Page 71 of Blood Moon

Beth let the conversation die there. For the rest of the drive, he kept his eyes on the road, and neither said anything until he pulled into the coffee shop’s parking lot. “That’s her.”

The girl was standing outside the entrance scanning the parking lot for arrivals. She’d filled out since the picture on John’s nightstand had been taken, but she was still lanky. Her dark hair curled wildly. Rather adorably, in Beth’s opinion. She was dressed in wide-legged jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt,and the clunky sneakers her generation loved. A backpack was hanging from her narrow shoulders

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” John asked.

“I’ll be fine. Go.”

As he walked toward his daughter, she gave him a tentative smile and said meekly, “Hi, Dad.”

He pulled her into a tight hug, rocking slightly. They held on to each other for a long time. When he released her, she glanced back at the car.

“Is that the car from the fishing camp?”

“Yes.”

“Who’s that with you?”

“Nobody.”

“Somebody.”

“I’ll tell you inside.”

They went in and were led by a waitress to a booth. They scooted in facing each other. Molly ordered a smoothie. He ordered a black coffee. He asked about her classes, friends, general parental stuff to which he got general, monosyllabic, adolescent replies.

“How’s the art project coming?”

“Okay.”

She’d replied with a desultory okay to all his inquiries, when it was evident that everything was definitely not okay.

Their order arrived. She drew the straw toward her mouth and took a long sip, studying him over the tall glass. When she leaned back, she said, “Did you have a black eye?”

“Thanks to Mitch.”

“Uncle Mitch?” she exclaimed, showing some animation for the first time. She even laughed. “Why were you two fighting?”

“Just horsing around. He got a bruised belly out of it.”

“When’s their baby coming?”

“A few more months. They found out it’s a boy.”

“Cool. Have they named him?”

“I forgot to ask.”

She rolled her eyes at what seemed an unforgivable omission, then looked out the window toward his car. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No. She’s, uh, work-related.” He told her about Beth’s affiliation withCrisis Point. “You remember when they were down here filming? The episode airs next week.”

“Then what’s she doing here now?”

“Part of her job is to make sure everything is accurate. She’s double-checking a few key elements of the story ahead of the broadcast.”

His daughter eyed him with a shrewdness that defied her youth. “Why’s she asking you?”

“Because I’ve refused to talk about it before now. She wanted to know why.”