Page 58 of Chasing the Sun

One jab to the chin oughtta do it, Bryce thought, inwardly fuming.

“Is this okay?”

“Are you kidding? You look great!”

Bryce stood by and watched their interaction, his jaw ticking furiously.

“You ready to go?” Seb asked.

She nodded.

“See you later, bro,” Seb said and sidled past him.

“Be careful,” he replied, realizing how uptight and fatherly he sounded.

Seb had already rounded the corner into the kitchen, though Chloe still stood there.

“Don’t wait up,” she hissed. Then she turned on her heel and walked out.

After Bryce heard the front door close, he finally moved. Perhaps he was a glutton for punishment, because he went into the study and peered out the window. He watched Seb place a helmet on Chloe’s head and fasten the chin strap. She gazed up at him and said something that made him laugh.

Then Seb strapped on his own helmet and straddled the bike. He patted the seat behind him, and Chloe swung a long graceful leg over it and hopped on. Seb moved his hands around his back, grabbed her hands, and wrapped them around his waist. At that point, Bryce thought he might explode, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

Seb started the engine, revved it a few times (probably just to piss Bryce off), and took off with Chloe clinging to his back. Bryce stood at the window for another minute or two, consumed with jealousy, until he heard Molly walk into the room.

“What are you doing, Daddy?”

“Oh. I was just keeping an eye out for your mom.”

“Why do you look so sad?”

Kids. There’s no fooling them. He sighed and crouched down to her level. “Sometimes Daddy gets lonely, that’s all. Especially when you have to leave.”

“I’m sorry,” she said and wrapped her little arms around his neck.

He hugged her tightly and breathed in her sweet, childish scent. He was supposed to be the strong one, yet here she was consoling him.

“I’ll be okay.”

She kissed his cheek, and for a moment, he forgot his woes. This was the most important thing to him, being Molly’s dad and a man she could look up to. Her love was what mattered most to him in the world.

Then he heard a car pull up, and Molly let go. “Mom’s here.”

“Come on. I’ll walk out with you.”

When they stepped outside, Victoria had just gotten out of her car. “How’s my sweet girl?” she asked, holding out her arms.

Molly ran into them and said, “I’m good, but Daddy’s sad.”

Bryce shook his head, wishing she hadn’t shared that. He didn’t need his ex-wife feeling sorry for him too.

“Why don’t you hop in while I talk to Daddy for a minute.”

Once they were alone, Victoria eyed him questioningly. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. You know how kids exaggerate.”

“Is Chloe here?”