“Sometimes people just don’t become friends, Katie. It’s not a big deal.”
“You used to be friends. I remember when I was a little girl, he was always around. I called him Uncle Andy. Then it stopped. And whenever I asked about him, you changed the subject or put me off.”
“It was a long time ago. Do you want something to eat? I haven’t baked anything, but—”
“You haven’t baked anything because you won’t do anything for the boys since they hired Andy. That’s a lot of animosity, Mom, and when there’s that much animosity between a woman and a man, it usually involves sex.”
She didn’t want to talk about this with her daughter. Not now. Not ever. “I’ve never had sex with Andy Miller, I can tell you that.”
“Then what, Mom? What happened when I was little that’s made you hate him for almost thirty years?”
Rosie wasn’t going to get out of it this time. Katie wasn’t going to be distracted with a snack or fall for a change of subject. She took a deep breath and folded her hands in front of her. “Andy and your father went away one weekend when you were seven, to go sledding. Andy met some women at a bar and talked them into coming back to their motel room and…your father was unfaithful.”
Katie sat down hard in a chair, her brown eyes—the same shade as Earle’s—wide in the shadow of her cap’s brim. “Are you sure? Did he tell you that?”
The last thing Rosie wanted to do was say anything hurtful about Katie’s dad. They’d been so close and Katie treasured Earle’s memory. “He did. Shortly after they got home.”
“But you forgave him. I mean, you stayed with him and you seemed happy together.”
Rosie sat down and reached across the table for her daughter’s hand. “We were happy, honey. We really were. And, yes, I forgave him. It was hard at first, but your father was a good man and he beat himself up so badly about it, I was pretty sure he’d never do it again. As far as I know, he never did. Only that one time he went away with Andy.”
“You blame Andy.” It wasn’t a question.
“He knew your father loved you and me more than anything, but Andy still practically threw a woman at him. It was disrespectful.”
Her daughter didn’t say anything, just stared down at their linked hands. Rose was quiet, letting Katie absorb the news. She was old enough to have outgrown believing her parents were anything but human, but committing adultery was a far cry from fibbing about what had happened to her first dog.
“It’s not really Andy’s fault.” Katie’s voice was thick with emotion. “Dad was responsible for what he did. Nobody else.”
“One thing love’s not known for is making a person rational. And neither is hate.”
“I can’t believe Dad cheated on you.”
Rosie squeezed her hand. “Don’t let that change how you remember him, Katherine. Don’t you dare. I went through a lot of heartache to put our family back together again so you wouldn’t be hurt by what happened. We loved each other and we loved you. That’s all that matters.”
“If you’d truly forgiven Dad, you wouldn’t still be punishing Andy.”
Her daughter’s words cut through Rose like a hot knife, but she barely had time to process how she felt about them before she heard the telltale thump of approaching crutches on the back porch.
Katie straightened in her seat, pulling her hand free, as Josh came through the kitchen door, knocking it closed behind him with the end of a crutch. “Hey, Katie. Thought that piece of shit in the driveway must be yours.”
“She’s still got fewer miles on it than your last girlfriend.”
“Bite me. Hey, did you see the game last night?”
“I told you our bullpen’s not strong enough to close it out if we go deep into extra innings.”
“But we put up a hell of a fight.”
Rosie rolled her eyes at the familiar back-and-forth between these two, but when Josh leaned into the fridge to search for whatever he was in the mood for, she caught Katie watching him and her maternal radar pinged.
It wasn’t a strong ping, though. Rosie would love nothing more than for Katie to get married and start a family. Mary’s constant barrage of grandbaby pictures from New Hampshire didn’t help her yearning for grandchildren any. And the thought of Josh being her son-in-law rather than just a son of her heart almost made her weep. But Josh had always treated Katie like one of the guys and he didn’t seem inclined to see her any other way.
When he started hauling out the makings for deli sandwiches from the fridge, Katie stood. “I should get back. God only knows what disaster the town’s come up with to explain the barbershop being closed.”
“Where’s the mustard?”
Rose ignored Josh and went around the table to hug her daughter.
“Think about what I said, Mom,” Katie whispered into her hair.
“I will. And I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you, too. See ya, Josh.”