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Olivia agreed, stuffing both toys into her pack before zipping it up. “I won’t, Daddy.” She stood up, throwing her backpack over her shoulders.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Mmhm.”
I picked her up and helped her get her shoes on before we left for Bryant’s house. As I drove us, I could see Olivia starring out the window with quite a lot of intensity for a child. She always did this when we went for drives. I made a note to start asking her about what she saw because it had to be somehow different from the everyday trees that my over thirty eyes saw.
We made it to Bryant’s house, and Hope, Darren’s wife, was there to greet us.
“Noah! What a pleasant surprise! And Olivia, look at you!”
Olivia gave a shy wave then played with the skirt of her dress.
“Hey, Hope. I hope this isn’t too much of an inconvenience.”
The woman smiled. “Never. Olivia is always welcome to come over and play. Bryant is in his room if you want to go join him.”
My daughter showed me that it was exactly what she wanted, so I put her down, and she ran into the house.
“Here’s some stuff she might need,” I told hope as I handed the backpack over. “I don’t know how long I’ll need to keep her here, but I can make sure to come back tonight.”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Hope waved off my worries while taking the bag. “She can stay overnight if that’s what you need. As long as you don’t mind. I’m just surprised you’re not having Scarlett watch her. Darren told me she came back yesterday, and I know how the two of them get on.”
“That might be the issue.”
“Now, what does that mean?” Hope gave me a level look.
I hadn’t meant to say that part out loud, but my mind had been racing, and it slipped out.
“Oh, it’s just that I’m worried about Olivia getting too close to her aunt because of what could happen.”
“And what could happen?”
“You know.”
Hope sighed, giving me a look. A look I knew all too well. “You can’t protect Olivia from everything. You have to know that. She’ll meet and lose people all throughout her life, and that’s life. Maybe it’s time to test the waters a little bit. Let Scarlett watch Olivia while you get back to work.”
That’s the same idea Scarlett had.
I scratched at the back of my head. “I was going to talk to Scarlett about her plans, I could bring that up, I guess…”
She put a hand on my shoulder. “Think about it. You do deserve happiness, Noah. I hope you don’t forget that.”
“I’m sure you’ll keep reminding me.” I gave her a smile.
“Of course, I will. Now come here.”
Hope opened up her arms and brought me into a hug. She always had good points and wasn’t afraid to say anything to my face. Sometimes, it took me a little bit of time to internalize the things she had to say, and we didn’t always see eye to eye, but her advice was welcome.
“I’ve got to get going, but I’ll call. And if you need anything or something happens.”
Gently, she pushed me towards my car. “I know, I know. How many times has Olivia spent the night here?”
“You’re right. I’ll see you later.”
I waved goodbye to Hope and got back into my car. It was still pretty early, and I didn’t feel quite ready to confront Scarlett. There was a lot of stuff I needed to work through in my head. There was plenty of time since Olivia would be with Hope and Darren tonight, so I thought a quick trip into town could do me some good. I was also thinking of going to the lake and letting that fresh breeze help clear my head.
But I wasn’t going to back out of speaking to Scarlett. It was something that most definitely needed to happen.
Chapter Four
Scarlett
My old room was just as I left it. The night before, I dropped my bag in the corner and fell onto my old bed. In the morning, I woke up with a massive smile on my face. Noah said a lot of things, but the one I was focused on was him admitting his feelings. I didn’t need an ‘I love you,’ though that would make my heart literally explode. The mere fact that this whole affair wasn’t in my head, and that he actually missed me was enough for now.
He was still in deep denial, and I could understand. The way we lost Kylie… She was such a good climber, so a simple route was nothing for her, but that’s the nature of accidents. Sometimes, they just didn’t make any sense.
I didn’t want to act like Noah couldn’t have his own grieving process. I went through a lot mourning my sister, but he had completely closed himself off from the world. It was concerning, and it looked like Olivia was missing out, too.
