Page 29 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

I wanted to get up and shut the window, but with Charlie deep in thought, I didn’t dare leave. I wanted her to know if she needed me, that I was here.

I’d always be here.

I was the constant she’d have in her life, no matter what.

“Is he nice?” Charlie asked finally.

Her voice was quiet and soft. She wasn’t a loud child, nothing compared to the other twelve kids on her soccer team, but right now, she was borderline hard to hear.

“Yeah.” I smiled. “He’s nice.”

“Is he going to live here now?”

I shook my head. “No. He still lives far away.”

Her forehead creased. “Do I have to live with him too? Like how Katie spends some days with her mommy and others with her daddy?”

I wanted to say no. I wanted to promise that her life wouldn’t change too much. But I’d always been honest with my daughter. And I’d tried to never make promises I couldn’t keep.

So as brutal as it was for her age, I went with the truth. “I don’t know yet, honey.”

“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to move.”

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I know.”

We held each other for a few quiet moments. Even the woodpecker gave us some peace. But when he started up with the taps again, Charlie pulled away.

“Can I go play outside some more?”

“Sure.” I sighed, hating that I’d put a burden on her young mind. “Just stay in the yard.”

She nodded and slid off the couch, going straight to the door without any shoes.

Her feet would be filthy by the time I called her inside for dinner.

I didn’t care.

I let her escape to her sanctuary while I got off the couch to make dinner.

I rummaged through our square kitchen for a pan to brown some hamburger and a pot to boil water. I wasn’t a gourmet cook, but my food was delicious, if simple.

“This is a good thing,” I told the pot as it sat under the running faucet.

Even the damn cookware knew I was lying.

An hour later, at exactly six o’clock according to the microwave clock, the doorbell chimed. I took a slow breath and wiped my clammy hands on a dish towel before rushing from the kitchen through the living room to greet Logan at the door.

He smiled when he spotted me through the small glass window in the door, and my stomach dipped.

That smile was devastating. I bet he’d charmed many uptown socialites with that smile.

He was in jeans again, but this time they were paired with a simple blue button-up shirt, the sleeves turned up to reveal his forearms.

“Hey,” I breathed as I swung open the door.

“Hi.” He smiled wider and ducked inside, handing me a bouquet of baby sunflowers as he passed. “These are for Charlie. I, uh, didn’t know what else to get.”

“Thank you,” I said as I took the flowers. “She’ll love them.”