Page 45 of Breaking Emily's Rules
I sucked in a breath at being introduced that way from a man who apparently did have faith in me. He believed in my abilities, even if I still doubted them. I was now in the midst of what I assumed must be other air force pilots and, for the first time, noticed a few women sitting at a table nearby.
“You’re letting this guy teach you?Thisstupid guy? I’ll teach you everything you need to know, babe,” the one named Dave said.
Stone put an arm around me, and I moved even closer to him. “She doesn’t need to learn how to crash and burn.”
“That’s right. You’ll take care of her, won’t you, Stone?” The youngest-looking man said.
“Shut up, NFG,” Matt said.
“Why do they call him NFG?” I whispered.
“He’s the new guy and I’ll let you figure out the rest,” Stone said as a waitress ushered them to a table at the grill. The men, thankfully, didn’t follow. Instead, they issued catcalls as they walked away.
The place smelled like onions, garlic, French fries and other enticing smells that were making my stomach do leaps in anticipation. This time his hand rode a bit lower on my back.
“Do you come here a lot?”
He nodded. “It’s owned by a couple of retired air force pilots. Kind of a gathering place for those on leave, grounded between assignments.”
The whole thing reminded me of the temporary nature of this date.One date.I hadn’t forgotten that.
“So…about your dad. I used to see him here and there at the diner and around town. I didn’t know him well.”
Stone smiled, something he should do a lot more often, and I went a little limp. “My dad was like my best friend. The flight school was his dream. And before he died, he just asked me to stick around until I could sell it to someone who would keep it going. He wanted me to keep it open so his employees wouldn’t be out of a job. What can I say, he was a good guy.”
“You were close.”
“He raised me. My parents divorced when my sister and I were young, about ten, and their custody arrangement was that I would live with my father and my sister with my mother.”
“How do you break up a family like that?” Of all the crazy child custody arrangements I’d ever heard, this one was the strangest.
“Look, it’s not like they each picked a favorite kid. Sometimes I think that’s what Sarah believes. It’s just not true. Our father used to take her fishing every summer until she was about thirteen. She stopped visiting after that. Her choice.” Stone shrugged. “It worked for us.”
Until now, I wanted to say. No wonder they hated each other. They had no real connection. “So—did you ever see your mom and sister?”
“Saw my mother on the occasional holiday, and summers. But as we became teenagers, neither one of us was much interested in wasting a summer away from our friends. They couldn’t force it at that point. Honestly, it felt a little disloyal to ask to spend time with my mother. My dad was always there for me. It was enough.”
“Have you tried talking to your sister?”
“I would talk, if I had anything to say. So far all she wants to bring up are lies.”
“Lies?”
“Emily, I’dreallyrather not talk about this,” Stone said.
“Sorry. I can’t imagine not having my sister, even if she is a spoiled brat sometimes.”
We ordered hamburgers and fries when our waitress arrived, and then Stone turned the tables on me. “What about your parents? You talk about Molly, your dad and your grandmother. Not your mom.”
Jessica Lynn. Everyone had called her Jessie. Every time Dad said her name, his entire body seemed to cave in on itself. He still carried both the hurt and hate in about equal measures, even after seventeen years. Blamed the doctors. Blamed the hospital.
“She died when Molly was three and I was about eleven.”
Stone met my eyes and took my hand. “That’s rough.”
There weren’t many photos of Mama left, because one day Grammy had put them all away after she’d found Dad crying. “It was hardest on Molly. She cried every night for three months. Now she doesn’t even remember her.”
Stone wasn’t letting go of my hand right now and we were both quiet for a long moment.
