Page 16 of Sticks and Stones
Chapter Five
Gunnar was happy to see Gianna had brought home the flowers he’d bought for her. They were sitting in a purple vase on the kitchen island, front and center, when he walked in.
“Hey,” she said, looking at him over her shoulder. “I was just making an apple crisp for dessert. The girls should be home from school soon. You want a beer?”
“Na, I’m good, thanks. I had one at lunch.”
“Since when do you stop at one beer?” she asked, looking amused as she continued chopping apples.
“Since I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.”
She eyed him quizzically before she said, “Well, the coffee’s fresh. Help yourself.”
“Thanks, I think I will.”
“Where’d you have lunch?” she asked, taking in his athletic attire.
“A place called Rusty’s.” He leaned against the counter next to her. “You ever been there?”
“Sure, a couple of times. Doesn’t seem like your kind of place though.”
“I liked it.”
After Levi left, he made small talk with the proprietor about classic rock songs they both loved and he asked him to sign their wall of fame, which he was happy to do. He was surprised how many famous people had passed through and had their picture taken with old Rusty.
“You did, huh?” She didn’t sound convinced. “That’s nice. I’m glad you weren’t accosted by autograph seekers when you went out.”
Had they still been together he would have smacked her ass, then nuzzled her neck for teasing him, but he wasn’t allowed to do that anymore. And he hated it. “I met a dude named Levi. Rowe, I think. You know him?”
“Oh yeah, he’s a friend of Gabby’s. I think they went to high school together or something. Everyone around here knows everyone else. That’s just how it is.”
“How many people live here?”
“Under five thousand, I think,” she said sprinkling her oat-and-sugar mixture on top of the apples she’d spread in the bottom of a glass baking dish.
“You have missed the nightlife or the shopping or the theaters?”
“I don’t miss anything about L.A.,” she said, popping the pan in the oven. “Within minutes of unpacking my bags here, I finally felt like I could breathe for the first time in years.” She frowned. “I just wish the girls were adjusting to the move as well as I am.”
“They’re still having a hard time with it, huh?” Gunnar wasn’t surprised. They’d left a school they loved, tons of friends, activities, and an active social life behind.
“Yesterday, Keegan asked me why they couldn’t have stayed in L.A. with you, at least until the end of the school year.”
He would have loved that, but he was too smart to admit as much to Gianna. “They could have, you know. If you were okay with it.”
“You’re never there, Gunnar,” she said, sounding frustrated. “Teenage girls need constant supervision. They need a responsible parent who’s not—”
“And I’m not a responsible parent?” he asked, setting his coffee mug down on the counter with a dull thud. “You act like I fed them crack cocaine or locked them in a closet or gave them the key to my gun cabinet.”
“I didn’t mean that,” she said, touching his forearm. “It’s just that your lifestyle makes it impossible for you to be a regular parent.”
“What if I wanted to try?” he asked, his gaze dropping to her hand, which was still curled around his arm.
“Try what?”
“To be a regular dad? To be there for the girls, like whenever they needed me.”
“What are you suggesting?” she asked, jumping back like she’d been burned. “You want full custody?”
