A nervous laugh caught in Dan’s throat. “Seriously? David who?”

“David Burke.” That did it. His mouth opened, no sound came out, and then it closed. She’d stunned him speechless, but now she had an opening. “I don’t know if you’d want to go, but he said he could get me tickets to games whenever I wanted. I mean, if you want to hang out with me again.”

They’d pulled into her driveway by this point, and Dan threw the car into park. He turned in his seat and laced his fingers with hers. Laura felt the warmth again. She looked into his big hazel eyes and a shock of dark hair fell across his forehead. She liked him. Her feelings wouldn’t ever be like the flash fire she had with Jack, but she figured some relationships were meant to be less intense. Quieter. Easy.

“Laura, I’d hang out with you again, even if all we were doing was watching the grass grow.”

*

Kate heard the car pull in the driveway and she peeked out the mud room door, trying to see what was going on with Laura and Dan. He seemed like a really nice kid. He and Laura had been friends for a couple of years, and only recently had the relationship taken a different turn.

The car was dark and she couldn’t see anything, but then the interior light went on as the doors opened. Kate ran through the kitchen, slipping on the tile floor, and flung herself on the couch in the family room. The TV was tuned to the local news, and Kate picked up her e-reader and turned it on. Casual. She had to look casual. Laura could not know she was spying on her. Kate giggled. Laura had to know she was curious, and Kate hoped she would be in the mood for a debriefing.

The book wasn’t holding her attention because trying to get a look at the side door was more interesting. She saw their silhouettes in the window and strained for a peek. There wasn’t much to see, except the outline of Dan’s head, dropping down to kiss Laura, and Kate felt the breath ease out of her chest. From the looks of it, he kissed her on the cheek. Based on the way Laura floated in the house, the date had gone well. Really well.

Kate was relieved, because Laura was getting a life that she could manage. One that was right for a seventeen-year-old girl. There would be hard times, overwrought emotions, and there would be stress, but at least they could handle it together. Hopefully, there would be no more secrets.

Laura dropped her bag on the kitchen island and walked into the den. Kate feigned reading, but knew Laura wasn’t buying it. She looked up and she saw a soft smile break on her daughter’s face.

“Did you have a good time?”

“Yes, we had a really good time. He’s very sweet.”

“Seems nice. Very old-fashioned.”

Laura nodded and sank into the cushions. “He has two older sisters. I have a feeling he’s well coached.”

Kate laughed. Laura’s cynicism was tempered by the fact that she really seemed to enjoy herself. “That’s not a bad thing.”

“I know.” She paused and turned her class ring on her finger. “I invited him to a game. He said yes.”

That surprised her, because she didn’t think Laura would want to have much to do with hockey after all that had happened. But since Jack had been traded, there was no reason for her to stay away. “I’ll tell David, and the two of you can figure out which game works.”

Laura nodded and leaned back into the soft leather. “Mom, is it weird that I like Dan?”

Kate had a feeling she knew where this was going, but assuming generally got her in trouble. If the past few months had taught her anything, it was that things weren’t necessarily as they seemed. “Why weird?”

“Three weeks ago, I thought I was in love with Jack, but I really like spending time with Dan.” Laura was still playing with her ring. “We had so much fun tonight. There were a bunch of people at the movies, and after we talked about school and college…” She paused. “Did I really love him?”

Kate smiled a little. “You’re asking the woman who’s engaged to a man she met less than six months ago?”

“It’s a good question, though. How do you know you really love someone?”

“What you had with Jack may have lasted. I’m not going to dismiss how you felt about him, but you’re both young and it got hot pretty fast. Was it mostly physical?”

Laura took a breath. “I didn’t think so then, but now… it was the only thing he told his friends about me. That I was hot. And a virgin.”

Damn. David had told her how the gossip about Laura and Jack’s sex life had snowballed around the dressing room. One guy with a big mouth and a bad attitude got hold of it, and there was no way to contain it after that. “He definitely talked to the wrong people about you, honey, but I think you meant more to him than that.”

“I guess. But was it love?”

Kate didn’t know if she had a better answer. She and David had a very physical relationship, but there was so much more to it, and she was having a hard time putting it into words. After a minute, she formed a thought. A simple thought. “When you’re in love, you don’t regret.”

“I regret a lot.” Her voice was just above a whisper.

“If you’d been truthful with him about yourself, it may have developed differently.”

“It wouldn’t have developed at all.”

“You’re probably right.” Jack trusted too many people with information about Laura, but Kate had no doubt that if he’d known her daughter’s age, he never would have asked her out in the first place.

Laura nodded and rested her head on Kate’s shoulder. “I like Dan.”

“Good.” Kate smiled, happy her daughter was learning about what it meant to be in an honest relationship.

“It’s not good.” The male voice snapped the quiet, and both Laura and Kate sprang to attention.

“Dad!”

Oh, my God. He wouldn’t go away. No matter what she did, Richard wouldn’t stop. It was eleven-thirty on a Friday night, and he walked into her house like he still lived there. “Richard, you need to leave.”

He came closer and stuck his finger right in Kate’s face. “I have heard enough out of you.” As he said it he grabbed her arm and hauled her up. “What do you mean letting her date without my permission? And she’s not going away to college, so cancel your fucking trip.”

Kate remembered this feeling. The fear that went along with his outbursts. But he’d never done this in front of Laura. Never. “Richard, let go of me.”

“Dad, please!”

“Shut up! Both of you shut up!” He let go of Kate’s arm and made a tight circle around the room. “You stole her from me! She’s all that mattered and you stole her.”

“Richard, I…”

“SHUT UP!” He was irrational, and all Kate could think was that David was due home any minute, and then they would have a disaster. “I know what’s best for her, not you and your boyfriend.”

“Richard, calm down.”

“Calm down? You’re letting my daughter become a whore like you and you want me to calm down?”

Kate reeled back at his words. “A whore?” she repeated. “Like me?”

“Yes, like you. You think if you sleep with Burke he’ll marry you? Why? Why would he want you?”

His words were meant to wound, and the insecurity she’d buried since she and David got together pressed against her heart. But what made her angry was hearing him call their daughter a whore. He could think whatever he wanted about her, but not Laura—he was not going to heap all that shit on her.

“She went on a date. One date,” Kate shot back. “He’s a nice boy. And I don’t think you’re in any position to question my morals.”

“You don’t decide, Kate. I decide. I do. And when I get full custody, you’ll finally learn that.”

The ticking from the hallway clock seemed to echo through the house until it was wiped out by the back door opening and David’s footsteps coming across the kitchen. His face was red, his eyes dark, and he was ready to cut loose on Richard, until Laura stepped toward her father.