Page 11 of Huckleberry Hill
“You staying for breakfast, Declan?” Muddy asked instead of replying.
“If you’ll have me, ma’am,” he replied.
Muddy fixed him a heaping plate and did the same for me. We took our food to the dining room table and as I was peppering my gravy, the front door opened.
“Connor,” Muddy called. “Your daughter came home.”
“Which daughter?” came my father’s low, raspy voice.
“Your favorite one,” I called out.
“Salem?” Dad teased.
I laughed and scooted my chair back from the table and rose just as my dad came into the dining room. He quickly enveloped me into a bear hug, squeezing me tight.
He pulled back and dropped his arms. “Morning, Declan.”
“Morning,” Declan said.
“Yeah, good morning, Dad. Where were you?” I asked, hands on my hips.
“Out,” he said evasively. He inclined his head. “Why are you home? You’re supposed to be in Italy.”
“So you didn’t get my message either.” I sighed.
He pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. A moment later it beeped. “Ah, yep. There’s the voicemail.” He looked at me. “What time did you get in?”
“Late. I took a flight out of New York around nine.”
“And how did you get to the Ridge?” Dad demanded.
“Cab.”
“You did what? You know I don’t trust cab drivers.”
“Relax,” I said lightly. “It was either take a cab or stay the night in the airport and then have you come get me in the morning.”
“I’d have preferred to come and get you,” he huffed.
“Your phone was off, and Muddy lost hers,” I pointed out. “How would I have gotten a ride?”
“I didn’t lose my phone,” Muddy protested. “It’s just momentarily misplaced.”
Dad rolled his eyes the same blue shade as mine and grinned at me. “I’m getting a plate of food and then we’re having a talk.”
He went into the kitchen to speak to Muddy, leaving me alone with Declan.
“So, you were supposed to be in Italy, huh?” Declan asked.
“Yep.”
“Going on a solo journey?”
“My dad hates that I took a cab from the airport. How do you think he’d feel about me solo traveling?”
“So, you weren’t going to Italy alone . . . Girls’ trip?”
His line of questioning would eventually lead to the truth.
