Page 55 of Last Call

“Stuff?”

“Me and Pete have been working on something for Mom.”

Fallon nodded.

“You can’t say anything if I tell you,” Evan said.

“Not a word.”

“It’s a car. A yellow Mustang like the one she had when she met my dad.”

“Let me guess. You told your dad about it.”

“Yeah. He just said he was glad I was having fun,” Evan said. “Then he said he had to go.”

Fallon wanted to scream. “Maybe he didn’t know what else to say,” she offered, hoping the words sounded less empty out loud than they did in her head.

Evan nodded, but his mouth pressed into a thin line. “Sometimes I think he doesn’t want to hear about my life.”

Fallon sighed. The truth was that she could relate. Dean never liked listening to Fallon talk about her relationship with Olivia. He would make a joke, change the subject, or remain silent. Listening to Evan reignited her frustration with Dean. He always needed to win, and for Dean, everything in life boiled down to competing. He had been unfaithful to Beth, prioritizing his relationship with Liv and the girls over their marriage and time with Evan, then acted wounded when Beth and Evan moved on with their lives. It was selfish. She needed to find something to ease Evan’s hurt and frustration.“I think it’s hard for your dad, knowing he’s missing out on spending time with you,” Fallon offered.

“Or he’s pissed. He’s like this kid at school I know, Bryan Humphrey. He dumped Mia Stearns and then got all pissed when I asked her to the end of year dance.”

Fallon smirked. It seemed she had missed out on more than one eventful twist in her nephew’s life. A dance? Did that count as a date? She shook off the question.

“See? You think so, too. Dad is mad about us liking Pete.”

“If your father is mad about anything or at anyone, it’s himself,” Fallon said. “If anything, he’s jealous. Don’t let him bring you down. I know you miss him. He misses you. But he can also be annoyingly stubborn.”

“Fallon?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think they might? Mom and Pete, I mean? Do you think they might—you know, get together?”

Fallon grinned. “I don’t know,” she replied.

“So what you want to say is, don’t get my hopes up. That’s what Grandma would say.”

“I’ve always thought that was her worst advice,” Fallon said.

Evan’s eyes popped wide.

“What? I do. You have to be able to hope for the things you want,” Fallon said, her gaze drifting to the bar where Andi and Riley were giggling. “Just remember that sometimes what you think will make you happiest turns out to be different from what you expected,” she said. “Now, tell me about this Mia.”

Riley startled when her phone buzzed. She took a deep breath. “It’s Beth,” she said, answering the call.

Silence instantly replaced laughter and chatter. Fallon looked over at the bar.I hope it’s good news.

“Hi,” Riley said.

“You can breathe,” Beth said. “Marge is headed to recovery. Dale is strutting around like a peacock. Peter James Madigan weighed in at seven pounds, three ounces.”

Riley exhaled, a brilliant smile curling her lips. “Hold on,” she said. “I’m going to put you on speaker. Go ahead.”

“Marge and the baby are both doing fine. Peter James arrived at 8:29. Marge is on her way to recovery.”

A collective sigh of relief was quickly followed by a round of shouted congratulations.

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