AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I want to pull Olive towards me and kiss her on the head. My girl. Instead, I lace my hands in front of my legs. Eagerness will mess this up for me. If my daughter loves horror, I will be her guide. Flashes of sharing my favorite movies and maybe Stephen King one day? My heart swells thinking of it all.
“You know, Max loves horror. Like, loves it. I can’t watch it,” Noelle adds.
“Maybe we can start small, find a kid-appropriate horror movie,” I say. Once it comes out of my mouth, I laugh.
“Do those exist?” Emily asks.
“Mom, I can handle it.” Olive scampers to her mother, leaning into her. Emily smooths down her hair, holding her like I want to.
“We’ll see you later,” I say, ushering Noelle to the door.
“Wait,” Olive says, walking over. “Max, may I please have a hug?”
Noelle’s face crinkles in confusion, and Emily adds, “We’re an ‘asking for consent’ family.”
“Of course you may have a hug.” I drop to a half-squat so Olive can circle her arms around my neck. It lasts less than five seconds, but it’s perfect, just like the first one.
What I wouldn’t give to pick her up and hold her to me. That’s a hug a good father gives. Not one who wasn’t around for the first nine years of her life. I get the hug of a distant uncle who only comes over every third Thanksgiving.
Noelle drops down and opens her arms. “May I have one too?”
“No thanks,” Olive says, walking away.
“I told Olive it was okay to say no to physical affection. Sorry, Noelle.” Emily walks toward her to give her the fakest hug I’ve ever seen as a consolation prize. I guess Olive hasn’t been forced to give pity hugs, which I love.
Burke shakes my hand and offers a small hug to Noelle, who leans into him more than Emily does. When we leave and we’re halfway between the tiny house and the main house, Noelle lets out a huff.
“My goodness, I’m so glad to be out of there. You never wanted to leave.”
I turn my head to her. She must be joking. “Of course I didn’t want to leave.”
“That dress. What was Emily thinking? It was a family dinner, not a nightclub.”
I bite my cheek to avoid an impulsive response. I unlock the tiny house, opening and stepping to the side so Noelle can enter first. She dumps her purse on the bed with a thud.
I shove my hands in my pockets.
“What did you talk about before I came out there? With Emily?”
I shrug, although there’s more to unpack there than my luggage when I went to Costa Rica for two months. “Stuff. We’re trying to figure this out.”
“You better figure it out soon. You have your dad’s retirement party this weekend. He’s going to hand you the keys. Literally.”
“You know, Olive is a big deal,” I say. “You’re aware of that, right?”
“Of course I am, baby. You just found out, though. You have a life. In San Diego.”
Rage bubbles inside me, but I push it down. “This changes everything. Everything.”
“You don’t live here. I don’t want to live here.”
My hands grip my waist and walk the length of the tiny house. I wish this place was bigger so I can escape her, go somewhere to think.
“You wanted a break,” I say. “You were willing to walk away if I didn’t propose to you, if I wasn’t ready.”
“I did, but I did some thinking. I love you. I want to be with you. If that means I have to wait a little longer, I understand. Especially with this hiccup.” She walks toward me and slides her hands down my chest. Her touch feels like acid. Calling Olive a hiccup rubs me like sandpaper.
“What about Olive? Do you want her too? She’s part of the package deal.”
