“I should give that a shot.”
“I’ll set up an account for you.” She made a mental note and already had a couple of books she could put on his list.
“Okay, I’ve got another very important question.” Danny looked very serious as he held a forkful of dessert near his mouth.
Dot braced herself. “Sure. Ask me anything.”
“Dog or cat?” he asked, taking a full bite of cake.
“Dog.” She didn’t hesitate.
“Good answer.”
“Is this a girlfriend screening?” she thought. Not that she minded.
They bantered a bit more, and when they got down to the last bite, Danny put his fork down.
“It’s all yours,” he said.
“Oh, I couldn’t. You have it.”
“I insist. Around the Taylors’ farm, we called the last bite on a plate ‘The Shame,’ and we usually fought over it. But someone’s gotta eat it.”
She realized he wasn’t going to budge, so she bent down and made a show of having the last bite. She closed her eyes, swallowed the cake, and raised her fork in triumph.
“Oh, the shame. Delicious!” she said. “I have to say, the food in Wisconsin has been a wonderful surprise,” she said.
“Glad to hear it. What else surprised you?”
“That’s a good question. I’ve been so busy with For the Win that I haven’t explored as much as I’d like. But my biggest takeaway is that no matter who you meet, people act like they’re already your friend.”
“Wisconsin nice is a real thing,” he said.
“Yes! You get instant connections here. A lot of people in New York have an edge—they kind of have to. It’s a game of survival. But here, people you meet for the first time invite you to dinner before you say goodbye. That’s how I felt about the Jankowskis and the Taylors.”
“The Jankowskis adore you. They’ve started to think of you as the daughter they never had,” Danny said.
“That’s really sweet. It’s too bad they don’t have anyone to pass the store to once they retire,” Dot said. “The community has really rallied around the shop since the remodel.”
“It’s true. Cedar Falls really is a great place to grow up. And it’s a great place to raise a... family.” He winced in pain and Dot caught it immediately. She was sensitive to his past heartbreaks, and she let the silence hang for a respectful moment. Danny was miles away in an instant, the sorrow she’d first noticed in his eyes back in a flash.
She let a few moments pass, not sure how to fill the silence. Finally, she decided to ease back into the conversation. “Are you okay?” she asked gently, reaching out to let her fingertips touch his forearm.
He was slow to look at her, his eyes deep and dark and sad in the moment. “I know Grace told you all about what happened to me and my... fiancée. And our daughter.” He took a breath and caught himself before tearing up. “It’s been a few years, but even so it’s not easy. I admit that it’s still sometimes hard to close my eyes. I’m afraid of what I might see.”
She focused intently on him, letting him talk.
“That’s why I work a lot. And I often go over to the Taylors or to the Jankowskis for dinner or just to help them with whatever they need doing around the house. It’s easier than going home.”
“I can understand that.” She placed her hand, palm up, on the table. He rested his on top of hers. She squeezed gently. He squeezed back and held on tightly.
“For a while I just wanted to be left alone. But lately, I’ve been wanting to get out a bit more.”
Dot felt a shot of hope that she had something to do with that.
“You know that weekend when we fixed up the store—well, I think that might be the first time I really felt... alive since Sadie and the baby... since they... since the accident.”
She could tell how hard it was for him to say the words. She decided to go ahead and ask the question that had been on her mind.