Storybook Dad. Laura Bradford

      When the pizza arrived and Seth took a break to eat, Mark took over the conversation, peppering her with questions about Bucket List 101 and the clients she’d encountered since starting the business four years earlier.

      “When you drew those pictures I saw on your wall, did you know back then that you wanted to teach people how to do all those things?”

      She nibbled at the crust of her first piece and then tossed it on her plate. “Back then, I just knew I wanted to do all those things one day. By the time I was halfway through college, I knew I wanted to do them in conjunction with a business.”

      “Who’s your typical client?”

      “I’m not sure I have a typical client. People come for all sorts of reasons. Some want to conquer a fear. Some come simply because they love the outdoors. And some, like yourself, are motivated by a personal goal.”

      Seth pointed at his dad with his slice of pizza. “My mommy taught my daddy not to wait for tomorrow.”

      Mark drew back. “Where did you get that, little man?”

      Turning the pizza toward his mouth, Seth shrugged. “I heard you saying that this morning when you were standing in front of the mirror, trying to decide if you should play in the woods or not.”

      Emily watched Mark’s eyes close only to reopen mere seconds later. “I was talking to myself.”

      “Then you should be more quiet, Daddy.” The little boy took a bite of pizza and started chewing.

      “Apparently you’re right.” Mark looked at Emily with an impish grin. “Nothing like getting a behind-the-scenes look at my many shortcomings, eh?” Suddenly uncomfortable, he grabbed a slice of pizza for himself and raised it in the air like a champagne glass. “Next topic, please …”

      Story by story, they ate their way through the rest of a pizza that was every bit as good as Seth had promised. But it was the time with Mark and Seth that affected Emily most, temporarily filling a void that had been lurking in her soul for years. It was as if Seth’s sweet stories and Mark’s genuine interest allowed her to pretend, if only for a little bit, that they were her family, sharing the details of their day over dinner.

      “You know how to rock climb?” Seth asked around a piece of pizza crust bigger than his face.

      “It’s not polite to talk with food in your mouth,” Mark reminded him.

      Seth dropped his crust onto his plate. “Do you, Emily?”

      Pulling her paper napkin from her lap, she brushed it across her face, then crumpled it into a ball beside her empty glass. “I do.”

      “Wow!”

      “Emily can do all sorts of things.” Mark shifted beside her, the brush of his thigh against hers sending a tingle of awareness through her body. “She can pilot a raft through rapids, she can ride a horse through the woods, she can rappel over the side of a mountain and climb huge rocks.”

      At the naked awe on Seth’s face, she turned a playful scowl on the child’s father. “You do realize you just made me out to sound like Superwoman, don’t you?”

      “Nah. Superwoman is a little taller. And her hair is a lot longer. Besides, you’re much, much better looking.”

      Mark’s words, coupled with the huskiness of his tone, brought her up short. Unsure of what to say, she was more than a little grateful when Seth leaned across the table. “Could you teach me how to rock climb?”

      With a steadying breath, she nodded, acutely aware of Mark’s hand beside hers. “After you shared such yummy pizza with me, I’d be happy to teach you how to rock climb. If it’s okay with your dad, of course.”

      “Daddy?” Seth’s eyebrows rose upward, making both adults laugh out loud. “Please, please? Can Emily teach me how to rock climb?”

      A moment of silence had Seth nearly falling out of his seat in anticipation.

      “Hmm. If it’s okay with Emily, it’s okay with me—under one condition.”

      Bracing herself for the inevitable clean-your-room or put-away-your-toys bribe, she was more than a little surprised—pleasantly surprised, if she was honest with herself—when he revealed his nonnegotiable terms. “I get to learn, too.”

      Beaming triumphantly, Seth brought his focus back to Emily. “Daddy has this whole week off and I do, too. So we’re free tomorrow.”

      She bit back the laugh Mark was unsuccessful at hiding.

      “Oh we are, are we, son?”

      “Yupper doodle!”

      “Think ten o’clock would work for you?” she asked, with the most serious face she could muster.

      Seth hopped down from his seat and consulted his father in a series of back and forth whispers before repositioning himself at the table. “Ten o’clock works great!”

      When the last of the tables around them had been cleared for the night, Mark reached for the check, plunking down thirty bucks and declaring their dinner a delicious success. “Well, little man, I think it’s time we walk Emily to her car and give her a big thank-you for rescuing us from the lake and accepting our invitation to dinner.”

      The little boy moaned. “Do we have to stop eating?”

      “We stopped eating an hour ago, when we finished the pizza.” Mark pushed his chair back and reached for his son’s hand. “Besides, if we want Emily to teach us how to rock climb in the morning, we really should let her go home and get some sleep.”

      Sensing the boy’s reluctance, she took hold of his other hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Rock climbing is serious stuff, Seth. You need to be well rested so you can listen extra carefully when I tell you what you need to do.”

      “Oh. Okay.”

      They walked through the pizza parlor and out into the night, the answering silence of the crickets marred only by the sound of Seth’s flip-flops slapping the pavement. It was a sweet sound, one she’d never really noticed until that moment.

      “I had a really nice time tonight, Seth. Thank you for including me—” A shot of pain zipped up her leg, making her drop his hand and reach for the support of a nearby car.

      “Emily? Are you okay?”

      She smiled through the pain, praying that would wipe the worry from the boy’s face. But it didn’t work.

      In an instant, Mark was at her side, his strong arm slipping around her shoulders and drawing her close. “Hey … talk to me.”

      As the untimely pain released its grip, she did her best to shrug away the incident. “I’m okay. I just had a quick pain is all.”

      “Do you get those often?”

      Wiggling out from beneath his arm, she did her best to sound nonchalant as she made her way across the parking lot. “Yeah. Well, sometimes, I guess. It’s no big deal.”

      Mark jogged to keep up, her pace quickening as she neared her Jeep. “No big deal? Are you kidding me?” He pointed at the nearest lamppost while studying her face. “Even in this lighting I could see your color drain away.”

      She shrugged. “It happens from time to time. And it always stops.”

      “If that happens again, maybe you should call your doctor. You know, to get it checked out or something.”

      And just like that, the magical spell that had transformed the evening was gone, wiped away by the reality of her life. Turning her back, Emily reached into her purse and pulled out her car keys, her response barely audible to her own ears. “I can’t do that.”

      He took hold of her shoulders and spun her around, raising her chin with his hand. “Why not?”