“Don’t be nervous,” Jace said, “you’re among friends.”
The puppy barked and Cody gave him a small piece of pizza crust.
“He’s going to be really spoiled here,” Liza said.
“Babies deserve to be spoiled,” Jace said.
“My parents don’t agree with that sentiment,” Liza said, “but I’m getting ahead of myself. Basically, things were good at home as long as I acted like the perfect daughter. The first time I met you, Jace, life was totally different.”
“You seemed happy to me,” Jace said.
“I was,” Liza said. “The next time I saw you, I was almost fifteen. You and Rusty were in the area, and stopped by to visit Grandma—at that point I was living with her. My parents thought I was too wild because I was dating a boy, and I’d gotten a piercing in my eyebrow.”
“Oh yeah,” Jace said, “I remember t
