Page 29 of Dream a Little Dream

“Because I wanted your day to be better.”

I eyed her as I accepted the wonderfully grease-stained bag, whichwas still warm on the sides. “But you had no way of knowing it was bad.”

“Didn’t matter. Whatever it was, I wanted to make it better.” She walked backward a few steps, heading out. “And I love the house, by the way. All the little touches. The personality. The pot holders hanging on the side of the fridge with the little sayings might be my favorite. Especially the one that saysDon’t drop it like it’s hot. You knocked it out of the park with the place.”

“Thank you.” I had to admit it was nice that she’d noticed. Not everyone did. “Jeannie LeRoy made those pot holders for the fall festival in Bountiful Park as a way to pay for her kitchen remodel. You should have seen the line, but while I was waiting, I made eye contact, and since I always save the best filets for her on Monday mornings, she set aside a few pot holders for me just in case.”

“You are very much the businesswoman. It’s impressive.”

I pocketed the compliment, unsure if I would examine it again later. A lie. I totally would. We stood a good twelve feet apart when her features softened to sincerity. “I don’t know what happened today to make you sad, but,” she shrugged, “you have someone who cares. Hit me up if you ever want to have that talk.”

There it was again.The Talk. It should come with its own theme music. I continued to put the day on that bridge out of my mind, but maybe that was a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe I did need to hear what Kyle had to say about it, or maybe that was a whole can of worms best left on the shelf entirely.

Conflicted, I shoved the entire concept to the side and focused on regaining control of my workday. I didn’t want to admit that running into Kyle had been a helpful reset when I desperately needed it. Nor did I want to acknowledge that I was wildly attracted to her in spite of the caution tape. It wouldn’t be long until she rode off into the sunset again, and all I had to do was stay steady on my course until then. I stared down at the bag of donuts in my hand with reluctance draped across my heart. I’d put them in the break room for the employees. Polite but firm, I reminded myself. No eating enemy donuts.

Okay, so I grabbed a maple bacon for myself first. It didn’t mean a damn thing!

Chapter Ten

Library Day

One thing I knew about Jonathan was that his father was not an active participant in his life, and that had been a sore spot. His dad had moved out on his mom once it was clear Jonathan would be a child with special needs. It had taken several surgeries to get his mobility to the point it was today, but his dad hadn’t stuck around to see that part. An occasional stressful visit, and sometimes not even those, was all he remembered of his dad from childhood. He didn’t talk about him much, but these days, given my own recent discovery, it had me thinking.

“Do you ever think about reaching out to your dad?” I ran my hand along the long line of book spines.

Jonathan paused in the middle of the mystery section, a Felice Picano novel in his hands. “You’re asking about my fatherright now? I just told you I wanted to read something sexy, gay, and mysterious, and you ask about my loser of a father? What’s going on?” He closed the book, his brows pulled together above his nose. “It’slibrarytime, Savvy.” Code for sacred. I knew this. He knew this.

We both loved a good read and had made a pact years ago to become weekly reading buddies and never look back. Nerds united by a good story. In fact, the library pact was one of the best parts about us.

I shrugged apologetically. “I’ve been wondering about mine is all. This is a new set of feelings that I’m trying to navigate. Beyond examining my own identity, there’s a parent out there in the wild.”

He pulled the book to his chest and moved toward me. It must have been a good day for him pain wise since he’d opted for just his cane. To his credit, he’d had it painted a vibrant purple, which made him look fabulous or like an eccentric millionaire. He was all aboutembracing his disability, rather than downplaying it. “Parent in the wild is certainly in my wheelhouse. To the reading nooks, sweetie. They should be empty at this time of morning.”

“Now you’re talking my language. Lead the way.”

I happily followed Jonathan through the fiction shelves, saying hello to comedy, intrigue, and of course, my favorite, romance. I glared at the newest Parker Bristow novel as I passed. I still hadn’t forgiven her for killing off the brother in that small-town book that grabbed my heart. I’d absolve her one day, but for now, the breakup stood.

“Don’t you throw sass at Parker. She was just doing her job and you know it,” Jonathan stated as we cruised by.

“There’s no defense there. Dead to me.”

The reading room was empty just as Jonathan had predicted. I loved the reading nooks and their creative/comfortable offerings. They were these adult-sized pods with overly soft chairs and a mass of artificial vines and tree branches covering the tops of each one, giving the illusion that you were reading in the plushest forest that ever existed. The library even piped in sounds of nature capable of erasing the present, allowing the reader to float away. Something about the serenity quickly made every muscle in my body unclench.

“So, your biological dad is likely out there somewhere,” Jonathan said, taking a seat inside the treehouse-themed pod.

I slid into the chair in the black bear nook that faced his leopard version. “Why am I so curious? I want, more than anything, to leave well enough alone.”

He nodded thoughtfully and tossed a strand of brown hair out of his eye. “Because it’s natural to want to know one’s own villain origin story. But if I may?”

“Certainly.”

“Sometimes what you find when you go looking isn’t helpful. Cue my asshole of a dad, for a real-life example. I would’ve been better off if he’d remained a mysterious figure rather than the letdown he turned out to be.”

“But maybe that would make this whole thing easier. If I found him and he was a garbage human, I could just move on.”

“I’m not sure it’s that easy.”

He had a point. I sighed. “At least I’d know.”

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