Page 17 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“Yes, please,” she said in a meek voice that was fooling no one.
“I’ll take two of those and some advice, Klaus,” Dan said.
He’d never worked up the courage to ask this man how old he was. Dan only knew that he was tall, didn’t stoop, and had not a stitch of hair on top of his head.
“Let me have it, then,” Klaus said, beginning to froth milk.
“If you had a friend you’d had all your life?—”
“Uncle Dan,” Ally moaned, sinking into her seat.
“And someone said something mean about that friend, and you agreed rather than sticking up for them because you wanted to go to a birthday party, was that okay?”
“Well now, hypothetically speaking, I can understand that sometimes things like that happen with all the pressures on kids these days, but the thing about those very first friends you make is, they’re often the special ones. Keepers,” Klaus added. “But I might differ from some on that subject, as I still correspond with the first friend I made when I started school.”
“Get out!” Dan whistled, impressed.
“Bastion Bauer,” Klaus added. “He’s the mayor of the town I grew up in.”
“Nice to have friends in high places,” Dan said, taking the drinks that were handed to him out the window, along with a bag of still-warm apple strudel muffins. “Thanks for the words of wisdom. You have a good day now, Klaus.”
“You, too, Deputy Dan, and you, Ally.”
“Bye, Mr. Becker,” she said, waving.
They pulled out of the driveway, and Dan took a long sip of his coffee and sighed.
“Fine. I’ll say I’m not going,” Ally added after a slurp of hers.
“Or you could say that Bobby is your friend and you don’t want anyone talking bad about him, but still go.”
“Do you think Mabel will still let me?”
“Is she worth your time if she doesn’t? I mean, you’re only young, and this stuff comes to you with age and wisdom, like it did with me.”
“Nana told me she’s not sure how you became a deputy because you were a reckless child who did anything your brothers told you to and usually ended up in trouble.”
All true,Dan thought. “But I grew up, and we’re not talking about me. All I’m saying is that if you’ve grown away from Bobby, then that’s okay, too, but don’t be a mean girl about it.”
“I hate mean girls,” Ally said. “Mabel can be one of those sometimes.”
They drank their drinks in silence the rest of the way, which wasn’t far in a town the size of Lyntacky.
“You can stop outside the gates,” Ally said as he turned into the school.
“Am I not cool enough to drive you up to the front door anymore?” Dan asked, doing just that. “I’m a deputy, squirt. We’re important and cool.”
Ally sank into her seat. When he stopped, she opened the door and slithered out. He waited until she’d taken a few steps before lowering the window.
“Have the best day, baby. Love you lots!” He then blew her a kiss.
She sprinted into school, pink cheeked.
Laughing, he thought his niece had a lot to learn. Dan and his four siblings had been hell at school, so there wasn’t muchthis kid could do that would top them. He was just about to pull out when a beat-up red van drove up and parked in front of him. It wasn’t familiar to Dan, but then he didn’t know every car in Lyntacky.
He watched the driver’s door open and a woman get out. Not just any woman, but her—Leah Reynolds. The door on the passenger’s side opened, and a boy got out next. The kid was all knobby knees, like Dan had been. Had the same hair color too.
“Who are you?” Dan wondered out loud. He hadn’t seen him the day he’d encountered her. Had this boy been the one inside the house… not a man?
