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“Dad?”
I turn my head when I hear Ryle at the door.
“What’s up, Ryle?”
“Can I have pizza?”
“Now?”
I hear Julie snort on her end of the call.
“I’m hungry.”
“How about a cookie and some milk?”
“The chocolate chip cookies Grandma made?”
“Yep.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be out in a minute.”
I watch him zoom down the hall to the kitchen and look back at Julie, expecting a frown. Again, she surprises me with a big smile.
“Good job.”
“Cookies are okay? Before bedtime?”
“Better than pizza,” she says with a shrug.
“This kid.” I raise my eyebrows. “Keeps you on your toes.”
“You’re not kidding.” She covers a yawn and then grins and says sorry. “Like the time he asked me where puppies come from.”
“He did? What’d you say?”
“The pet store.” She shrugs again. “What else?”
“You wouldn’t believe the conversation we had today.”
“What?”
She looks tired. Besides, if I have the guts to get into this with her, if I tell her I want to marry her, it’ll be when she’s right here by my side. I’m not even going to mention the word over the phone.
“I’ll tell you when you get home.”
“That’s not fair,” she whines. “Now I’ll be thinking about that the rest of my trip.”
“I’ve thought about you every second you’ve been gone.”
She squeezes her eyes closed and sends my heart to the floor again.
“Too much?” I ask quietly.
She shakes her head and finally opens her eyes again. “No.”
“Julie?”
