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Me: You could tell your siblings you can handle more, you know.
Kyle: Ehh
Kyle: I like being left alone.
Kyle: More would equal dealing with people.
Me: Well, then you can’t complain.
Kyle: Touché
Me: I should head to bed.
Kyle: Have you thought about what I said on Saturday?
Damn. I thought maybe he’d changed his mind or had forgotten about the whole date thing. He hadn’t brought it up all week. Nor had he brought up the kiss we shared. Did I want to go out with him? Yup. But after the way Callie behaved when he took us for ice cream, I wasn’t sure if I should.
Kyle was gorgeous, albeit a bit grumpy at times. Though that attitude was typically directed at others. Other than that first day, when Teddy fell in the lake, he’d been nothing but kind and gentle with me and my kids.
“Mom?”
I turned and found my daughter standing at the edge of the kitchen. “Why are you up, baby?”
“I can’t sleep. Can we watch that video of Dad? The one of him singing to me while he rocked me in the chair?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we can do that.”
Even if a date with Kyle felt right, I couldn’t say yes. My kids needed to be my focus right now, especially Callie. She was still hurting.
My phone vibrated in my hand as I walked into the great room to join Callie on the sofa.
The text was from my friend Emily.
Em: You said yes, right?
Emily’s husband had been Levi’s squad leader. Most of us wives were close, but Emily and I had formed a true friendship. I had to tell someone what happened with Kyle on Saturday, so I’d called and told her everything.
She was quick to remind me that we had made promises to live and move on if our husbands didn’t come home one day. The guys both wanted that for us.
Me: I’m not sure if I should. I don’t think Callie is ready for that.
I peeked over at my daughter. She was holding the TV remote up and searching through the photo storage app for her favorite video of her dad.
Em: But are you?
Me: Yeah, I think so.
Em: Our kids are important and we have to consider them, but you’re a person with needs too.
Em: Is he good with the kids?
Me: Yeah. He is. Doesn’t even seem fazed by Callie’s attitude toward him.
Em: Then I think she’ll eventually be ok. This is one of the reasons you have her in therapy. So she has someone she can talk to openly about how she’s feeling and work with to sort through it all.
She had a point. I wasn’t equipped to help Callie in all the ways she needed, so I’d sought out a therapist for her.
Em: And besides, he could be a complete bore who spends the whole time talking about himself.
