The Parent Trap Page 5

  “Manny lives in here.”

  Kate leaned in for a closer look. All she could see was a bed of moss on the bottom of the jar and a dead tree branch angled against the side. “I don’t see—”

  A twig on the branch suddenly moved and caught the squirming cricket.

  Kate squealed and jumped backward. “What on earth is that?”

  “A praying mantis. She’ll eat crickets when that’s all I have, but she really likes it when I catch houseflies for her.”

  Okay, this was just plain disgusting. Seriously, no normal person kept a giant bug in a jar, especially not a bug that ate other bugs that she had to catch and feed to it. Gross, gross, gross.

  Casey only laughed. “Last spring my science teacher had praying mantises in our classroom. I thought they were interesting, so she let me bring one home. I’ve had her all summer.”

  “Your mom really doesn’t mind you keeping all these, um, critters in the house?”

  “No. She gets that I love animals, and I think she’s trying to make up for not letting me have a dog.”

  “Your mom seems really nice.” And then another idea popped into Kate’s head. “Is she seeing anyone?”

  “You mean...dating?” Casey carefully fastened the fabric over the top of the bug jar. “No, she’s either at work or at home so I’m sure she’s not.”

  “Would it bother you if she was?”

  Casey narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know. Why?”

  If Kate had learned one thing from her mother, it was how to choose her words carefully. “My dad hasn’t dated anyone since he and my mom split, and he and your mom seem to be hitting it off.”

  “So you think they’ll start dating?” Clearly, Casey was not warming up to the concept.

  “I’m not saying they will, but I wouldn’t mind if my dad had someone to focus his attention on besides me.”

  “Really? Your dad seems nice and everything, but I don’t know. I think my mom must have really loved my dad because ever since he died, it’s just been the two of us.”

  Kate shrugged. “Whatever. I just thought it’d be nice if my dad could be happy again. And otherwise occupied.”

  “You want him to start dating so he’ll pay less attention to you?”

  “It wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen. And I’ll bet if your mom was dating someone, you’d be able to use that to your advantage.”

  “How exactly?” She seemed interested in spite of sounding skeptical.

  “You said you want a dog, right?”

  That got her attention. “More than anything.”

  “Well, if your mom feels guilty because she’s seeing someone and not spending as much time with you, then she’ll want to do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

  Casey was grinning now. “And that something would be Petey.”

  Kate shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

  And then Sarah called to them from the bottom of the stairs. “Casey? Kate’s dad is leaving now but she’s welcome to stay a while longer if she’d like.”

  “Thanks, Mom!” she yelled back. “Do you want to?”

  “I should probably go, too. We haven’t finished unpacking.”

  Casey followed her downstairs and they joined their parents in the foyer.

  Sarah was smiling. “Kate’s dad offered to give you a ride on the first day of school. Isn’t that nice?”

  “Thanks,” Casey said. “But I always go with my friend Henry. He lives across the street.”

  “Henry’s welcome to get a ride, too. The more the merrier. Right, Kate?”

  Dad, don’t be lame. “Sure,” she said. “More is totally merry.”

  She watched her dad exchange a look with Casey’s mom. “Thanks for having us over,” he said.

  “Anytime,” Sarah replied.

  Kate liked the way they were looking at each other. She winked at Casey, Casey winked back, and she gave herself a mental high five. This plan might work, she thought. It just might work.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SARAH CLOSED THE door after saying good-night to their new neighbors and turned to her daughter.

  “That was okay, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah. Kate’s dad seems pretty cool. Do you like him?”

  That was an odd question, she thought, although Casey probably didn’t intend for it to sound the way it did. “He seems nice. I’m sure they’ll be good neighbors.”

  Casey gave her an odd smile that suggested the question wasn’t so innocent after all. Best to let that go, especially since her conversation with Jonathan had ended on a sour note.

  “How about you and Kate?” she asked. “Did you hit it off?”

  “I think so. She doesn’t like my critters, though.”

  Sarah laughed at that. “She’s not alone. A lot of people aren’t fond of rodents and reptiles.”

  “True. She’s really into clothes and stuff.”

  “She certainly seems to be. That was an expensive outfit she was wearing.”

  Casey climbed two steps and draped herself over the banister. “I think her mom pays for a lot of her things but at least she wasn’t all, ‘oh, look at me and all my fancy stuff’ like some of the girls at school. She’s actually the only kid I’ve ever met...well, aside from Henry...who’s already figured out what she wants to be.”

  “Really? And what’s that?”

  “The editor of a fashion magazine.”

  “Does she? That’s an ambitious goal.” One her father seemed to know nothing about, and given his scathing comments about fashion magazines and the mall, it was no surprise that she hadn’t told him. Poor kid. “Speaking of Henry, have you heard from him?”

  Casey’s enthusiasm waned. “No. I was hoping he’d be home by now. He’s been gone all summer and school starts in a few days.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be home soon.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  Sarah reached up and gave her a hug. “Why don’t you go upstairs and send him a text or an email? I want to clean up the kitchen.”

  “Good idea. I also need to post the rest of the pictures I took at the shelter this morning.”

