1 Chapter 1

Now

Larry Carson’s cell phone beeped as he pulled to a stop at the red light a block away from his daughter’s school. With his foot on the brake, he dug his phone out of the holster on his hip and checked the screen—a new text message from his ex-wife Jennifer. He groaned as he hit the OK button to unlock the phone and read the message.

Don’t 4get 2 pickup Crys.

The text-speak made Larry’s brain hurt. At thirty-five, couldn’t Jen take two seconds to spell out the words correctly? And why did she feel the need to remind him to pick up their daughter, anyway? He knew it was his weekend with Crystal. He wasn’t the type of father who’d leave her waiting in the parking lot after school. Jen had sent it to piss him off, he knew.

He slid open the phone to reply—he didn’t know quite what he’d say yet; should he tell her he was already there, or say something snarky to let her know he didn’t appreciate the reminder? But before he could start typing, a horn sounded behind him and he tossed the phone into the passenger seat. The light ahead was green, and he took his foot off the brake to zoom through the intersection, angling for the curving drive in front of the middle school.

Already dozens of other cars clogged the area, hazards flashing, doors slamming, kids dodging traffic as they called back to friends and paid little attention to where they were going. Larry saw an opening as an SUV lumbered away from the curb and zoomed his sporty little Honda into the slot before anyone else could take it. Then he flipped on his hazards and scanned the crowd milling about in front of the school.

There

Crystal stood with a trio of girls her own age—skinny legs beneath too-short shorts and knobby elbows flared out to either side, books clutched to her still-flat chest. Long, blonde hair hung in a straight curtain from her brow to just past her shoulders, and when she laughed, silver braces flashed in the sunlight. Larry’s heart swelled to see her, his own daughter, his own flesh and blood, twelve going on thirteen and growing up too damn fast for his tastes. When had he become old enough to have a pre-teen daughter? When had she grown out of diapers and dolls?

Another year and it’ll be high school,he thought, and a shudder ran down his spine. Then college, then God, she’ll be on her own. I’m not ready for that, for any of it. Why can’t she be three again, and still small enough to cradle in my arms?

When she glanced over at him, he smiled and waved, but she turned back to her friends as if he didn’t exist. Do they haveto grow up?Larry thought, weary. They had the whole weekend ahead of them, and he didn’t want to start things off on the wrong foot, but if she was going to blow him off trying to look cool for the other girls, then it would go downhill from here. Maybe Jennifer was right; maybe Crys was starting to cop an attitude. Larry knew kids her age tried to push against their parents, see what they could get away with, and if he gave a little, she’d take a lot.

Well, two could play that game. She wanted to look cool? How cool is this?

With the palm of his hand, he leaned on the car horn, a long bray that filled the late afternoon air and made heads turn in all directions. Then he rolled down the passenger side window and leaned across the seat to holler, “Hey, Crys! Daddy’s here!”

When she glanced his way again, her face blazed a deep crimson from her cheeks all the way to the roots of her hair. Hunching her shoulders, she rolled her eyes and shook her head as her friend giggled, but at least this time she started for the car. Larry was about to hit the horn again, but she quickened her pace, almost sprinting the last couple feet. By the time she tore open the passenger door, anger had replaced her embarrassment.

“Dad! How couldyou?” she shrieked, ducking down in the seat as if hoping no one she knew would see her in the car. “God! Lame!”

He checked his side-view mirror for an opening back into the flow of traffic. “You saw me wave.”

“I was talking with my friends.” Every other word out of Crystal’s mouth was emphasized, as if to underscore the ongoing drama that was her life.

Larry turned off his hazards and put on his turn signal, but still no one slowed enough to let him in. “Buckle up, sweetie.”

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Crystal grimaced. “Don’t know why I bother. The way you drive…” she groused, pulling the seat belt across her body. Before she could snap it in place, though, she let it go and sat up. “What the—Dad!”

She reached behind her, extracting his cell phone from beneath her. With a look of disgust, she dropped it in the empty drink holder between the seats. “Why don’t you get a smart phone? This thing is crap. You can’t even get e-mail on it.”

“I don’t need e-mail,” Larry told her. “Seat belt, young lady, or we’ll sit here all day. Want me to hit the horn again? What will your friends think of that?”

She made a little sound in the back of her throat that let him know exactly what she thought of it, but she buckled her seat belt, and then pulled her own phone out of the small purse dangling from her wrist. It was the latest iPhone in a case covered with pink rhinestones, and without another word, her fingers started flying over the virtual keyboard on the screen. Most likely texting her friends about everything that had happened in the two minutes since they’d been apart.