damn bar. Even though their uncle ran the kitchen there, I was pretty sure the kids weren’t old enough to have been to Red’s Tavern before.

“I was doing a crossword puzzle there, and I couldn’t figure out a word, and Luke was nice enough to help me. Then I remembered him from the Golden Goose Inn.”

“The inn gardens are probably my favorite place in this entire city,” Chloe said. “How did you do all of that?”

I smiled. “It took a long time. I promise you that.”

“Luke,” Dayna asked. “Can I go back in the greenhouse?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

“Make sure you’re careful in there,” Cam warned. “Don’t climb on anything, okay?”

“I’ll be safe,” Dayna said, already bounding off toward the greenhouse. Cooper and Chloe followed behind her soon after.

I glanced over and noticed that Dayna must have left the outdoor shower trickling earlier. I got up and went over, turning it off, and I realized that the kids were talking about me inside the greenhouse. Behind one of the walls of plants, they didn’t know I was nearby to hear them.