  “I’ll pop in and say good-night when I’m done.” And there was no doubt she’d hear more about Petey when she did.

  Back in the kitchen, she finished loading the dishwasher and turned it on, tossed paper napkins in the trash, stuffed the empty pizza boxes in the recycling bin, filled the sink with hot water and detergent. She swished the dishcloth in it and wiped every square inch of every surface in the kitchen. Take-out dinners meant she didn’t have to cook, and she loved that they made cleanup so easy. Now everything was spic ’n’ span, just the way she liked it.

  Jonathan had not lived up to her first impression of him, and she found that more disappointing than she had any right to. Yes, he was way better-looking than any man needed to be, but looks weren’t everything, and it bugged her that she found him attractive.

  There was a chance that she wasn’t giving Jonathan the benefit of the doubt. Moving was stressful, changing jobs was stressful, getting divorced was stressful, and he had hinted that Kate’s mother didn’t have much time for her. Casey had been young enough when her father died that the loss hadn’t seemed to have had an adverse effect on her, although there were times when Sarah wondered if losing her dad explained why her daughter didn’t form a lot of close personal attachments.

  She strolled back out onto the deck and leaned on the railing where she and Jonathan had stood a short time ago. He was floundering with single parenthood, and tonight she’d been tempted to offer a little sage advice. Now she was glad she hadn’t. It wasn’t her place to interfere. She didn’t even know these people.

  She felt sorry for Kate, though. In spite of
her polished exterior—the girl certainly knew how to put an outfit together—and an outward air of confidence, Sarah thought the girl could use a healthy dose of self-esteem. There was also an underlying sadness to her, which was not a surprise. Between the hormones and impending womanhood, the early teen years were a confusing time for girls, and there was probably never a time when a girl needed her mother more than at this age. All the phone calls and text messages and lavish gifts in the world couldn’t replace a warm hug and a shoulder to lean on.

  Sarah hoped the girls would become friends. She cherished the close bond she had with her daughter, but she also understood the importance of having close friends, and Kate might be as good for Casey as Casey could be for her. That would also provide a chance for Sarah to offer a shoulder once in a while, encourage Kate to pursue her dreams.

  What about Jonathan?

  What about him? Sure, she had concerns about his daughter, starting with his attitude, but she had no intention of interfering.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the lights were still on in his kitchen, but there was no sign of anyone in it. Apparently the man could cook, and that intrigued her. Over dinner tonight, he’d said he would like to reciprocate by having her and Casey over for homemade pizza next Saturday. Paolo’s were good, but his were better. She had accepted, thinking it would be good for the girls, and she was curious about the man’s made-from-scratch pizza. And her curiosity ended there. Letting herself ponder any of his other attributes was simply too risky.

  * * *

  CASEY SWITCHED ON her laptop and went back to work, posting the rest of the photographs she’d taken of the dogs at the shelter. She wasn’t posting Petey’s picture, though. Instead, she clicked on it and set it as her desktop background. After Kate hinted that she should guilt her mother into letting her have a dog, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She wouldn’t have thought that up on her own, that’s for sure. Her mom was just her mom. She didn’t go on dates and it was weird to think of her having a boyfriend.

  Casey barely remembered her dad, wouldn’t know what he looked like if it weren’t for the photograph on her dresser. She’d been sitting on his shoulders and they’d been laughing about something when her mom had taken the picture. Even though she didn’t remember him or anything about the day that photograph was taken, he was still her dad. She’d always thought it would be fun to have a sister or a brother, but another dad? The idea had never crossed her mind.

  Casey liked her new neighbor, though. Kate wasn’t like any of the other girls in Serenity Bay. Not even the coolest ones were as cool as Kate. Her clothes were super trendy and her manicure was crazy cool. All the girls at school who were into those kinds of things would have gone on and on and on about them—seriously, sometimes they made her want to scream—but Kate hadn’t said a thing. Instead of talking about clothes and hair and makeup, she said she wanted to work for a big fashion magazine someday, probably starting as a photographer and maybe writing articles, too, but eventually she’d be editor in chief.

  She’d also seemed interested when Casey told her she was going to be a veterinarian, even though she’d been squeamish about some of the critters. Not everyone was comfortable with rodents and reptiles, but she’d said Manny the praying mantis was the grossest thing she’d ever seen.

  Casey leaned in for closer look at her terrarium. “Good thing I didn’t feed you a fly while she was here.”

  If Kate thought Manny eating a cricket was gross, watching her tear a housefly apart and gobble it up would totally freak her out.

  They’d talked about their families, too, since having only one parent was something they did have in common. Kate’s mom was alive and well and living in Europe with her new and disgustingly rich husband. They traveled a lot so Kate couldn’t live with them. Then she’d said she didn’t think they wanted her anyway.

  Casey had a hard time believing that. Her mom was strict about some things, like homework and curfew and not friending strangers on Facebook, but they also had fun doing things together. Like Saturday movie-and-pizza night, which had still turned out okay tonight even though Kate and her dad had been here and they hadn’t watched a movie.

