We pile into my car since Chloe’s seat is there and drive back into town. The girls are talking non-stop, saying how much fun the treasure hunt was.
“Thanks,” I tell Miles quietly.
“Don’t mention it.” He claps my shoulder. “It was fun, and I’d do anything for them.”
I nod, knowing he means it, too. He ran back into a burning building to save Chloe. He’d risk his life for them without a second thought.
People in town chuckle when they see Miles, and the women smile as if they’re in love with him when Charlie and Chloe tell everyone what he did. He’s got one hand wrapped around June’s shoulders, and he’s holding Charlie’s hand, who holds Chloe’s.
They proudly smile and brag about having the best uncle in the world.
“This is so sweet,” Susan, the woman who works at the ice cream shop, says. “Ice cream is the best kinda treasure, too,” she winks at my girls.
“It is! It’s better than gold and jewels,” Charlie says, taking a swipe of her vanilla ice cream.
“You’re lucky to have such an amazing uncle,” she continues.
“I know,” Charlie nods seriously, making sure everyone knows this is more than just because he designed a treasure hunt and bought them ice cream.
We sit at a table, each of us with ice cream, and talk. Different people approach to say hello and comment on the pirate look and listen to the girls talk about every detail. I’m pretty sure this just gives people in town another reason to love our family. And I’ll take this reason without question because this is the real definition of a family, and not everyone is lucky enough to have this.
Chapter 10
Magnolia
I’m finishing my session with Charlie and Chloe, and I can’t stop the smile as they tell me about their weekend. They seem much lighter and relaxed from the last couple of weeks. Chloe is usually the hardest to open up, and even she’s told me about breakfast and a treasure hunt.
Before ending, I teach them a breathing technique they can use when they start to feel scared or anxious that will calm them internally. It’s nice to see people coming out of their shells, especially children. I’m a firm believer that if children are scarred, the future will look grim. No child should live with such emotional baggage that it limits them from enjoying their childhood. It’s why I chose to specialize in this field instead of continuing with adults.
“Okay, girls, we’re done.” They stand from their position on the floor where they were doing play therapy earlier and thank me.
As soon as they walk out of my office, they waltz over to Brett in the waiting area and hug him. I smile at their sweet moment and look away when Brett looks up my way. He whispers something to the girls, and they nod as he stands.
I lift my eyebrows when he walks toward me. His suit is perfectly tailored, like always, and his hair is disheveled from running his hands through it. Gah, he’s hot. A hot dad. A DILF. Geez, I never thought I’d have a thing for single daddies. Great, did I just use the word, daddy? I need help.
With his hands in his pockets, he stands before me. I catch myself before he realizes I’m staring. I’ve tried not to look at him for longer than a few seconds at a time since I met him because thinking a client or their father is sexy is a no-go in this career.
“How were they today?” His brows furrow in worry.
“They were…different. In a good way,” I add quickly. “Charlie was talking excitedly, her mood brighter, even when we talked about the fire. Chloe is slower in her progress, which is understandable, but even she was more open and smiling.”
He blows out a breath and nods slowly. “Good, that’s good. Great.” He looks back to the girls and then at me. “Thank you. I wanted to apologize for the way I reacted last week when you told me to spend more time with them. We’re working on balancing work and life more, so I hope that will help.”
I smile, keeping it professional. “That will help. They need support now more than ever, so just spending time with family, feeling as if they’re loved and listened to, getting attention, will work wonders on their emotional state. If they feel as if their dad, or any other family,” I add, “doesn’t want to spend time with them, they’ll connect that to not being wanted because they were in a fire. It’s a mental wall that might not make sense in rational thinking, but we’re dealing with trauma, not clear thinking.”
Brett nods again, clearly processing my words. “They should know that would never affect my love for them.”
“Guilt is a twisted thing,” I say with a frown and a shrug. “Although they’re not at fault for the fire, they feel culpable for the stress it’s caused, especially Chloe.”
His eyes widen, but no words come out of his mouth. I hope that guides him a bit as their father to take the necessary steps to help in their healing.
“If you need any tips on how to continue their healing at home, I’ll be happy to offer some.”
“Thank you.” There’s that small nod again. I wonder if he does it subconsciously.
He gathers the girls, and I hear a faint, “Can we get ice cream?” coming from Charlie as they walk away, and I chuckle. Then, I get ready for my next client, clearing my office and taking a breather. Thankfully, I have some time in between each one to talk to parents and clean up the space since there are usually toys or drawings spread out.
After two more sessions, I’m exhausted and hungry and ready to head home for some dinner and a glass of wine. I kick off my shoes at the entrance of my apartment, wiggling my toes, and drop my purse on the small counter in the kitchen.
I sigh with my back against the counter, the Formica pressing into me, and drink a sip of wine. It’s not nearly as good as the red blend I had at Beauty and the Books, but it’s good enough and within my budget.
Receiving my first paycheck last week gave me a better idea of what I’ll be making, and I was happy to be able to send my mom the money for the medication with that first paycheck instead of waiting until the end of the month. That means I’ll be able to send them some extra money with my next check. My saving grace is that I don’t have a lot of debt or bills to pay.
