Page 39 of The Sandbar saga

"Chinese food is your favorite." He shut off the car. "Order as much as you want."

The cold air blasted her the second she stepped outside the vehicle. She inhaled almost expecting to get a hint of salt in the air, but there was none.

"How close is Puget Sound to the ocean?" She walked beside him, letting her sweater cover her hands.

He opened the door to the restaurant for her. "Don't they teach you this at St. Mary's?"

"Maybe." She grinned. "Maybe not."

"The Sound is an estuary of the Pacific. You'd need to drive a couple of hours to get to the beach where you can look out into the Ocean. Of course, a lot shorter if you take a boat." He squeezed the back of her neck. "Is that what you're asking?"

She nodded. It was too far to go on her own without a car. Her hope to watch the sun slip below the water dashed.

Dr. C spoke with the server who seated them. Katie took the chair across from him so she wouldn’t have to keep turning her head whenever she talked to him. Ignoring the menu, she let him order for her. She always had the same thing.

Chow Mein.

Sweet and sour pork.

Shrimp.

"The house tea for both of us." Dr. C handed the menu back and winked at Katie.

Hugging her middle, she leaned against the table. It'd been a couple of months since they'd gone out to eat together.

Years ago, she'd vehemently declared to him that she loved tea when he'd taken her out to eat. The fact that she'd never had it before and hated it enough it upset her stomach hadn't stopped her from proving how grown up she'd become.

Chinese tea had grown on her over time, and every few weeks, he'd send her a packet of different oriental teas to try. For some reason, that personal gift was her favorite over all the clothes he bought and the latest gadgets he surprised her with in her care boxes.

Once they were alone, she leaned forward. "You never told me what you did today. Did you go on a run?"

He shook his head and waited until they received their tea before facing her again. "I had a meeting."

"Yeah, you mentioned that part already."

"About you." He looked over his cup at her. "With your mother."

She sat back and looked away. During all these years, her mother had not contacted Dr. C or her. She'd started to believe that her mother was out of her life, and she was glad about it. There were things she remembered happening, conversations that had brought nothing but pain when she was younger, but hit to the core now that she understood why they were said to her.

Weird enough, during the time her father was alive, she remembered less and less of her mother in her life. Sometimes, she doubted if her mother was even involved in raising her.

Her selective memory validated her belief that her father was an essential part of her life, raising her and doing a lot of the jobs a mother usually was responsible for doing. Like tucking her into bed, reading her stories, and playing with her.

"Katie, don't shut me out."

She looked across the table. "You shouldn't have met with her. I hope you didn't tell her anything about me. She doesn't deserve to know anything."

His gaze softened. "She called the meeting, and it was about you."

She scooted back her chair to get up and leave the restaurant, and Dr. C grabbed her wrist. "Sit."

"I don't want to hear anything about that woman."

"If I promise you that after tonight, you don't have to worry about your mother, will you listen to me?"

She clamped her lips together and sat back down. He could say or do what he wanted. She was her own person. If she wanted to cut her mom out of her life, she would.

Dr. C sat back and ran his hand over his jaw. "It wasn't my plan to lay this on you today, on your birthday."