Page 63 of The Scars We Heal

“Hold on,” I interrupted, hoping to stop the waterworks before they began. Tucked away behind a pair of neon-pink boots, I saw a flash of orange. I moved the bright-colored ones away and found hidden treasure: A pair of white boots with an orange floral pattern and a bow.

Hiding them behind my back, I approached the two girls. “Close your eyes, bug.”

Whitley placed her hands over her eyes.

“Okay, now you can look.”

When she opened her eyes, I presented her with the boots. Her eyes widened, practically sparkling, and her mouth gaped into an O shape.

“Mommy, look! It looks like Cheeeto!” She tugged on Caitlin’s sleeve excitedly.

“This is what you wanted, right?” I asked.

Running forward to snatch the boots out of my hands, she squealed excitedly, holding them over her head like a trophy. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“Let’s try them on. Make sure they fit,” I suggested, leading her over to one of the benches.

She plopped down and kicked off her tennis shoes, nearly hitting me in the face when one flew off.

I slipped her foot into one of the boots, and like she was Cinderella trying on a glass slipper, it fit perfectly. I put the other one on and let her stand.

“How do they feel?” I asked.

“Good! I love them, can I keep them?” Her gaze bounced from me to Caitlin and back again.

With a chuckle, I pointed to Cait. “Ask your mom.”

“Please, Mommy?” She interlaced her hands and rested her head on top of them, jutting out her bottom lip and looking up at her through thick eyelashes.

“How much are they?” Caitlin reached for the box with the price tag. “Holy,” she gasped.

“I’ll pay for them,” I blurted before I could stop myself.

“W-what? I can’t let you do that, Jake. Those are really expensive for kids’ shoes she’s just going to grow out of.”

“It’ll be my treat. Besides, this is exactly what we came here for, and look at how happy she is.”

Whitley was absolutely beaming. She was so completely in love with the boots that I was worried we wouldn’t be able to take them off without a fight.

Caitlin sighed. “Okay, fine.” Her brows pinched together. “Thank you. Seriously. You’ve already done so much for us.”

“It’s nothing. I’m happy to do it for her,” I reassured her before clasping my hands together and turning toward Whitley. “All right, bug. We have to pay for them, so can you take them off for me? Promise you can put them back on when we get to the car.”

She frowned. “I don’t wanna take them off.”

“It’ll be for ten minutes max. I pinky swear that you can put them back on.”

She huffed out a breath. “Fine.”

I paid for the boots as quickly as I could, and Whitley tugged them on on our way to the parking lot. She spun in circles, twirling around on her toes, arms stretched out. It was probably the happiest I’d seen her since they’d moved to Silver Creek, and I wanted more of it.

Especially if making Whitley happy would make Caitlin smile.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

caitlin

Crochet was a bust then, eh?” Jake teased as we walked next to each other down the sidewalk. He bumped his hip into mine as we walked, the playfulness of it all warming my chest.