Must Love Flowers(50)

“Glad to hear that,” she assured him, quickly quelling her amusement.

“You gonna offer your daughter a beer?” Al shouted from the bar.

“No,” Roy answered. “She doesn’t drink.” Then, turning to Maggie, he asked, “Right?”

“Right.” She didn’t feel the need to mention the occasional glass of wine. His asking gave her an idea, though. She’d buy a bottle of champagne to share with Joan later. Cheap champagne, as that was all she could afford.

Her father continued to stare at her, as if waiting for her to divulge the reason she’d sought him out.

Holding her breath, she decided to tell him, unsure of his reaction. “I got an email earlier. I’ve been awarded a two-year nursing scholarship.” His response was far and away beyond anything she could have anticipated.

Tears filled his eyes.

He blinked furiously, as if to keep them at bay, swallowing tightly. “Your mother would be proud.” His words were little more than a whisper. At first Maggie didn’t make them out. When she did, she placed her hand on his arm. “What about you, Dad?”

He ignored the question. “Last time I saw you, what did I say?” he blurted out instead, his voice harsh.

Say? She didn’t remember much about their last meeting. She’d stopped by shortly after collecting her things and he’d assumed she’d returned home with her tail between her legs. “Sorry?”

He huffed, as though that was exactly what he’d expected. “I said if you come around you needed to bring me a Whopper.”

Maggie smiled. “Looks like I failed you once again.”

“It’s what I expected.”

“I’ll make sure I don’t disappoint you the next time,” she promised.

A hint of a smile touched his eyes. “You do that.”

Maggie scooted out of the chair and stood. Looking toward her dad’s drinking buddy, she said, “Nice to finally meet you, Al.”

The Black man saluted her. “Glad to meet you, too, after all your dad has told me about you. He might not say it, but he’s right proud of you.”

“Shut up, Al,” her father barked.

His words cut her up short. Her father was proud of her. That was a surprise. He made it sound as if Roy had bragged on her. Would wonders never cease? She glanced toward her father and noticed his face reddening. Yup, that was what she thought. While he might do his best to tear her down and discourage her studies, in his heart of hearts he was pleased she’d done all she could to continue her education. Although, heaven forbid he let her know.

Maggie left the tavern with a bounce to her step. On the way back to Joan’s she stopped off at Safeway for a bottle of champagne. She found one that had reasonably good reviews for twenty bucks. It was twenty bucks she couldn’t really afford, but if there was ever a reason to spend money frivolously, this was it.

Maggie parked in her usual spot and raced up the porch steps, letting herself into the house.

“Joan,” she cried, too excited to not yell. She held up the champagne bottle as she hurried toward the kitchen.

Joan stepped out of the room. She wasn’t alone.

Nick was with her, holding Edison in his arms. It seemed she’d been too excited to notice his truck parked outside.

The joy left her like water bursting from a fire hydrant. Her gaze clashed with Nick’s until she could almost see the sparks.

Maggie slowly lowered the bottle. “Sorry, I…didn’t realize you had company.”

“What are we celebrating?” Joan asked, eyeing the champagne bottle.

Shrugging as if it was of little importance, Maggie said, “I got a two-year scholarship.”

Joan’s face broke into a huge smile. “That’s wonderful news.”

“Congratulations,” Nick added. His eyes held hers for a long moment.

Maggie did her best to pretend to ignore him, finding him hard to read. He sounded sincere, but she wasn’t convinced she should trust him. “I’ll put this in the refrigerator to chill and we can open it later.” With Nick at the house, she needed to disappear. It went without saying that her presence made them both uncomfortable. “I’ll go to my room.”

“No need,” Joan said, in an effort to stop her.

Maggie didn’t stick around long enough to argue. Instead, she headed up the stairs. She was almost to her room before she realized Nick had followed her.

“What?” she asked, turning to face him.

He raised both arms as if she’d pointed a pistol at him. “If you give me a minute, I’d like to apologize.”

“Apology accepted. Think nothing of it.”

He placed his hands in his jeans pockets. “I wish it was that easy.”

“What do you mean?”

“It matters to me. I was an ass.”

She crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side. “I’d say that’s an accurate statement.”

“Listen up, okay?”

She was a captive audience. “All right.”

“You remember Kurt? He’s the other guy who comes into Starbucks with me.”

“I do, but what does he have to do with anything?”

“His mother had hip replacement surgery a while back. She had the daughter of a friend come in to help her after she got home from the hospital. Her bedroom was upstairs…Well, that doesn’t matter. The point is, she brought this young woman into her home.”