“Timber fell on you. Mateo already told her it bled a lot, but you’re fine. If you want to tell her something different, that’s up to you.”
“No.” Not today, and maybe not ever.
I got out of the car and Ivy danced down the path, her short hair a wavy mess in the breeze. Mateo said something, but I didn’t hear him. I didn’t hear jack shit except my baby’s sweet voice.
Picking her up hurt, but I hugged the life out of her anyway. “Hey, little bug.”
“Daddy.” She pressed her forehead to mine, her gaze intensely serious. “Did you put the wood on the shelf wrong?”
I rubbed her nose with mine. “Apparently so. It’s all fixed now, though. Did you have a good day at school?”
“Of course I did. I went to Lili’s house. Mateo gave me a new bracelet. Look.”
She thrust her arm at me. Around her tiny wrist was a glittery plastic bangle.
“That’s pretty. Did you say thank you?”
“Well, duh. Manners, Daddy.”
Fair enough. I turned to convey my own thanks. Mateo was leaning in his doorway, tired, but without fear in his fiery gaze, and I wondered if he’d had good news. Then felt shitty that I’d been too wrapped up in my own drama to ask before now.
He caught my feelings and tipped me a nod. “Catch up tomorrow?”
“Count on it, brother.”
Ivy waved goodbye and I carried her to the car, face buried in what was left of her hair. There was enough that it obscured my vision, not noticing Folk and Locke had switched places until I was toe-to-toe with the wrong brother.
Folk was already on Locke’s bike, helmet in hand.
He’s leaving.
Locke melted away, and I followed the invisible cord to Folk’s side.
He took Ivy from me and sat her on the bike between his legs. “Hey, bug. You all set to look after Daddy for me while I’m gone?”
“Where are you going?”
“Work.”
“At night? On the big lorries?”
“Something like that. I’ll be back before you know it, though.”
“What does that mean?”
He ruffled her hair. “That you’ll be having so much fun you won’t miss me at all.”
“Of course I’ll miss you.” Ivy scrunched up her face. “I love you a lotta lot.”
She said that to all her favourite people—Saint, Rubi, and Orla. Never to Folk, though, and it killed me that she’d chosen now to let him know exactly how she felt about him.
Folk held her tight. He whispered something in her ear that made her giggle.
Then he lifted her, passing her back to me.
We’d run out of time again. One half of my heart was safe in my arms, but the other was leaving, and fuck me, that hurt more than any physical wound on my body right now.
I set Ivy on my hip and cupped Folk’s scruffy jaw, pressing my lips to his in a kiss too tender to handle for long. “Come back to us?”
