Rena laughed so hard that she almost fell out of her chair. “Thank you, A.L.,” she said, when she could finally talk. “I needed that. I really needed that.”

“Happy to help. Now I am going to take five minutes of personal time and go see my ex-wife and tell her to quit stalking Tess’s daughter.”

A.L. knocked on the front door of the house he used to live in. The house he’d liked. The house he’d painted and wallpapered, and where he’d cut the grass. The house that now felt very foreign to him.

The door swung open and Traci beamed at him. “Hey, Dad. It’s late. I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Spur of the moment,” he said. “Did you check the peephole before you opened the door?”

“I’m the daughter of a cop. Of course I did. Checked it twice, to see if my visitor was naughty or nice.”

“Smart mouth,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Is your mom still up?”

“Yeah. In the kitchen.”

“Is she still dating Craig?”

“Why? You want to get back together?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Yes. I think she’s happy.”

“Good. Can you get her?” He stayed by the door, standing on ceramic tile flooring that he’d busted his ass to lay one summer weekend.

Traci narrowed her eyes. “Is this about me?”

“No,” he said honestly. “No more questions.”

“Okay. May the best man-slash-woman win.” She bounced down the hallway, her ponytail swinging. Damn, he loved that kid.

In a minute, Jacqui walked down the hallway. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. She’d put on a few pounds over the last ten years and it was starting to gather around her hips. But she was still an attractive woman, he supposed. “Do you have a minute?”

She nodded, her eyes guarded.

Jacqui wasn’t a dumbshit. She had to know that she’d crossed the line by going to see Tess’s daughter. But she had never liked to admit that she was wrong and he suspected that wasn’t going to be different today.

“I am aware,” he said, “that Tess Lyons ran into Traci at the mall the other night. And I am also aware that you just happened to be on the campus of UW-Eau Claire in the dining hall where Tess’s daughter eats.”

“Is this an interrogation, A.L.?” she asked, sounding deliberately bored.

“No,” he said.

“Then what’s your point?” Jacqui asked.

“My point is, don’t do that again. Don’t go looking for Tess’s daughter.”

“But it’s okay if she looks for my daughter. Is that how this goes?” Now Jacqui’s voice was loud. He was sure if Traci had her door open, she was hearing every word.

“Shush,” he said.

“Don’t shush me.”