Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(27)

“You bet.” The baseball game started at nine, which gave Lydia just enough time to cheer on her son and get to the yarn store in time to open the shop at ten.

“What about you, Casey?” Cody asked as he reached for his cap and mitt.

“Okay,” she said without a lot of enthusiasm.

“Do you have plans for the day?” Lydia asked her daughter.

“Ava and I want to go to the movies. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

For the next several minutes, Lydia’s conversation with her daughter revolved around the movie and Ava. Lydia planned to open the shop but would stay only until noon, when Margaret arrived. Her sister would close the shop. That gave Lydia time to pick up Ava and drop the two of them off at the cinema complex.

By the time Lydia had dressed and finished with her makeup and hair, Casey had cleaned up the kitchen.

“Are you feeling up to this?” Lydia asked, noting that her daughter hadn’t shown much enthusiasm for attending Cody’s game.

Casey answered with a shrug. “I guess.”

“Would you rather stay home?”

“No.”

Lydia collected what she needed, mainly her purse and her knitting. Casey joined her, her head down and her shoulders slumped forward.

Lydia waited until they were on their way to the park before she asked, “Would it help if you talked about your dream?”

“No.” Casey’s quick response left Lydia in no doubt of the teen’s feelings on the matter.

Lydia tried another approach. “Would it be easier to talk to someone other than your father or me?”

“Like who? A shrink?”

Lydia hadn’t thought this out. “No. The first person who popped into my mind was my mother. The two of you are close and—”

Casey quickly cut her off. “No way.”

“It was just a suggestion.”

“Can we not talk about my dream?” the teen snapped.

“Sure, if that’s what you want. We can pretend it never happened, if that will make you feel better.”

“Thank you,” Casey returned, less churlish. “I don’t want you to mention it ever again, okay?”

“That’s your choice. But in case you ever do, I want you to know I’ll be ready to listen.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Casey reiterated in a loud voice. “How many times do I have to repeat it?”

“Okay, message received.”

Her daughter remained sullen and silent the rest of the way to the baseball field. As soon as they parked the car, Casey saw a friend and, with only a minimum of conversation, left Lydia.

“Don’t go far,” Lydia called after her.

Casey whirled around, sent Lydia a dirty look, and then headed in the opposite direction.

Brad had saved a seat on the bleachers next to him, and Lydia scooted past several other parents and grandparents in order to sit next to her husband.

The opposing team was up to bat, and Cody played shortstop. He was bent over, gently swaying back and forth, ever ready to catch the ball if needed.

“Is everything okay with Casey?” Brad asked when Lydia was settled in the seat.

Lydia wasn’t sure what to tell him. “She made it clear she doesn’t want to discuss the dream.” She felt it was probably best not to mention her bad attitude.

“We need to give the kid space to work this out on her own.”

Lydia agreed. Glancing around, she didn’t catch sight of Janice. “Everything okay with Cody?”

Brad shrugged. “Janice said she’d stop by, but she hasn’t shown up yet. Surprise, surprise.”

Janice had given birth to Cody and then left Brad and her young son when he was only a few years old. Brad had raised Cody on his own until Lydia had come into their lives and they’d married. One of the happiest days of Lydia’s life was when Cody had started to call her Mom. He was her son in every way, the same as Casey was her daughter. Children of her heart if not of her body.

“Will it disappoint Cody if she doesn’t show?”

“Probably, but he’s been disappointed plenty before. He knows to take Janice’s promises with a grain of salt.”

It was times like these that Lydia wanted to shake Cody’s birth mother for her lackadaisical attitude toward her son.

“What are Casey’s plans for the day?” Brad asked, changing the subject.

Lydia knew he was angry on his son’s behalf and trying hard to hide his feelings. “Casey will come with me to the shop, and then this afternoon I’m picking up Ava and the two of them are going to the movies.”

“You need me to pick them up?”

“If you want. I thought I’d stop off and get groceries from there.”

“Okay.”

Lydia stayed long enough to see Cody hit a home run. The boy showed athletic skills and genuinely loved sports. When it was time to leave, Lydia found Casey, who appeared to be in a much better mood.

“You ready to go?” she asked.

Casey nodded. She didn’t speak again until they were in the car and she’d snapped on her seat belt. “Sorry to be such a pill this morning.”

“Apology accepted.”

“You’re a good mom.”