The Memory of You (Sanctuary Sound #1)(10)

She handed Ryan the phone and then toyed with her pizza.

“Val,” he said, rising from the table to march outside and tell her off.

“Ryan, I’m running late. I can’t talk now. I’ll call Emmy tomorrow. In the future, Friday nights aren’t the best.”

He burst through the swinging door, onto the sidewalk. “Oh? Please share with me a list of convenient times to converse with your daughter. I’m sure that will do wonders for her self-esteem, you heartless—”

“Don’t start. You can’t pull these strings and make me feel bad. I’ve been a good mother. Man up and be her father for a while.”

“You. Are. Unbelievable.”

“I could say the same to you. You knew I wouldn’t want to come down there for pizza.”

“Of course I did, but your daughter begged to talk to you. I won’t be accused of standing between you two. But keep this up and pretty soon she won’t be asking for you at all. In fact, maybe that’s the best thing that could happen.” He punched the phone off and scrubbed a hand through his hair, his body strung tight with wanting to hit something.

Three deep breaths later, he smoothed his hair and returned to Emmy. He threw thirty bucks on the table. “Come on, let’s go get some ice cream. I know the best place.”

She slid off the prefab bench and followed, but her smile hadn’t returned. He crouched to hug her. “I love you, sweetheart.”

She wrapped her arms and legs around him, so he stood and carried her out of the store and the next two blocks to Gopher’s ice-cream shop. She didn’t say a word but laid her head against his shoulder and people-watched along the way. Given her age, he knew she’d let him carry her now only because she was sad. She always got clingier when Val let her down. He had no idea how to help her through this, but he held tight every step.

Sanctuary Sound’s central business district consisted of a green commons surrounded by streets, with colorful shop awnings and multiple restaurants, most of which had been around for more than a generation. The townsfolk knew almost everyone by sight, although an influx of vacation homeowners had breathed fresh life into the area.

He noticed the newly laid brick sidewalks, a chic Asian-fusion restaurant that must’ve opened in the past few months, and a fancy women’s apparel store. Of course, the old guard remained—Mother of Purl yarn shop, J. Patrick’s Pub, and Lockwood Hardware. He suspected Ben Lockwood still worked there with his father, although Ryan hadn’t run into Ben in a few years.

He stifled a groan when he saw the line outside Gopher’s. Bad planning on his part. A muggy Friday night in August—prime time for ice-cream sales. He lowered Emmy to the ground. “Think you can wait a bit? It’s a long line.”

“Okay.”

He glanced at his watch. “Actually, it’s close to eight o’clock. Almost bedtime. Maybe we should try tomorrow.”

“You promised!”

Technically, he hadn’t promised, but he knew she was still processing her disappointment about Val. “Okay. You want to run up and look at the ice-cream-flavor board by the front door?”

“Sure!”

“Go ahead. I’ll save our place in line.” He never needed to scan the list. Mint chocolate chip: his lifelong go-to.

Emmy scampered ahead and disappeared somewhere in the front of the line. A minute later she came running back. “We can skip in line, Dad. Gimme some money.”

“What do you mean we can skip ahead?”

“Miss Lockwood is up front with some man. She said I can go in with them.”

He shouldn’t care what man Steffi was with, but his pulse kicked an extra beat anyway. Steffi’s boyfriend would put a crimp in his mother’s not-so-subtle machinations. “So you’re going to leave me back here by myself?”

“No, silly. Tell me what you want and I’ll get it for us. That way you don’t have to wait, either.”

“I don’t know, Emmy.” He didn’t want Steffi and her date to do him and his daughter a favor. More important, he didn’t want Emmy taking shortcuts in life. “That seems a little unfair. What about all of these other people who’ve been waiting patiently? How would you feel if you were one of them?”

“Dad.” She crossed her arms and let her head fall back with a groan.

“Go tell Miss Lockwood thank you, but we’ll wait for our turn.”

Emmy scowled and stomped off with all the drama of her mother. When she returned with a pout, he said, “Listen up. You can be nice to me and make the best of our wait, or we can leave right now, because spoiled kids don’t get ice cream.”

Emmy sighed. “Sorry, Dad.”

“Thank you.” He ruffled her curls. “Now, what flavor did you choose?”

“Cotton candy.”

“No chocolate?”

She shook her head. “Can I get sprinkles?”

“Sure.” His teeth hurt from thinking about her choice.

Five minutes later, as they neared the entrance, Steffi came out through the door, followed by Ben. Ryan chose not to analyze why his muscles relaxed upon seeing that she was with her brother instead of a date. He watched her lick her cone, knowing without needing to verify that she’d ordered pistachio.

“Hey, Ryan.” Ben extended his hand. Tall and muscular, Ben Lockwood had been a favorite among the girls in high school, with his sandy-blond hair and dimples like his sister’s. It surprised Ryan that he’d never settled down. “Been a while.”