I moved to help her, but Jacks came to the end of the counter and called, "Miss Cam?"
I changed direction and stopped in front of her. "You don't have to call me 'miss', sweetie. I'm Cam."
"Daddy says I should always call adults 'miss', 'missus', or 'mister'."
"Normally, I would definitely agree with that, but since I've known your daddy since he wasn't much older than you, it makes me feel weird for you to call me 'Miss Cam'. How about I tell him I'd like you to call me Cam or Cameron and we'll see if he backs off a little?"
Jacks grinned at me. "Okay. I wanted to ask you if you'd come to dinner at our new house tomorrow night."
I glanced at Brody, who was watching us with a grin that matched Jacks' on his face. "Did you guys get all unpacked?" I asked.
Brody nodded. "The moving company did most of it on Sunday, but Jacks and I finished up last night."
I looked back to the little girl with a hopeful expression on her face and tried to smile. "I would love to, sweetie, but I don't know if I can. I took the weekend off work and I don't want to leave my employees or my partner in a bind."
"Go have dinner with them tomorrow night. You can take a long break," Sierra called.
I twisted around and made a face at her. "Thank you for the permission. I didn't realize you thought it was necessary."
She waved an ice cream scoop at me. "Don't sass me or you'll be grounded for a week, young lady."
Jacks and every other patron in the shop laughed, so I rolled with it. "Gee whiz, Mom."
Everyone continued snickering as I followed Jacks to the table she shared with her father.
"Thanks for inviting me to dinner tomorrow night," I told him. "It looks like I'll be there. What time should I plan for?"
"We eat early, so five-thirty would be good," he replied.
"You can help me with the salad," Jacks said.
"And one other thing," I began. "I appreciate that you're teaching Jacks to be respectful, but I'd really be more comfortable if she called me 'Cam' or 'Cameron' without the 'miss' in front of it." I leaned forward and declared dramatically, but at a low volume as though it were a secret, "It makes me feel old."
Brody's grin widened and he laughed. As his daughter joined in, I realized that she had his laugh. Open and infectious. I hadn't noticed it at first because of the different timbres of their voices, but as their laughter rang out in harmony, it became obvious.
I wondered how Monica could be so blind. To not see what a joyful blessing her daughter was and to want to spend every minute she could with her.
I didn't know Jacks well but I liked her. She was a funny, intelligent child with a mischievous streak. She reminded me a little of myself at that age. Or at least I hoped I'd been as fun as she was.
I wanted to spend more time with her and she wasn't my daughter. I knew, without a doubt, that if I had a child like her, I would love every minute of it. Except maybe during those pesky tween years. And between ages fourteen and seventeen. I'd been a nightmare then.
"If you're okay with it, I'm not going to tell her any differently," Brody finally answered. He looked at Jacks. "Since Cam asked you to call her by her first name, it's okay, baby. Just like you call J.J. by his name."
"Though I would prefer you not call me uncle like you do him," I commented.
Jacks giggled again. "Okay." She paused. "What about Aunt Cam?"
Oh, that sounded so damn wrong. Because my feelings toward Brody were anything but sisterly.
Brody didn't see my cringe, but I could immediately see that he agreed with my initial feeling.
"Well, J.J. is like another brother to me, but Cam is a little different."
Jacks studied her father, then me, with serious eyes. She looked between us for a few moments before asking, "So you're more like boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Uhhhh..." I had no idea what to say. I didn't know her very well and Brody and I weren't in a place in our relationship where I felt comfortable answering that question without his input.
I was thankful that Brody recovered from his surprise more quickly than I did. Jacks was definitely more observant than I'd been as a kid. I never would have noticed the vibes between two adults.
