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Brooke shook her head. “It’s tough. I’ve been working for five years, and I still work crazy hours.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have a kid at home.” Brooke didn’t have a reason to come home earlier. I did.
Brooke winced.
I should have said I didn’t mean anything by my comment, but I couldn’t. The guilt from Cammie’s comments permeated everything.
I’d said I wanted to find a way for our coffee shops to exist in the market side-by-side, but was that possible if I wanted the business to be a success sooner rather than later? I needed to do what was right for Cammie and me, not necessarily Brooke. That thought settled uneasily in my stomach.
Brooke inched closer to Abby.
I should have apologized, but I couldn’t. The damage was done, and maybe it was for the best. I’d been fighting the idea that we were in competition from the beginning. I’d naively thought we could have a relationship and leave business out of it. I was wrong.
Cammie returned with her things, and I took off for the car. She listed all the reasons why she should have been chosen for the all-star team, and I needed to focus so that I could handle the moment with the necessary care. I needed to lift her up without creating unrealistic expectations. It was a delicate balance, and I hoped I wasn’t fucking everything up.
By the time we’d reached the car, tension had tightened the muscles between my shoulder blades.
Cammie settled in the back seat, and I moved the rearview mirror to see her while I was backing out. “There’s always next year. Don’t let this deter you. Work harder to get what you want.”
She chewed her lip as she looked out the side window. “I can practice with Hunter.”
“It can only help. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.”
“Okay.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled onto the street and headed home. Hopefully, I’d averted a crisis. It was important to instill confidence but, at the same time, not inflate her ego unrealistically. Cammie could accomplish anything she wanted, but it wouldn’t come without hard work.
“Can we go to the all-star game to watch Hunter?” Cammie asked.
“I think that’s a great idea.” Pride filled my chest. That was where I was needed. Making the business the best it could be and being present with my daughter.
Brooke didn’t have the same worries or concerns. I didn’t like it, but we should pull back. Take things slower. At least until I could figure out what would happen with our stores.
I pushed away the idea that Brooke fit seamlessly into our lives from the breakfast video calls that Cammie had come to enjoy as much as me to our nighttime calls, baseball games and practices, and even me stopping by her shop on occasion.
I needed to focus on Cammie, but I hated pushing Brooke away. That was why so many single parents didn’t date. It was too hard. It came with complications, and ours were more than most people.
At home, Cammie hopped out of the car and went inside the house. I followed more slowly, my mind on Brooke’s face when I told her she couldn’t possibly understand since she didn’t have a child. She’d been married. She probably wanted kids, too. I’d probably hurt her.
The slider was open, and Cammie was throwing balls against the pitch back by the time I came inside.
Mom looked up from her baking. “Cammie said she wasn’t picked for the all-star team.”
I placed her bag on the bench by the front door, feeling exhausted. “Yeah, but I think she’s okay with it now.”
“She said she needed to practice for next year,” Mom said with a smile.
“That’s my girl. She was so disappointed.”
Mom touched my shoulder as she moved past me to close the slider. “You’re doing a great job. She knows you believe in her.”
“I want her to grow into a confident young woman, but one who has drive and works hard.”
Mom moved into the kitchen, where flour, sugar, and chocolate chips were on the island. “And she will, with you guiding her.”
I sat on the stool to watch my mom bake.
“How are things at the store?”