I check the fridge for something to eat, feeling too tired to make anything elaborate. When I spot a leftover chicken breast and tortilla wraps, I get to work on making a quesadilla, adding cheese and the chicken onto the tortilla. My mind wanders to Brett and the relief he felt as we talked today. If I’m being honest, I’ve been thinking about him since we met. He’s good-looking with an underlying sadness in his eyes that intrigues me.
I know from Charlie and Chloe that their mom passed away. Not being from Willow Creek, I don’t exactly have the four-one-one on the people here. I shouldn’t be thinking about him. I don’t even know him, and we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. Although, he did apologize for that today.
Shaking my head, I take a healthy drink of wine and sigh. Fantasizing about hot guys is acceptable. When that hot guy is the father of two clients, it’s wrong.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. If I chant that enough, I’ll believe it. However, I can stare and not act on it. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a guy as handsome as him, with just the right amount of muscles, a broody aura surrounding him, and the way he looks at his daughters… Gah, H-O-T, hot.
Cooking is not helping me clear my mind, so as soon as I finish making the quesadilla, I sit on the couch with my dinner and turn on the television. Mindless TV will help me not think about Brett in inappropriate ways. It’ll just make our next encounter awkward, and I am set on helping Charlie and Chloe through this phase in their lives, so awkwardness can’t exist between their dad and me because I’m being weird and wondering what it’d feel like to be hugged by him.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had any intimacy. That must be it. I can’t remember the last time a guy held me gently and made me feel safe. Let alone the last time I felt anything related to a man’s touch. I’ve been so caught up in taking care of my mom and helping my dad th
at it’s been over a year since I went on a date, and it didn’t end up with us tumbling into bed together for a passionate night.
I should try dating. Now that I’m in Willow Creek, it could be an opportunity to meet someone who isn’t the same-ol’ same-ol’ from my own hometown. Most guys that are still in Cedar Springs are friends. It’s as platonic as a brother and sister, so there are no men back home causing sparks in my love life, and I’m living in Willow Creek now. I have to look toward the future and hope that I’ll have a happy ending at some point in my life, preferably before I’m sixty.
My phone rings, and I smile when I see my mama’s name on the screen. This is the perfect distraction. I answer, settling back on the couch, ready to catch up with my parents.
“Hey!” Lucy says when I walk into the coffee shop the next morning.
“Hi,” I smile.
“Your usual?” She smiles. I love that she already knows my order. I nod and thank her, handing her my card.
“Did you hear about the spring festival?” Lucy asks when she hands my card back.
“No,” I shake my head.
She huffs as if I’m disappointing her as a new Willow Creek resident. With a giggle, she says, “I’m gonna have to add all our events onto your phone calendar since you don’t read our paper.”
“I didn’t even know you had a paper.” I assumed they had a newspaper from the closest city.
“Of course we do. You can also check them online on our town’s website. Anyway, we’re having a spring festival next week. Can you believe spring will be here soon?” Her eyes widen in surprise at how fast time is going.
I have to match her surprise because I can’t believe I’ve been living here for over a month and a half already.
“What goes on at this festival?” I ask, leaning forward on the counter since there aren’t any customers behind me.
“They have games for the kids, booths with food from local restaurants and bakeries, and music. Madison is performing this year, which is going to be frickin’ amazing. It’d be a great way for you to meet more people in town. I’ll be working at our booth for the first half of the day, but then I’ll be free in the afternoon.”
“Sounds fun.” It seems like something my friend, Grace, from Cedar Springs, would like to know about.
She runs her dad’s ranch now, but she also makes peach and plum preserves, different desserts and pastries, and participates in events like this when she can get a space in a booth. It might be too late for this year, but I’ll let her know in case she wants to drive out here with her husband in the future. I also think she’d love Beauty and the Books.
“So, I’ll see you there? It’s next Sunday.” Lucy’s eyes round.
“Probably,” I nod. It’d be good to participate in the town’s activities, see the locals, and not be cooped up at home again.
“I’ll accept that answer for now, but I’ll badger you until I get a one-hundred-percent yes.” I can’t help but laugh at her.
She offers my coffee cup when it’s ready, eyeing me as if saying, Laugh all you want, but you’ll be there if I have anything to say about it.
Lucy is kind, and I’m grateful she’s taken to me, even if she is younger, and makes sure I know what’s going on around town. I’ve appreciated her suggestions about places to eat and visit.
I take my coffee and sit at a table, people watching while I wait for the steaming latte to cool a bit before taking a drink. I love observing others, even if only for a few minutes before heading to work. I don’t miss the whispers and curious glances my way as well. It always makes me laugh to myself. I’m familiar with small-town gossip.
I come into The Grind extra early some days so I can get a breather out here before walking into my office and getting swamped with paperwork and meetings.
Since my appointments are in the afternoon once kids are out of school, my mornings consist of paperwork, planning my sessions, and documenting my clients’ progress. It’s my least favorite thing, but it comes with the job.
Eyeing the glass display next to the register, I make a mental note to try something the next time I’m here. It seems they have new options available, and I’m a sucker for sweets.
