Not My Hero

“Happy Birthday, sweetheart,” she says before pressing a kiss to my cheek.

This time I have a different reaction from when Colton kissed me. My eyes dart to Cassie’s, and seeing the warmth on her face makes me feel emotional.

Between falling in love and experiencing a mother’s love for the first time, it makes tears threaten.

I quickly blink them away and focus on the eggs while rambling, “Bacon and eggs are the only two things I can make. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I’m sure it will taste great,” Cassie encourages me before she goes to sit by the table.

When I’m done, I place the bacon and eggs on the table. Taking a breath, I gather the guts to ask, “Cassie, when you’re not busy, can you teach me how to cook?”

A smile instantly widens around her mouth. “Of course. You should stand with me when I make dinner. That way, you’ll learn faster.”

Colton brings our coffee, and we sit down.

“That will be great,” I reply.

I wait for Colton and Cassie to grab some bacon and eggs first, and then I add some to my plate.

I watch Cassie take a bite of the eggs and anxiously wait to see if she likes it. She gives me a reassuring smile. “It’s delicious.”

Feeling happy, I dig into my own breakfast.Shopping with Colton and Cassie is surreal. They’re just as excited as me and keep pulling me from one item to the next.

We settled on a gray bedspread and matching pillowcases.

I’m secretly happy because it looks like Colton’s.

Cassie chose a beautiful white dressing table and matching stool while Colton found some fairy lights. He said he’ll put them up around the mirror that comes with the dressing table.

Standing in the middle of the store, I glance around me. I notice all the families, and then my eyes turn back to Colton and Cassie, and for the first time, it feels like I’m part of something bigger. I’m no longer just surviving.

I belong.

I have a family.

Cassie’s eyes land on a huge dreamcatcher, and she points at it excitedly while shouting, “Brie, what do you think of this for your wall?”

I let out a burst of laughter and walk over to where she is. “It’s pretty.” The dreamcatcher looks like it’s been crocheted with ribbons hanging from it.

“Do you want it?” Cassie asks.

I glance at her and feeling that they’ve gotten me so much already, I say, “Maybe another time. You’ve already bought me so much.”

Cassie begins to pout, and my eyes grow huge. Then she actually whines, “But there’s still a whole bunch of things I wanted to get.” She pulls a cute face, and I begin to chuckle. “Please.”

“How can I say no now?” I laugh.

“So we’re taking the dreamcatcher?” she asks, excitement all over her face.

“Yeah.”

I help Cassie put the dreamcatcher in a cart, and then we make our way over to where Colton is looking at floating shelves.

When he notices us, he says, “I can put a couple of these on the sides of the bed. You can use them for books or whatever you want.”

I glance at Cassie, and she instantly bats her eyelashes at me, all cutely saying, “We should definitely get them.”

Grinning at her, I shake my head, then mumble, “I can’t say no when your mom pulls that face.”

Colton lets out a chuckle. “Yeah? You should see how cute you look when you do that.”

Huh?

“When did I pull a face like that?”

Colton’s gaze snaps to me as if he just realized he said that to me, and then he begins to load shelves in the cart, mumbling, “While we were watching a movie.” Then he walks away.

“Oh my gosh,” Cassie exclaims, drawing my attention. “Brie, aren’t those the same color blue as the wall?”

She’s pointing at a throw and tiny pillows. I walk closer with her and run my fingers over the fabric. “It’s so soft. They look the same color.”

Cassie grabs a throw and says, “Take two pillows.”

Knowing she’ll get her way if I try to decline, I pick them up and carry them to the cart that’s reaching its capacity.

I look at everything they’ve gotten me so far, and emotion wells in my chest because not once did they make me feel like a burden like my mother would’ve.

“Thank you so much,” I say to Cassie before I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her. “You’re really the best mother ever.”

Cassie hugs me back and presses a kiss to my cheek before we pull apart. Her eyes shine, and there’s a wide smile on her face. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. It makes me happy seeing you happy.”

Colton and Cassie are making this birthday unforgettable, not because of the things they’re buying me, but because of the way they’re doing it. They make me feel special.