Even the Score(78)

“How you doing?” Dani hopped over with a smile on her face, clearly gloating.

“I’m fine,” I answered, trying desperately to control my breathing.

She giggled. “Yeah? You don’t look fine.”

“How often do you work out?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible.

She laughed again, totally picking up what I was putting down. “I haven’t gone lately because of all the craziness, but I typically go to spin class five times a week.”

As soon as she said that, I stopped jumping right then and there. No way was I going to beat her.

“What? Wait. What are you doing? Are you giving up?”

Not only did I give up, I fell backward into a spread-eagle position on the trampoline as my chest heaved up and down for air.

“You’re giving up? I win! I win!” She cheered as she continued jumping, pumping her arms up and down.

I lay on the trampoline, watching her celebration out of the corner of my eye, thinking about how I’d technically just lost, but I’d spent the last hour watching her jump on a trampoline, so in reality . . . I was the winner.





CHAPTER 30

Danicka

After we finished extreme trampolining, we decided to head to the farmers’ market, which was right down the street. Becca held my hand the whole time, but really, I was the one holding hers. Andy and I even snuck in a quick snuggle or two, and it felt amazing. I’d been pretty much alone my whole life, but after spending some time with Andy’s family, I definitely felt a different pull inside of me. The pull for something more.

We grabbed tons of fresh veggies to cook for dinner, along with some kettle corn and triple-berry jam. As we passed a white tent on the way out, we all turned simultaneously as the smell of cinnamon drifted into our noses.

“Dad, look!” Logan pointed and ran over. Andy, Becca, and I followed.

A sweet older man was sitting on a stool off to the side, a small smile on his face as he watched Logan stare down at his table full of nuts, fudge, and donuts.

“See anything you like, young man?” he asked. “Would you like to try something?”

Logan nodded excitedly. “Can I please try one of these?” He pointed toward the plate full of little donut pieces with toothpicks stuck in them.

“Of course.” He stood and walked over toward us. “Maybe your mom, dad, and sister want one, too?”

“Oh, she’s not my mom,” Logan corrected him as he picked up a piece of donut and popped it in his mouth. “Wow. Dad. We have to get these for breakfast tomorrow.”

“They’re made with real apple cider,” the old man said proudly.

“Really?” I was impressed. “And you make all of this by yourself, or do you have a little store?”

“Nope.” He shook his head, his eyes turning a little sad. “Just me. I cook everything on the weekends and go to different farmers’ markets during the week. I used to do it all with my wife, but she passed last year.”

My heart sank. “I’m so sorry,” I said sincerely, wanting to leap over the table and hug him.

“I’m sorry, too. She was my best friend.” He was quiet for a minute as he stared down at his table, but I knew his mind was elsewhere. “You know, it’s deceiving how fast time goes. When we got married, I felt like we had our whole lives ahead of us and all the time in the world to do what we wanted, but now that she’s gone, I realized it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.”

An uncomfortable pinch in my throat made me swallow as I digested his words.

“Anyway.” He cleared his throat and smiled up at us with chubby, rosy cheeks. “Did you guys want to try anything?”

“I’m going to steal one of these donut bites. They look delicious.” I dropped the sugary donut on my tongue and closed my eyes. It was amazing. You couldn’t taste the apple cider much, but I imagined that’s what made it so tasty. That and the cinnamon and sugar.

“Wow. That is insanely good,” I said to Andy before turning back to the man. “We’ll take a dozen donuts and whatever else these guys want. Becca, Logan . . . why don’t use guys pick out a few things?”

“I don’t want to spoil them too much,” Andy said, shaking his head.

“You don’t, but I do.” I stuck my tongue out at him playfully as I pulled my wallet from my purse. A few minutes later, we paid the sweet man and walked away with a dozen donuts, half a pound of cinnamon cashews, and four squares of mint fudge.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m exhausted. Let’s head home,” Andy said as we walked to the car. On the way home, I kept thinking about what the man said, his words playing over and over like a record in my ears. I peeked back at Becca, who fell asleep with her mouth open, leaning against the headrest of her booster seat. After I watched her for a couple of seconds, my eyes slid to Logan, who was staring out the window.