When it’s time to go, I grab my coffee cup and head toward the door, waving at Lucy on my way out. Another day of work, another day closer to the weekend. Although I do love my job, so it beats counting down as if the weekend were paradise and I was stuck in purgatory.
This is my chance to prove myself, prove my college degree isn’t going to waste, and I’m determined to make it work. Not only for the financial tranquility it brings but because I’m finally living my purpose. That’s a blessing not many people have.
Chapter 11
Brett
After last weekend, Charlie and Chloe asked me numerous times if I wasn’t working this weekend. I was torn between my job and my family, but my mom assured me the winery would be just fine if I took a few Saturdays off when my daughters were begging to do something fun this weekend.
Instead of waking up early, dropping my girls off at my mom’s house, and heading into work, I’m sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking coffee and listening to Charlie instruct Chloe on how to properly combine the pancake mix.
I chuckle at her bossy attitude. She’s something else. Chloe obeys, looking at her big sister as if she were a star.
“You sure you don’t need any help?” I ask as I see a splatter of mix land on the counter…again.
“Nope, we got it, Daddy. This is your special breakfast. Just drink your coffee, ‘kay?” Charlie beams.
“Okay…” I watch the disaster zone happy as a pig in mud and drink my coffee. Instead of turning on each other, Charlie and Chloe’s bond has gotten stronger.
While they prepare breakfast, I fight the urge to check my email. Today’s about family, I remind myself.
“What do you want to do after breakfast?” I ask.
Chloe gazes up at me, which causes the whisk in her hand to rise above the batter and splatter again, some on her face and hair. Charlie rolls her eyes as if she weren’t just two years older and takes the whisk from her sister. I bite back a chuckle. Chloe takes the opportunity to come around and climb on my lap.
“What’s goin’ on?” I hold her to me.
“Can I talk to Uncle Tate again? He said to call him whenever we wanted. I wanna ask him somethin’.” Her soft voice wraps me up, and my chest swells with love for these two little humans who own me more than anyone has. They are two blessings that have allowed me to keep a piece of their mom after she passed.
“Of course. I’ll call him now. Would you like that?” I know he’s off work because Madison was saying what a freaking miracle it was to have him home two weekends in a row. Well, at least two Saturdays since he does work tomorrow.
“Thank you.” She smiles and hugs me.
I wrap my arms around her, kissing the top of her head and promising everything is going to be all right. Silently, Charlie has made her way over to us, and her arms are wrapped around my waist and Chloe’s back as she shoves her face in the crook between us, dropping a kiss.
“I love you girls more than anything. You know that, right?” I look between them.
They both nod but don’t say a word.
“I mean it. I know I work a lot since Grandpa is retiring, but I’m going to do better, okay? I promise.” My arms squeeze around them.
“We know, Daddy,” Charlie says softly, her voice sounding more mature as she eases my guilt. “You’re the best, and I love you, too.”
I blink back tears and look at her with a gentle smile, holding her face as her toothy grin fills her face.
“I love you, too.” Chloe’s words fill my heart, and I look at them.
At this moment, I vow to be there for them. I’ll delegate more, let go of my obsession with control, and focus on them. One day they’ll grow up, and I want them to have fond memories of our time together. I refuse for them to remember me as a wo
rkaholic who wasn’t there to support them when they needed me the most. I want them to know they can always turn to me, and I’ll receive them with open arms and lots of love.
I kiss each of their cheeks before saying, “I’ll call Uncle Tate, and then we’ll make these pancakes. Or the hungry monster is going to eat you,” I growl playfully, and the girls shriek, running away from me as I lift my hands over my head like claws and chase after them. The entire kitchen fills with sweet giggles trying to gasp for air as I go from one to the other.
“I’m gonna get you…” I tease, moving slower than I could to give them a chance to run. When I see them run into each other and grasp the other’s hands, I chuckle.
“Hungry…” I rub my stomach as my bare feet slam the tile floor. Charlie and Chloe look at each other, their hair messy from sleep and their pajamas full of pancake mix.
They hold onto each other without moving, their screech echoing off the walls as I reach them and carry each one in one arm, lifting them as high as I can. Their laughter is loud and joyous, everything I want for them.
I place them on the floor, both panting between cackles. Charlie pushes her hair away from her face.
“That was fun!” She claps her hands.
“Yeah!” Chloe joins her.
After a quick hug to my waist, Chloe goes back to the kitchen and climbs the steps. I can’t imagine missing out on this, on them growing up, experiencing every tiny detail about life.
“I’ll turn on the stove and heat up the pan.” I pull a pan from the drawer under the stove and place it on the gas burner, turning it on.
Dropping in a slice of butter, I help the girls move over to this side of the kitchen so they can keep cooking. They take turns on the stool like they always do, flipping the oddly shaped pancakes.
I call Tate as we wait for all the pancakes to cook, and he assures me he’ll be home and to go on over whenever we’re ready. I’m glad Chloe is taking the initiative and asking to talk to someone who might understand her.
Small Town King: A Single Dad Romance (Carlisle Cellars Book 3) Page 7
