Page 166 of Champagne Nights

“See you soon.”

“It’s good to see you smile again, Ben.” Leah signed when I looked up from my phone.

“We have to be at Paisley’s by two. Should we bring something?”

“I can make mini tarts. They don’t take long. We can run to the store and get the ingredients.”

“What kind of tarts?” I signed.

“We can make chocolate, pumpkin, and cherry.” She smiled.

“Sounds fun. Can I help?”

She laughed. “Yes. I would like your help.”

I grabbed my keys, and we took a quick trip to the local grocery store and bought the ingredients for the tarts. As I was helping Leah make them, my phone rang. It was my dad.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Dad,” I answered.

“Happy Thanksgiving. I heard you have a visitor.”

Damn, Finn.

“Yeah, I do,” I said.

“Were you going to tell me that my daughter was in town?”

His attitude angered me. He never cared before, so why now? I walked into the other room so Leah couldn’t read my lips.

“I was going to call you and Mom tomorrow. But I guess my brother beat me to it.”

“She can come with us to Santa Barbara. I already talked to your mother about it.”

“No. She’s spending Thanksgiving with me and Paisley’s family. If she wanted to spend it with you, then she would have.”

“Fine. Have a happy Thanksgiving, son.”

I pressed the end button and composed myself before walking back into the kitchen. Leah looked at me as she took the tarts out of the oven.

“Are you okay?

“Yeah. That was just Dad. He said happy Thanksgiving and wanted to know if you wanted to go to Santa Barbara with them.” I signed.

She shook her head no.

“I know. I told him we already had plans.”

“I don’t want to see any of them while I’m here.”

A look of despair swept over her face as she signed. I walked over to her and grabbed her hands for a minute before signing.

“He’s your dad, and you should see him at least once. I’ll go with you.”

Immediately, she changed the subject and pointed to the tarts.

“They look delicious. Paisley’s mom is going to love them.”

I looked at the time on the stove. It was one fifteen.

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