“So, she does this regularly?”
“Yep. And honestly, thank God she does.” Kellie sighed as she nudged the door shut with her hip and took the backpack from my hands, slinging it over her shoulder and striding casually across the grass, heading toward where Cass was already trying to climb over a log.
Jogging, I caught up before spinning back and pressing the fob, making sure the car was locked. “What do you mean, thank God she does?”
“I love that kid, but she has endless energy. When she finally goes to sleep, I feel like I wlll collapse, dead on my feet,” Kellie admitted.
It must be hard being a single Mom. Kellie was doing her best, and Marianne was there to help, but it still wasn’t the same as having a family. I hated the idea that Kellie was running herself into the ground looking after our daughter and making sure she had everything she could ever want. I wanted and needed to help.
“I could…” I started to offer, but the look Kellie shot in my direction had me swallowing my words. Fear was written all over Kellie’s beautiful face, and I hated that I could be responsible for putting it there.
“Mom!” Cassie’s voice carried on the wind, stealing Kellie’s attention.
“Yes, sweetie,” she called back, dropping the backpack beside a park bench and moving toward where Cassie was standing, staring at the swings.
Not exactly sure what I was supposed to do, I followed along like a lost little puppy.
“Mom, can you push me?” Cassie asked, and a smile broke out across my face.
“Cassie!” Kellie’s voice was full of warning, and I wasn't sure what I missed.
“Please, can you push me?” Cassie tried again, fluttering her eyelashes up at her mother. Cassie might be goddamn adorable, and she completely owned me, but she obviously hadn’t figured out her mother wasn’t such a pushover.
“Why don’t you ask Jake if he can push you?” Kellie suggested, looking over at me.
I gulped.
I thought I was going to choke.
Cassie skipped over to where I was standing, my feet feeling like they were encased in cement.
“Jake?” Cassie asked, looking up at me with wide eyes that had the power to have me handing over my wallet and signing whatever she slid in front of me.
“Yes, Cassie,” I asked, bending forward to meet her eyes.
“Will you please push me on the swings?” she asked sweetly, pointing at the swings behind her.
“I’d love to,” I agreed, and before I had a chance to think, Cassie was grabbing my hand, dragging me toward the swings.
I looked back at Kellie standing there with her arms wrapped around her, a strained smile on her face. I would’ve given anything to see her eyes, but she was keeping them hidden behind her dark glasses.
But right now, I had to focus on the most important person in my world. My daughter. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around it. I had a daughter. I was a father. It all just felt so strange. The words tasted funny, and I wasn’t even sure what they really meant.
Helping Cassie onto the swings, I made sure she was holding on before pushing her gently.
“Higher!” Cassie giggled, and my heart exploded. It was the most magical sound I’d ever heard. Completely carefree, innocent laughter.
Glancing over at Kellie, she nodded, giving me the approval I needed before I pushed her a little higher.
“I’m going to grab a coffee,” Kellie called out, pointing at a van across the other side of the park. “Want one?”
“Yes, please,” I replied only to be requested to push Cassie even higher.
While Kellie walked away leaving me with Cass, I realized not only how hot Kellie’s peach-shaped ass looked in her jeans but how much she trusted me. She might not realize what she was giving me, but I wasn’t taking it for granted. Kellie had just left me with her daughter. She trusted me with her. And I wasn’t going to let her down.
“Jake,” Cassie called out, snapping me out of my Kellie ass-filled fog.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, panicked.
