Page 15 of From Nowhere

His face sobers. “Sorry. I don’t know how to talk about my wife with a woman who I’m trying to flirt with.” Ozzy shifts his weight to his other leg and drops his gaze to his beer. “I’m off to a winning start on this date.”

I snort. “You’re the best worst date I’ve ever had.”

“That makes no sense, and you know it.” He gives me the hairy eyeball.

“It makes perfect sense. It makes as much sense as going on a date with someone I met on the toilet in the men’s room.” I nod toward the sofa and adjacent leather recliner.

Ozzy follows me so closely I feel the warmth from his body and catch the faint scent of his cologne or bodywash—bourbon and oak.

After his proximity knocks me off kilter, I clear my throat and sit on the far end of the sofa. “Listen, I don’t expect you to pretend that you didn’t lose your wife or that you don’t have a daughter. In fact, if you need someone to talk to, I’m your person. I might even throw in some memories of my brother.”

He sits on the opposite end of the sofa. “My wife’s name was Brynn.”

I sip my wine before nodding. He’s right. It’s a difficult first-date topic. I want to ask him how they met and what she was like, but I don’t. Not yet. “Tell me about Lola. What’s she like, if you don’t mind me asking? I don’t know the protocol for dating a guy with a child. Maybe you’d prefer other questions, like what do you enjoy doing in your free time?”

Ozzy chuckles. It’s genuine and soothing, like someone squeezing my hand. He makes me nervous in a good way. I know virtually nothing about him, but I want to know everything. I’ve had that vibe since our first encounter. Public-bathroom chivalry will do that. I couldn’t stop thinking about him when I was in Chicago.

“In my free time, I like hanging out with Lola,” he says.

Of course he does. Have I been missing out on an untapped segment of Missoula’s eligible men, the secret society of nice guys, a.k.a. single dads?

“And I like watching her play softball, chase fireflies and butterflies, build snowmen, and hearing her gossip with her friends about boys at school when she doesn’t know I’m listening.”

I’m in over my head with this guy. One date and my heart already recognizes something that feels so different from anyone before him.

“And you enjoy riding your bike.” I smile.

After a beat, his brows pull together with a slow nod. “Enjoymight be a strong word. Lola was in the car accident with her mom. She was injured pretty badly. Her face will carry the scars forever despite several surgeries. But she’s alive, and that’s all that matters. However, she equates all vehicles to death traps. She refuses to get into a car and doesn’t want me driving or riding in one, either, because, in her words, I’m all she has.”

Jesus, that’s heartbreaking.

“So you haven’t been in a car since the accident?” I ask, trying not to sound so shocked, but it is unbelievable.

There’s no way. How would he function?

Ozzy shakes his head, risking a glance at me as if to gauge my reaction. I’m not sure I have one, just lots of questions.

“No taxis or Ubers?”

Again, he shakes his head.

“Buses?”

“Nope.”

“Has she talked to anyone about her fear? Like a therapist? And just tell me to shut up. She’s not my child. I’m not a therapist. And I’m not judging you. I promise.”

Ozzy eyes me, which makes me squirm. I’ve overstepped.

“Judge me,” he says. “Out of ten, what would you give me? An eight for sure, right? I mean, I was a little late to the date, but I brought flowers. So ...”

I tap the rim of my wineglass on my lower lip. “You use humor as a coping mechanism.”

“Pfft.” He inspects his beer bottle like he’s reading it. “Everyone uses humor as a coping mechanism because it’s the best medicine. Right?”

I nod slowly.

He angles his body toward me and stretches an arm across the back of the sofa. “You can ask me whatever you want. Yes, Lola sees a therapist. The goal is to get her back in a car, but she’s young, and it’s hard to reason with her. I don’t want to force her to walk before she can crawl. And right now, we’re still learning to crawl.”

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