The running footsteps start at the top of the steps and down to us in seconds. She isn’t even breathing hard when she gets to him. “Let’s go check on Cy.”
“Go thank Mr. and Mrs. Harmon.”
She steps around him but stops in front of me, holding her hand out to shake. “Thanks for letting me play with your dollhouse and for dinner, Izzy.”
I reach out and hold her hand. She raises our joined hands up once for one hard shake. “You’re welcome, Andi.”
Next, she jogs into the living room with Nash on her tail. I hear them both thank my parents; then they’re at the front door. I don’t know what I expect to happen. Maybe I hoped he’d pull me into his arms and kiss me like he means it, but that’s not what he does. Nope. He just turns to me and says, “See you Tuesday. I hope you change your mind and just come over to my place to work with Andi. It’ll be clean.” He leans closer so he can whisper in my ear, “And I’ll be good.” He winks, and then he’s gone.
17
Nash
The ride home is quiet.I know why I’m not talking. I’m trying to process the fact that I loved seeing Isabelle in her element with her family around her. She was even more beautiful than usual. The thing is, I’m just not sure why Andi isn’t chattering away after spending several hours at Isabelle’s. “You okay over there?” I say, patting her leg.
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
She looks over at me. No smile on her face; just a serious expression. “I like Izzy.”
“Me too.” I nod. “She’s a good friend.” God, I’m starting to hate that word.
“I was just wondering….”
Uh-oh. “Yeah?”
“Wouldn’t it be fun if she lived with us?”
I nearly swerve off the road. “Andi, that’s not….”
“In ouroldhouse. It’s just the right size for Izzy and her dollhouse.”
I chuckle because this is about the dollhouse. “Well, I think she likes living with her folks.”
“No, she told me one time that she was going to start looking for a new place to live soon.”
“She did?” How in the hell did that come up?
“Yeah, we read a story about a lady who had to move because she had a pet, and that’s when she said she wanted to move.”
“I see.” I guess I could see why she’d like her own place. She’s a grown-ass woman living with her parents. There’s no way she’d be able to have male company over there. Hell, if she lived with us, in the small house, she wouldn’t be able to have them there either. I’d put a stop to that pretty damn fast.
“We should ask her.”
I hear her words as I pull into our driveway. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“We could just ask her, Daddy. See what she says.”
Pulling the car into my usual spot, I slide the gear into park and turn my body to face my kid. “Andi, that’s a big thing to ask someone.”
“But—”
I hold my hand up to stop her. “I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes. Please don’t ask her when I’m not around, because it’s a decision we need to make together.” The three of us. “I’m not ready for someone else to live in our old place just yet. But I won’t rule it out. Is that fair?” Hell yes, it’s fair.
“I guess.” She shrugs as she unbuckles herself from the seat. “I’m going to go check on Cy.”
“Me too. She needs to be fed her supplement again. You want to do it?”
