Summer on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #6)(59)

“Ellen believes you’re my boyfriend, and I feel we should let her continue with that assumption.”

“I agree,” Tim said. “How soon before I can ask you two on another date?”

“When would you like?”

“Would this Sunday work for you?”

Anne Marie smiled. “That would work very well.”

“I have a sailboat,” Tim said eagerly. “Would you and Ellen enjoy going out on the water with me?”

Anne Marie wouldn’t presume to speak for her daughter, but she knew she herself would love it. “Sounds great.”

“It’s docked at Lake Washington. I could meet you at the bookstore. Say one-thirty?”

“We’ll be ready.”

Tim ate with renewed vigor. When he’d almost f inished his meal, he stopped and looked directly at Anne Marie. “Thank you,” he said again. “For everything.”

“Thank Ellen. She’s the one with the list.”

“Her twenty wishes.”

“Yes. She wrote down that she wanted to meet her father.”

“And she has.” Tim picked up his coffee. “This can’t be easy for you,” he said. “I promise I’ll never abuse your trust or break your rules.”

“I believe you,” she told him. “Besides, you’re the one who reminded me that a child needs a father.”

He smiled knowingly.

Anne Marie ate some of her soup and then answered questions about her history with Ellen. She wasn’t sure why, but she told him about Robert and how she happened to meet shy, reticent Ellen. Like Ellen’s f inding her father, Anne Marie’s connection with her daughter had started with her own list of twenty wishes.

“Ellen quiet?” Tim said. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“She’s gradually come out of her shell.”

“Tell me more about her. Tell me everything you can remember.”

Anne Marie did, and before she knew it, almost two hours had passed. “Oh, my goodness, I’ve been talking up a storm.” She laughed. “No, make that a hurricane.”

“I’ve enjoyed every word,” he said contentedly. His interest was genuine and his love for the daughter he’d never known had touched her heart.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” he asked.

Like her, he seemed reluctant to part.

“Okay.”

“I’ll take you by the agency where Dad and I work.”

She nodded, curious about everything concerning her daughter’s father.

Tim paid for their meals and they strolled down the street. When they came to the agency, he pointed to the names printed on the door. “I hope Ellen and my parents will get the opportunity to meet one day,” he said casually. Then, as if he feared he’d said something he shouldn’t, he added, “Only if you agree, of course.”

“Eventually,” she said, willing to consider it.

“They never lost faith in me,” he said. “While I was using, they were tough. They didn’t approve of the choices I was making and yet, when I hit bottom, my father was there for me. Mom, too. They’re the ones who arranged for me to enter rehab.” He hadn’t told her much about what he referred to as his “wasted years.”

“At the time I wasn’t capable of doing anything for myself. I needed help and like I said, my parents were there.”

“They sound like wonderful people.”

“They are. I’m very fortunate. A lot of addicts and alcoholics don’t have the family support I do. It’s made all the difference to me.”

“You’ve been clean and sober for eight years?”

“By the grace of God, nearly nine. For me, it’s one day at a time and it always will be. I attend AA meetings at the rehab center every Thursday night. It’s encouraging for people going through rehab to see someone who’s successfully completed the program and stayed clean all these years.”

They wandered back to where Anne Marie had parked her car. “Thank you for a good evening,” she said. It had been, in more ways than he probably realized.

Tim opened her car door. “You’re welcome. And…thank you. ”

He stood on the curb, lifting one hand in a small wave as she pulled away.

Driving home, Anne Marie felt reassured, free of the worry and fear she’d experienced only a few hours ago. She hadn’t been prepared to like Tim Carlsen, but she did.

She actually liked him quite a bit.

Chapter 21

Teaching a child to knit is one of the greatest joys a knitter can experience.

—Karen Thalacker, author of Knitting with Gigi and Gigi Knits…and Purls. www.gigiknits.com Lydia Goetz

I’d taken a rare Saturday off and wouldn’t you know it, the day was gloomy and overcast. Brad and I had told the kids that if the weather was nice, we’d rent bikes so they could ride around Green Lake. Casey’s eyes got big when we mentioned it, and I learned she’d never done anything like that. Brad and I generally walked; the three miles around the lake was good exercise and we enjoyed the scenery with its aura of peace and serenity. When we woke to cloudy skies, everyone was disappointed, especially Cody. Casey didn’t say much, but I knew she’d been looking forward to the adventure.