As they were about to close the door, Mary saw Tommy’s truck on the other side of their street. Tommy rolled down the window and whistled.
“Hi, there—trick or treat, ladies?” he asked.
“What do you think?” Harper said.
Tommy and Jake got out of the driver’s and passenger seats. And then the back door opened, and Danny stepped out.
“Definitely a trick,” Mary stage-whispered to Harper.
Dot’s heart caught in her throat. Danny, rugged, fit, and unforgettably handsome, but it was his wounded eyes that drew her right back in. She’d missed him so much but had tried to avoid thinking about him. She didn’t think there was a point since she was going back to New York, and even though he’d shown up at the Lopez rally, she still had never responded to his text messages. She felt terrible about that. And now she felt embarrassed.
Jake walked up to the porch first. “Is it okay that he came, too, Dot?” He cocked his head back toward Danny.
“Oh, sure. Of course.” Dot shot a look at Mary, knowing she probably had something to do with this little visit.
“Let’s go inside, it’s freezing out here,” Mary said, Jake’s hand on the small of her back. Tommy and Harper followed them in, taking Pippi with them.
And then Dot and Danny were outside together, alone for the first time in weeks, and face-to-face.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” She made eye contact but nearly melted when she saw the sadness there in his big dark eyes.
“You look...” He didn’t finish his sentence.
“Ridiculous, I know,” Dot said, suddenly a bit embarrassed by her costume.
“I was actually going to say that you look more beautiful than ever.”
“I’ve been meaning to write you back,” Dot said in a rush.
“The silence has been deafening.”
“I’m sorry. It was wrong. It’s just that night—after being confronted by Maddy and...”
He interrupted. “By Maddy? Maddy Becker? What in the hell did she say to you?”
“She said that if I wasn’t serious about staying in Cedar Falls that I shouldn’t lead you on and possibly break your heart again.”
“She had no business doing that,” he said, an edge to his voice.
“I think she was just looking out for you, now that I’ve had time to think about it.”
“I’m tired of everyone trying to look out for me. I can look out for myself,” he said.
“I hear you. Loud and clear.” Dot felt a little better knowing he felt that way about Maddy. “She’s a bit...”
“Extra?”
That made Dot laugh. “Yes. She’s extra.”
“Now don’t get mad at Mary and Jake, but they told me you think I was dating another woman? What gave you that idea?” he asked.
“It was the same night, right after Maddy and her friends had run into me at the Couture Closet. I started walking up Main and I saw you with a beautiful girl. At Cocoa and Cabernet. And since we’d not talked about being exclusive, I assumed I didn’t have a right to be angry. So, I... I froze.”
“Wait. Cocoa and Cabernet? Oh my gosh, Dot. Oh, Dot.” Danny shook his head and covered his eyes.
“What?”