Page 55 of Stand

The kids downed their burgers and fries and began on their sundaes. They were on their phones. Sam was sitting with her face to the sun coming through the branches. As if this were the wooded path by the stream where he’d first met her, not a rest stop on the side of a highway. She amazed him. She could make herself comfortable anywhere.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

Matt rolled his eyes, then winced at the pull on his bruised muscles. “Off to make nice with the mean girl again?”

“For crying out loud, Matt,” Ty said. “You’re being a total brat.” And fueled by his own frustration, as well as guilt that he was now snapping the way he’d told his kids not to, he went into the rest stop and ordered another sundae.

Ignoring the narrowed stares of his kids, he walked over to Sam’s table. Cairo’s tail thumped the floor as he approached.

“Peace offering,” Ty said.

Sam lowered her gaze to flick over him and the cup he was holding. “Hot fudge sauce?” she said.

“Yep. And whipped cream.”

She took the sundae. “Peace offering accepted.”

Ty smiled, and she moved to the side, inviting him to sit on the hard metal bench.

“Where are the kids?” she asked after he’d taken his seat and given Cairo a couple of pats.

“Eating their sundaes. They’ll be fine for a couple minutes. You okay?”

“Sure,” she answered at once. Sam was always okay.

“I’m sorry about the kids,” he said. “I had no idea they’d—”

“Seriously, Ty,” she interrupted. “I’m fine. They did exactly what they should have done.”

He put down his cup. “Sam,” he said seriously, because this was the only reason he’d come over. The only one. “Neither you nor anyone else is responsible for my relationship with Julia.”

Sam looked up at the sky and down again. “We’re a product of our upbringing, Tyler,” she said with a twist to her smile. “You know that. We just talked about it for the last hour.”

“Okay, sure. So let’s not leave it at high school. Let’s go all the way back. My dad left my mom when I was seven. You want abandonment issues? That’s where mine started. You want me to tell you that you’re the sole reason my marriage was fucked up and my kids are suffering now? Sorry, sweetheart. You don’t get that prize.”

Her mouth fell open.

“And you, Indy,” he continued. “You were raised to be a raving snob.”

“I wasnot!” she yelped.

“The kids you looked down on were never the rich ones. And your parents weren’t friends with their parents. Did you notice? All the kids on that list were from my side of town. You were friends withallthe rich kids.”

“I wasn’t—”

“Think about it. If you didn’t like them, you sure made nice with them. Because your parents brought you up to do that. They didn’t tell you anything about us. We weren’t worth your time.”

She looked like he’d slapped her. Her cheeks were going red. “I’m not saying this to get back at you,” he went on. “I don’t believe you’re like that now. I’m saying it so you know that blaming yourself for me and Julia is stupid.”

Sam put her plastic spoon back in the ice cream cup. “This why you came over here?”

“To apologize, and yes, to tell you this where the kids won’t hear. They don’t need any more ammo against you right now.”

“This sundae tastes terrible,” she said, smiling. “Why don’t you eat it?”

He had to grin back at her. He didn’t want to be the one to put Sam on the back foot, but he’d had to say his piece. “Just think about it. Or rather, don’t think about it.”

He licked his lips, wondering how far she’d let him in. He wanted to ask her one more question.

---