Olivia shook her head.
“Are you worried about the hearing?”
Olivia shrugged. That was the issue. The initial custody hearing was scheduled for next week. Abby had been talking to their lawyer—with and without Olivia—for the last few days. She could kick herself for not realizing how stressed Olivia would be.
“Are you worried your aunt is going to win?”
“A little,” she admitted.
Abby heard movement behind her. Tinker pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m going to go sit with Will. I took the pan off the burner.”
She watched him walk away, momentarily distracted by his insight and kindness to give her and Olivia the moment alone.
“It’d be easier for you and Tinker if I wasn’t here.”
Abby’s head snapped back to Olivia. “What? Why would you say that? Is that why you said he should sleep over and why you offered to watch Will?”
Olivia shrugged her shoulders.
Letting out a long sigh, Abby lifted Olivia’s chin, forcing her to meet her gaze. “My life is better because you’re here, not harder. I don’t ever want you to think you’re not wanted here, or things would be better if you weren’t here. Ever.”
“But you’d be able to see Tinker more if I wasn’t here.”
Abby shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t. We both still have work, and I still have Will. And honestly, he’s a bigger consideration than you are. Not because he’s my biological child, but because he’s little and he’s never had an adult male in his life. You at least understand Tinker and I are in a romantic relationship. Will just thinks Tinker is a big jungle gym to climb on.”
“He does climb on him a lot.”
Abby smiled. “Yes, and Tinker is very tolerant.”
“It probably helps he’s a big kid too.”
“Probably.” She rubbed her thumb across the back of Olivia’s hand and noticed the paint stains. “Are you good? I don’t want you stressing about any of this. We’ll figure it out.”
Olivia nodded. “I can still watch Will if you want to go for a ride with Tinker.”
“Let’s see how Will is after dinner.” Abby patted her hand and stood up. “If he has his grumpy pants on, we can go another time. No reason your first-time babysitting should be when he’s being difficult.”
It was too late by the time dinner was over and Will had his bath. He’d been too excited about climbing on Tinker to settle for his usual bedtime routine, so they’d postponed the ride until the weekend. Instead, they took their glasses out to the back patio, lit the citronella candles, and sat in the bench swing to watch the sun set over the tops of the trees.
Abby leaned against Tinker’s side, one leg tucked under her.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“How would you feel about staying overnight?”
The swing stopped and Tinker shifted to look at her. Abby sat up and faced him across the bench.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Not tonight, but maybe Friday?”
Tinker played with the end of her ponytail. “You ready for that?”
“Honestly? I’m not sure. I’ve been sleeping in the middle of my bed for so long, I’m not sure how good I’m going to be about sharing it.”
Tinker grinned. “What about the kids?”
Abby took a deep breath. “Olivia actually suggested it.”
