“We had the best time. Claudia’s dad took us on a hike in the rain forest. Did you know Washington state has one of the largest temperate rain forests in the continental United States? It’s called the Hoh Rain Forest, in Olympic National Park and Forest.”
“Really?” Cassie did know, but she didn’t want to squash her daughter’s enthusiasm.
“There was moss and it was slippery in places and the forest was so beautiful you wouldn’t have believed it. We walked and walked and it seemed like we’d gone ten miles but it was only two. I didn’t know a mile could be so far. Claudia’s dad had a walking stick. I always thought those were for old people, forty or fifty, but Mr. Anastasia isn’t that old.”
Cassie did her best to hide a smile.
“And we cooked on a camp stove. Claudia’s mom made this amazing soup that had everything you can imagine in it, and it tasted so good. Oh, and we made s’mores—you know, with graham crackers, marshmallows, and melted chocolate? They were yummy. I could have eaten ten of them, but I only ate three.”
“We’ll have to try making them ourselves sometime,” Cassie said, loving the way her daughter’s eyes sparked with joy.
“We can’t, sorry. It only works with a campfire.”
“Oh, then we’ll just need to go camping one day.”
Amiee grew serious. “Mom, this is real camping. This isn’t car camping or eating-dinner-under-the-table camping. We hiked to our site!”
“I’ll take that into consideration.”
“What’s for dinner?” Amiee asked, blinking at Cassie. “I’m starved.”
“I have an excellent idea of how to cure that,” Steve said.
He stood in the open apartment doorway, looking handsome enough for Cassie to stuff between two graham crackers, coat in chocolate, and munch on.
“Hi,” she said, knowing her voice sounded breathless and happy, mainly because she was both. At the same time, her head was telling her to take it slow. Before they parted, Steve had mentioned seeing her again before he returned to eastern Washington.
“You didn’t answer your phone,” he said, looking at Cassie.
“Oh sorry—I was in and out of the apartment doing laundry. I must have missed your call.”
His eyes were warm and gentle, his gaze lingering over Cassie before he turned his attention to Amiee. “How was the camping trip?”
Cassie held up her hand, stopping him. “Don’t get her started, she’ll talk your ears off.”
“That good, huh?”
“The best,” Amiee assured him, beaming him a wide smile.
Steve leaned against the doorjamb. “I stopped by to see if I could talk you girls into letting me buy you dinner.”
“I could be persuaded,” Cassie said, “and I don’t think you’ll have a difficult time convincing Amiee, either.”
“Let’s go.” Her daughter was more than eager. Amiee grabbed her purse and was already halfway to the door. “KFC?” she suggested eagerly.
“Not this time, okay?”
“Okay.” She didn’t sound disappointed, and Cassie was pleased her daughter hadn’t put up a fuss.
Steve drove them to the outskirts of Kent, to a mom-and-pop drive-in that had outside seating. He ordered cheeseburgers, along with french fries and drinks, and carried them over to the picnic table where Cassie and Amiee waited.
Steve set the sack down and then swung his leg over the bench and sat down next to Cassie so that he was directly across from Amiee. He’d grown progressively quieter as they drew close to the drive-in. After spreading out a napkin and cutting her burger in half with a plastic knife, Amiee took her first bite. “These are really, really good.”
“As good as KFC?”
“No, but close.”
Steve held his burger with both hands. “This is one of my favorite places to eat,” he said. “I used to stop by here for lunch at least once or twice a week.”
“You don’t anymore?” Amiee asked between bites. She’d already managed to scarf down the first half of her burger. Camping apparently made her extra-hungry.
“I spend a lot more time dealing with the paperwork these days than actually working on the construction site. So I end up eating at my desk. That’s one reason why I enjoy working with Habitat—it gets me back out,” he explained.
Cassie noticed Steve hadn’t done anything more than remove his sandwich from the brown paper sack. He was quiet for a second, then cleared his throat.
“There’s a reason I asked you to dinner,” he said, directing the comment to Amiee.
“You mean other than being hungry?”
“Yeah, it’s more than that.” Steve shot a speculative glance toward Cassie and grew even more serious. “I wanted to talk to you about dating your mother.”
Amiee frowned and looked from Cassie to Steve and then back again. “I thought you were already dating her.”
Cassie held up her hand, wanting Steve to slow down. All this talk made it sound as if it was a foregone conclusion that they were together now. They had an understanding, she thought. They’d talked about the need to take one day at a time and not rush into anything, certainly not speed up.
“I want to officially start dating your mother,” Steve explained.
Amiee tossed a look to Cassie and then back to Steve and seemed confused. “What’s the difference between official dating and unofficial dating?” she asked.
“Hold on a minute,” Cassie said. Steve was getting ahead of himself. Way ahead.
But Steve cut her off. He expelled his breath as though gathering his thoughts. “Amiee, I want you to know I’m serious about your mother.”
“Serious?” Amiee repeated, elevating her voice. “You mean like you want to marry her?”
Cassie sucked in her breath but before she could protest that any such idea was completely premature, Steve answered.
“It’s a bit soon to decide that just yet. I’m not taking marriage off the table—that is, if your mother is agreeable and if you’d be willing to let me be your stepdad—but that’s something for us to discuss in the future.”
Cassie was speechless. Of its own accord, her mouth moved up and down a couple times but no words escaped, which was probably a good thing. Had she been able to speak, she wasn’t sure what she’d say without the words tumbling out of her mouth and tripping over her tongue.
Steve was taking a whole lot for granted. She had thought he understood. It was clear now that they weren’t in agreement about this relationship. Despite their earlier conversation, it appeared that she’d given him the wrong impression.
Amiee’s eyes grew dark as she set her burger aside. “You must really like my mom.”
Seeming more relaxed now, Steve reached for his own cheeseburger. “You could say that. She’s not half bad, you know.”
“She has a bit of a temper,” Amiee informed him, lowering her voice, as if whispering would prevent Cassie from hearing her.
“Steve,” Cassie protested, finding her voice. “You and I need to have a serious discussion.”
Steve and her daughter ignored her. “I’ve seen this temper of hers a time or two myself. Any other bad habits you want to warn me about?”
“Hey, you two,” Cassie said, indignant now. “Stop it! Steve, we need to talk.” She made sure each word was spoken distinctly, so there was no room for misunderstanding. Seeing that she’d already made that mistake once, she wanted her meaning perfectly clear now.
Steve paused and turned toward Cassie.
“In a minute, Mom,” Amiee insisted. “This is important.”
“What I have to say is important, too,” she said, but both Steve and Amiee continued to ignore her.
To his credit, Steve smiled apologetically before turning his attention back to Amiee. “Do you have any other important questions for me?” Steve asked. “Anything you want to know before your mother and I start officially dating?”
Amiee reached for her soda, took a sip, and then folded her forearms on top of the table. “Do you believe in God?”