Aidan came in, and Clare handed him one of the containers. “Want something to drink? I have Diet Coke and two beers,” she said, peering into the small fridge.

“I’d love a beer.” He took the soup and sat on the sofa.

“Coming right up.”

Clare opened the beer for him and took her soup to sit next to him.

“Did you get this at McHugh’s?”

“You have to ask?”

“It’s good. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

They ate in silence. It had gotten so quiet that when the phone rang it startled her. “Excuse me.” She got up to answer it in her bedroom and was delighted to hear from Maggie, who told her a long story about the goings on at school.

Aidan was finishing his beer when Clare returned to find her soup had gotten cold while she was on the phone.

“Sorry for the interruption. My daughter had a big day at school.”

He looked at her with surprise. “You have a daughter?”

“Three of them,” she said, retrieving her soup from the microwave.

“Where are they?”

His tone seemed almost accusatory. Clare turned to him. Today he wore a blue flannel shirt with faded jeans. The long-sleeved white thermal undershirt seemed to be a standard part of his uniform. And since he’d been inside all day she decided his rosy cheeks were a permanent feature and not the result of working in the cold. “The oldest is in college in Providence, the middle one lives in Nashville, and the youngest is with her dad in Rhode Island. That was her on the phone.”

“Why aren’t you with her?”

This time there was no doubt about his tone—or hers. “That’s a long story, and I’m not sure it’s any of your business.”

He got up. “You’re right, it isn’t. Thanks for the soup.” Tossing the beer bottle in the trash, he left the room.

Clare fumed for a minute before she stomped down the stairs to where he was cleaning up his tools in the torn-apart kitchen. “Why do I feel judged?”

He shrugged. “Maybe you feel guilty.”

“Are you for real? You don’t know me at all, and you’re making some mighty big assumptions.” Clare wouldn’t have bothered to engage with him, except he had struck a nerve with the guilty comment.

“All I know is if I had a child, I wouldn’t be living away from her.”

“It sure is easy to say that when you’ve never been there.”

A flash of naked pain streaked across his handsome face. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Aidan…” Clare went after him, but he was already out the door. A moment later she heard the squeal of his truck’s tires.

Chapter 15