Page 39 of The Challenge

“Good morning.” She flashed a sweet smile.

“Can I join you?” I pulled out a chair.

“Yeah.” She put the milk back in the fridge and carefully carried her bowl over to her seat.

Leaning my arms against the table, I came out with it. “So, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“You’re leaving.” She frowned.

My eyes went wide. “How did you know?”

“Daddy told me last night to prepare me for it.”

Hmm. I nodded. “I’m actually going to be moving out today.”

She looked down into her bowl. Her sad expression broke my heart.

“I’m not going very far,” I clarified. “Just down the road to a house that recently opened up. That way, you and your dad can have your space back.”

“I don’t want space.” She looked like she might cry. “I want you to stay.”

My heart felt like it was breaking. “I know.”

She stirred the cereal mindlessly. “You make me forget that I’m sad.”

Now my eyes started to water. “I promise I’ll still come visit. And you can come visit me, too, if your dad says it’s okay. That’ll be fun. Maybe he’ll even let you sleep over. We can make more bracelets and…”

I lost my train of thought when Evan entered the room. His jaw was tight, and there wasn’t a hint of a smile on his face. He didn’t make eye contact with me as he prepared the coffee. He was once again the cold version of Evan I’d met when I first arrived.

Effie turned to him, a helpless look in her eyes. “Daddy, tell her she can stay.”

Evan’s eyes finally found mine. His expression softened for a millisecond only to harden again as his gaze moved beyond my shoulder.

I turned around to find Scott standing there.

What is he doing? I’d asked him to stay in the room.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking over at Evan. “I just really need to use the bathroom.”

Crap. He hadn’t gone since he’d arrived.

“Who are you?” Effie asked.

He smiled down at her. “I’m a friend of Chloe’s. My name is Scott,” he said in a gentle tone. “You must be Effie. It’s really nice to meet you.”

“How do you know who I am?” Effie asked.

“Chloe told me all about you.”

It was stupid of me to think I was going to sneak Scott out of here without Effie ever noticing.

She didn’t say anything as she looked over at Evan for guidance. Even at her age, she seemed to sense the awkwardness of the situation.

Scott nodded at Evan and continued down the hall to the bathroom.

“Scott is a friend of mine from Chicago,” I explained to Effie. “He came to surprise me last night. He’ll be here for a week. So that’s another reason it’s smart for me to go to the other place, so we’re not too crowded here.”

Evan continued to say nothing, letting me take the reins on this conversation—or perhaps throwing me to the wolves. And rightfully so, since I’d created this mess. Effie continued to look suspicious. She wasn’t stupid. Even if she didn’t say it, on some level she’d probably noted the tension between her father and me.