“Still, I’m sorry. I felt like a terrible dad. And I learned an embarrassing and hard lesson. You know I think it’s important to never act like I don’t make mistakes. It’s important to acknowledge when I mess up. I messed up.”
“I forgive you.”
She’s amazing, but I’m not stupid. That will haunt her someday. I’d better put some money away for future therapy.
“Thank you. Now … it’s time for the tuck, young lady.”
“Daaad … we’re done with that. Remember?”
Why must she keep reminding me of her premature independence?
“Fine.” I grab her and sling her onto my lap, tickling her. “Then just a kiss and tickle goodnight.”
“Stop! Stop!” She giggles while trying to wriggle out of my hold.
After I shower her with kisses all over her face and neck, I let her go.
She steps back, out of breath while peeling hair from her face and cringing. “You made my pad get all wrinkled and shoved up into my area.” She tugs at the crotch of her shorts. “You can’t do that to me when I’m having my period.”
My eyes grow wide, and I nod once. “Very sorry.”
She frowns. “You’re forgiven this time. Just don’t do it again, please.”
Again, I find myself holding my hands up in surrender. Letting go … I’m constantly having to remind myself to let go … let her be her. The butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
She blows me one more kiss. “Night, Daddy. I love you.”
“I love you too. Sweet dreams.”
After picking up our popcorn mess and movie blanket fort, I grab a beer and escape to the porch.
“Nice night.”
I squint to see Mr. Hans, but it’s only an outline on his porch swing.
“It is. Sorry to hear Hunter is sick, but I want to thank you again for taking Morgan. She had the best time, even if it was only two days. I fear I’m now destined to make a return trip with her.”
“Oh, gosh … it was my pleasure. She’s such a great kid, and Gabe is too. Hunter was thrilled to have them there. However, I see my other tenant had a mishap with my tile and a bottle of wine.”
“Send me the bill. Don’t tell her I’m paying for it, but send me the bill.”
“I think I can just take out that one piece of tile and replace it, as long as I still have one or two of those tiles left over. Otherwise, I’ll have to replace the whole entry. I’m not sure you want to pay for that. Honestly, I’m tempted to just toss a rug there and not worry about it. She felt really terrible about it.”
“Send me the bill. Really. Either for your time if you do have a tile to replace it or for all new tile.”
“You rich or something?” He chuckles.
“Or something …” I take a swig of my beer.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you like her.”
Rolling the mouth of the bottle along my bottom lip, I inwardly grin. “Oh yeah? What makes you think that?”
“I’ve seen you two together. I may be old, but I know how a man looks at a woman who he’s smitten with. Boy … you’ve got that look.”
I chuckle. “Smitten … haven’t heard that word in a while.” My dad used to tell everyone how smitten I was with Daisy Gallagher, my childhood friend. He wasn’t wrong.
“Morgan said her mom died while giving birth to her. You and Elvis have that lost love in common. I’m in that group too.”
“Gracelyn’s fiancé left her at the altar; he didn’t die. Did he?” I ask.
“Nah … another guy … in her early twenties. Some kind of heart condition took him. He didn’t get a transplant in time.”
“Huh … I didn’t know that.”
“If you ask me, I’d say it’s the reason she’s single. She’s a hard worker. Loves that boy to death. However, I don’t miss the fear in her eyes. Pretty damn sure she never saw this life coming. I imagine you felt that way when you lost your wife. With my wife, I knew it was coming. I had time to prepare. Doesn’t make it hurt less. Just means you don’t spend as long in denial that you’re alone and you’re never going to see them again.”
I blow out a slow breath. “Yeah …”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Gracelyn
“Can I stay with Mr. Hans today? Tyler has a dental appointment today, and I don’t want to go, but his mom won’t let me stay at their house alone.”
I sip my coffee at the table, scrolling through my email on my phone. “Mr. Hans isn’t here. And I’m not asking our landlord to be your …” I search for something besides babysitter. Gabe hates that. “Well, I’m not asking him to keep an eye on you. I think that’s crossing a line, especially given the fact that he already went above and beyond and took you to Disney.”