Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Her eyes narrow. “So are you… what… getting back together?”
I place the kennel on a chest freezer up against the wall and lean back against Ella’s Escalade. “It’s not that simple.”
“It kind of is,” she replies. “Because Mom kicked you out and you left and for months, you showed no interest in Mom, then once she starts dating someone—who is very nice, I might add—then you’re suddenly coming around more. And then Mom breaks up with David, and now you two are making googly eyes at each other.”
“Googly eyes?” I ask with a grin, hoping to lighten the moment.
Lucy doesn’t crack a smile, instead, she dips her head and rubs her cheek against Brody’s head, who seems to be on the verge of falling asleep.
Tucking my hands in my pocket, I decide to be honest with my kid. “Okay… so here’s the thing. When your mom asked me to leave, I didn’t understand it. And to be fair to her, she was clear in why she was asking me to leave, but I guess I just didn’t want to hear it. So yeah… I just let it go, figuring it’s what your mom wanted. I thought we were over. But not once in that time did I not want to come back home. I always wanted my family back, but I didn’t think it was possible.”
“What changed?” she asks dubiously.
“I saw your mom out on a date with David, and I got insanely jealous,” I admit. “It sort of lit a fire under me.”
“Lit a fire to do what?” she asks, this time her voice is a bit softer.
“To try to prove to your mom that I’m the type of man she wants. That I can make her happy again.”
Lucy’s eyes go a little round.
“Your mom deserves better than what I gave her as a husband. Now I know that, so I’m ready to do better.”
“See,” Lucy murmurs, her expression filled with confusion. “I don’t get it. You and Mom always seemed to get along great. You never argued. I never understood why she asked you to leave or why you so easily accepted it.”
I push off Ella’s vehicle to move in close to Lucy. When I brush a lock of hair behind her ear, Brody tries to nip at my wrist. “A lot of that stuff is private between your mom and me, but what I will tell you is that a marriage should be better than just getting along great and not arguing. I’m telling you this as a woman, Lucy, who may one day fall in love and get married. You should be deliriously happy all the time. You should feel loved and noticed all the time. Anything less, and you do exactly as your mom did and kick the offender to the curb.”
Lucy’s mouth drops open.
“I’m serious, kid. While I love your mom madly, I thought she was satisfied with just getting along great. I didn’t know she needed so much more, even though she always voiced her needs. I was too caught up in other shit to hear her correctly. But I hear her now, and that’s all you need to know.”
Lucy’s eyes start to sparkle. “Does that mean you’re moving back in?”
I ruffle her hair while I shake my head. “Not anytime soon. Your mom wants to take it slow. She needs to see that I’m more than just words.”
She gives me a sage nod. “Makes sense.”
“But…” I drawl, giving a quick look at the door leading into the house, lowering my voice on the off-chance Ella’s eavesdropping on me. “The Vengeance is having a big Halloween party next week, and I want your mom and you to come. I’m going to ask her but I know she’ll balk. She might consider that to be too fast or feel awkward being around the team since we’ve been separated.”
Lucy starts to get my drift, expression turning conspiratorial. “So when you ask, you need me to be vocally in favor of going, right? As a family?”
“Smart kid.” Grinning, I bend to kiss her head.
“I have your back, Dad,” she replies.
Looping my arm around her shoulder, I steer her to the door. “And I love you for it.”
“The kennel, Dad,” Lucy reminds me. “We better come in with that, or Mom will think we were out here conspiring.”
Laughing, I release my kid and grab the kennel from on top of the freezer. I’ll come back and get the rest after we eat dinner.
Together.
As a family.
CHAPTER 12
Steele
Lucy comes trotting toward my Range Rover, her backpack slung over her shoulder. She’s wearing a pair of shorts that are thankfully modestly mid-leg, a rainbow-striped t-shirt, and pink high-top Chucks. I love her individuality and her refusal to follow the mainstream trends. She gets that mostly from her mom, who doesn’t care about such things and who is so comfortable in her skin she needs no other trappings to strengthen her healthy ego.