  Kate had confessed to being mad at her dad for making her move away from her friends in the city. Casey had tried to sympathize, but she hadn’t told Kate that she didn’t have many friends, mostly because other kids thought her obsession with animals was weird and her determination to get straight A’s was completely lame. If Kate thought she was weird or lame—or both—she hadn’t let on.

  Casey’s phone whistled and she grabbed it off her nightstand. A text from Henry! He must be back at home, finally.

  How R U?

  Good. U?

  Also good. Won’t B back 4 school tho.

  No way. We R supposed 2 go 2gether.

  Still visiting the fam. Back Fri.

  Rats. This was not how things were supposed to go. Henry was her best friend. They always went together on the first day of school, and this was the first day of high school. She needed him there.

  UR loss. Getting a ride to school with new neighbor anyway.

  The new teacher?

  Yep & daughter Kate.

  Is she hot?

  Let’s just say some of the girls at SBH were going to freak when they saw their new competition. Instead she typed:

  Don’t be gross.

  Ha! She is!

  But UR not so 4get it.

  Ouch. How R things with U and Dex?

  There is no me and Dex.

  That bad huh? U still haven’t made a move?

  No, she had not, and even if she had wanted to, she had no clue what the moves were.

  I said don’t be gross.

  Gotta go. Mom’s yelling lites out.

  What time is it in Montreal?

  After 11.

  K. G’night.

  TTYL.

  She set her phone back on the nightstand, slid off the bed and walked over to the window. It was getting dark and across the driveway she could see the light was on in Kate’s room. No sign of her, though. Maybe she was helping her dad unpack.

  Casey had never considered the possibility that Henry wouldn’t make it back in time to start school. Good thing she’d accepted Kate’s dad’s invitation to get a ride with them. The first day of high school seemed like kind of a big deal, and she’d never imagined having to go alone.

  Casey was looking forward to high school because she would finally have science classes with real labs, but she wasn’t looking forward to some of the other stuff. Like not having anyone except Henry to hang out with after school. But maybe that would change. Maybe she’d be heading to high school, not just with a friend but with one who was totally cool. That’d sure make people sit up and take pay attention. Maybe even Dexter would notice her.

  Her uplifted spirits took a sudden dip. Would Kate still want to hang out with her once she realized Casey wasn’t one of the cool kids? Better question. Was there even the remotest of chances Dex would notice Casey, or would he only pay attention to Kate?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ON THE MORNING of the day school started, Jon was up before dawn. He pulled on running shorts and a T-shirt and, with a pair of socks in hand, padded downstairs to the kitchen in bare feet. He started a pot of coffee and checked that the bread maker was doing its thing, then sat on a kitchen stool and pulled on socks and laced his running shoes.

  Princess strolled into the room, meowing loudly to announce her presence and to indicate it was time someone served her breakfast.

  “Good morning, girl.” He rubbed the top her head and she started to purr as she did a sideways sashay around his legs, back arched, tail in the air.

  He retrieved a can of cat food from the fridge and scooped some into a bowl, dumped kibble into
a matching bowl and returned the can to fridge. After he fulfilled his role, Princess promptly lost interest in him.

  He poured himself a glass of water and stood at the kitchen counter while he drank it. He would never tire of this view. The bay would soon reflect the sunlight, but in the faint light at this early hour, the surface was flat and dark gray. A lone sailboat slowly motored past the end of the breakwater, on its way to open water where the sailor would hoist the sail and catch a breeze.

  After letting himself out the back door, he locked it and tucked the key in a pocket inside his waistband. He spent a few minutes warming up before he set off down the driveway at an easy jog. Early morning was his favorite time of the day. Even in the city he’d liked the quiet, cool stillness, but here it was magnified, exaggerated in the best way possible. At the end of the block he turned right and took the steep road that led downhill to the beach, where he picked up the walkway that paralleled the seawall. He nodded at another man jogging in the opposite direction, passed an elderly woman walking a small dog, but otherwise he had the beach and his thoughts to himself.

  He ran past the quaint little downtown business district that stretched for six blocks along Shoreline Boulevard and three blocks away from the beach. There it gave way to a mix of old cottages, newer homes and low-rise condominiums. Over the years, residences had slowly crept up the hillside, biting chunks out of the rain forest, affording homeowners spectacular views of the bay and the breakwater. His house was one of those. Moving here felt right, as though he’d finally come home to a place where he belonged instead of being someplace biding his time. Convincing Kate that this was her home, too? That would take some doing.

  For the past few days he had pretty much worked from morning till night, and now the furniture was in place, the boxes unpacked, the closets and cupboards full. Kate had hated her bedroom curtains so they’d driven down to Sechelt yesterday afternoon so she could choose new ones. She had asked if Casey could go with them, and he had agreed, although he’d also recalled what Kate had said about their new neighbor after the cookie delivery. She’s probably a geek. Now he wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to be friends with the soccer-playing tomboy next door or if she simply hadn’t wanted to be seen alone with him in public. Either way, he was glad Casey had agreed to join them. She was a nice kid, and unlike some of Kate’s friends in the city, she seemed as though she’d be a positive influence.