AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A path I needed to take.
Because those moments led me to this one.
“Special ice cream!” Kadey yelled triumphantly as she appeared in the doorway, gripping tightly to the stick of her ice cream.
“You gonna share that?” Hawk teased.
Kadey pursed her lips for a second. You could see the cogs in her head turning. She knew sharing was right, but this was ice cream, and that meant less for her.
Ah, the dilemmas of a four-year-old.
“Okay. You have some.” She hurried over, holding it up to Hawk, who quickly leaned down and took a bite.
“Thanks, pretty girl.”
“You’re welcome!” Kadey grinned, and my heart soared like a damn firework shooting up into the air—exploding into a beautiful, sparkly rainbow.
This moment.
Feeling safe and secure with his arms around me, her smile as she looked up at him, the feeling of pure happiness.
This moment was worth all of those moments before.
MISSY
“Nightcap?” Hawk offered, holding up a couple of glasses.
I nodded, leaning my hip against the counter. “Calli is a really good cook.”
“Thankfully, ’cause it sucks having to cook for just me, so I eat there most nights.” He placed the glasses on the counter, laying down a cloth and twisting the ice tray, so the cubes popped out onto it.
“And now you’re no better off because I don’t cook,” I teased with a grin.
He dropped a couple of cubes into each glass and reached to a high shelf for a bottle of Malibu. “You don’t like cooking?”
I shrugged. “I don’t mind it. I’m just not very good ’cause I never really learned how. My mom wasn’t exactly Betty Crocker. We ordered in or ate out a lot. And for big meals, they always hired caterers.”
Kadey has put up with a lot of shit over the years, but having to eat the same foods over and over again, has been one of the biggest things. Thankfully, the kid wasn’t a complainer. She ate almost anything, and she would wolf down things she wasn’t a huge fan of like it was her favorite meal if ice cream was promised after.
“Sounds like we should make a list of all the local take-out places,” he joked, pouring a little Malibu into each glass. “You know, just to be safe.”
I let out a soft laugh, reaching for the cloth with the ice cubes. “You think you’re funny.” I grabbed his shirt with one hand, pulling him in like I was going to kiss him while I grabbed an ice cube with the other. “You know what’s really funny?”
“What’s that?”
I took the ice and dropped it down the front of his shirt.
“Holy fuck!” He leaped back, and I pressed my hand to my mouth, trying to smother my laughter. Hawk shook his shirt, and the ice cube finally popped out the bottom and onto the floor. He shuddered hard, lifting his gaze to mine.
I knew I was in trouble instantly.
“Hawk…”
A smirk curled at the corner of his mouth, and he took two large steps toward me, dipping his shoulder into my stomach and grabbing my legs, hefting me over his shoulder.
“Hawk!”
He reached for the cloth full of ice cubes, wrapping it up and grabbing the whole lot off the counter before turning and heading for the stairs. The door to Kadey’s room was open just a crack, allowing me to hear her soft baby snores as we passed by and entered our room at the end of the hall.
