Fourteen
Owen covertly watched Hope and her ex-husband while he waited for the young woman behind the counter to scoop their ice cream. Beside him, Daphne bounced on her toes, oblivious of the tension between her parents. That was something of a miracle because he felt it from across the room. It bored into him like needles hooked up to an electrical current.
“What does your mom like?” he asked her when the server handed him Dan’s banana split.
“Mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone,” Daphne replied. “Same as me.”
“That’s my favorite, too.”
She beamed up at him. “Really?”
“Yep. And it’s my favorite because it’s my mom’s favorite.”
“I like your mom. She’s…. What’s the word? It’s kinda like funky.”
“Spunky?”
“Yeah! She’s spunky.”
“That she is,” Owen agreed with a chuckle.
His amuse
