Page 179 of Peaks and Promises

“I don’t see them. Do you see shoes?”

She pointed at Nate’s backpack.

“Nope, not shoes. Let’s check the garage.”

Shortly after the wedding, we’d moved into our new house. Much to Nate’s relief, it had four bedrooms, and he didn’t have to share with the baby. Plus, it was right down the street from Annika and Levi, so he could walk to Thomas’s house. And we weren’t far from Theo and Penelope, whose son James was almost the same age as Ceci.

I carried her into the garage. Nate’s shoes were there, so I grabbed them and brought them into the house.

“Hey, Nate,” I called. “Found your shoes.”

Summer burst from the bedroom down the hall, already talking. “Snacks. I’m snack mom and I totally forgot. Do we have anything we can bring?”

It was almost time to leave for Nate’s summer league flag football game. He’d discovered football, and it had turned him into a whole new kid. For the first time in his life, his size wasn’t the object of disparaging whispers among his classmates. As soon as he’d walked onto the field, the other kids had practically cheered. And sports were helping him gain control of his body, which had done wonders for his confidence.

“I bought snacks,” I said as Summer rushed past me, heading for the kitchen. “A big bag of those mini oranges and a bunch of string cheese.”

Pausing, she turned toward me. “You did?”

Ceci reached for her mom, so I passed her to Summer. “Yesterday. I figured you wouldn’t have time.”

“Oh, thank goodness. If we had to stop at the store, we’d be late.” She gave Ceci a few kisses on her chubby cheek. “Hi, baby. Can you say mama? Mama?”

Ceci babbled, but nothing that resembled “mama.”

Nate came out of his room dressed in his green flag football T-shirt and shorts.

“Hi, Ceci.” He tickled her and she giggled. “Can you say Nate?”

She stuck her fingers in her mouth.

“Nate,” he said again, then paused. “How about brother? Can you say brother?”

We watched her expectantly, as if she might actually say a word that time. But she didn’t—just slobbered on her fingers, her big blue eyes bright and happy.

With a shrug, Nate grabbed his shoes and took them to the couch to put them on. I grinned at how big they were. His feet seemed to be growing even faster than the rest of his body.

I’d been the same way at his age. And while he wasn’t mine biologically, we sure had a lot in common. A lot like me and my dad.

Getting out of the house with a baby was an exercise in chaos, especially for Nate’s sports. Did we have the diaper bag? What about snacks, extra clothes, toys to keep her occupied, a blanket for the grass in case we wanted to put her down… And where were the damn camping chairs?

When we were sure we had everything, including the snacks for the team, we left. Almost before we’d pulled onto the street, Ceci tugged off her shoes and socks and tried to toss them at Nate. He played with her bare feet, making her laugh.

Reaching over, I took Summer’s hand and twined our fingers together. She looked at me, her blue eyes shining, and flashed me that smile that did me in every single time.

I loved her so much.

We drove to the elementary school and parked near the sports field. Nate ran off to join his team for warmups while Summer and I got our armfuls of stuff out of the SUV.

My mom and dad arrived and parked next to us. Mom reached for Ceci as soon as she got out of Dad’s truck. Ceci pointed toward the field.

“Did your brother go that way?” Mom asked in a sweet voice. “He’s playing football.”

Ceci kept looking toward the field, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of her big brother.

“Ceci, can you say Grandma?” Mom asked. “Grandma.”

She just smiled and chewed on her fingers.