She put her hands in her lap, her salad and coffee untouched. “Right,” she said. “First of all, I felt bad about Christmas night, about the argument we had, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. You nailed it, Jock—I’ve been angry. It’s true, and I thought I had every right to be angry. But then when you got hurt and I saw how terrified Maddie was, it hit me hard that you’d always tried with me, even if it didn’t go very well most of the time, and I didn’t really try with you. And our daughter loves us both.”

 “Yes, she does.”

 “And you’ve had a very close relationship with her, one that I was barely aware of. It seemed you didn’t see her that often.”

 He shrugged. “You weren’t easy about that and there was no reason to make life tough for Maddie by pushing you too hard. So I got her a phone and—”

 “She was much too young for that phone!”

 Jock waited patiently for her to get over that little outburst and she did. There she was again, jumping to conclusions, controlling things. She twisted her lips a little. “Ach,” she said, chagrined.

 “I got her a phone and a laptop so we could communicate and we stayed in close touch. I went to all her school things, when I could. My hours weren’t always good—I had the store a lot of nights. But we were able to talk. She’s so smart, Riley. Like you.”

 Riley felt her cheeks grow a little hot, flushing. “You’re smart,” she said. “She definitely got your legs.”

 He laughed. “Yeah, you’ve been looking up at her since she was thirteen. She’s a beauty.”

 “I didn’t know you’d told her about Emma. I didn’t know a lot of the things you talked about.”

 “I told Maddie it wasn’t a good idea for her to carry stories about me to you and about you to me. I told her that would cause more friction between us. And she didn’t want that.”

 “I don’t know where we start,” Riley said. “We’ve been kind of at each other’s throats for a long time.”

 “Not really. Not always,” he said. “I really pissed you off a few times but around Maddie we were always nice to each other. At least tolerant, thanks to June. But there is one thing that kind of grates on me. I don’t know if I dare talk about it.”

 “Maybe you better,” she said. “Let’s get it all on the table.”

 “You have to promise not to scream or throw things. I’m recovering from major surgery.”

 “I have never...” She stopped herself because her voice had become shrill. “I’ve never thrown anything.”

 He smiled. “You seemed angriest with me when I tried to tell you I cared about you. I wanted us to have a chance. I thought I could be a decent husband and I liked being a father. I knew I’d screwed it up completely in the beginning, I knew I wasn’t really good enough for you, but I—”

 “We didn’t get off to a good start...” she said.

 “My fault,” he said. “I don’t have any excuses. I take that back—I have nothing but excuses. I was young and dumb, terrified, confused, not to mention I felt completely incompetent. I wanted to do the right thing and I was pretty sure I wasn’t capable of it. I had no education, no money, just a shitty little part-time job—”

 “It wasn’t all your fault,” she said. “Look, there’s no way you can understand this, but I had a lot to overcome. I was a poor kid. A poor fatherless kid. I’d cheated on my best friend with her boyfriend and she hated me, which she was bound to. I was ashamed and angry and pretty desperate. It gave me a little satisfaction to blame you for all my problems. Then I started my company and I was afraid to look up for at least twelve years. When you asked for another chance, I couldn’t hear you.”

 “I asked a few times...”

 “You married Laurie...”

 “I thought it might fix what was hurting. I shouldn’t have done that to her.”

 “But she dumped you!”

 “We knew right away it wasn’t working, but I’ll be honest with you—I was going to stay. I wasn’t going to fail twice. But if you think our relationship is complicated? Jesus, Laurie’s life was a train wreck. She’s back with her ex. They probably never should’ve divorced in the first place. And they fight twenty-four-seven.”

 “Is it even possible for us to pick up the pieces after all this time and be friends?” she asked. “Do our grudges just run too deep?”

 “I don’t have any grudges, Riley. I’ve made peace with my screwups. I have a great family, a beautiful daughter, a good job, a few friends and a decent life. If we can be friends, I’ll be a happy man.”

 “Did we bicker too much in front of Maddie?” she asked.

 He laughed a little bit. “No more than your average married couple,” he said. “You take one look at Maddie and know—she’s pretty normal for a daughter of mine. You’re a wonderful mother. And you’re not the poor kid anymore, that’s for sure.”

 She sighed. “You can’t imagine the kind of desperate ambition that took. I’ve craved a nap for fifteen years.” She gave him a long look. “Don’t you ever get...lonely?”

 He shook his head. “Hardly ever. Sometimes I go too long without seeing Maddie, but I can always talk to her. But lonely? Not so much. Do you?”

 She nodded. “Even though I have good people in my life, too. Sometimes it feels like there’s something missing.”

 “Now, that I understand. So—is the new guy going to be okay if you’re friendly with your daughter’s daddy?”