That gets me a full pause. “My swimsuit?”
“Yes.”
“Under my clothes?”
“That is how it usually works, yeah.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re being smug.”
“I’m being mysterious,” I tease. “There’s a difference.”
She tries to fight a smile and loses. “Fine. Come in. Evie is going to take thirty years to pick out socks anyway.”
She disappears down the hall while I wait in the living room, taking in the familiar clutter. Evie’s drawings on the coffee table. A pair of tiny sneakers kicked under a chair. A stack of library books beside the couch. It feels lived in. It feels like home in a way my place has never managed, even with all the sports gear and perfectly hung pictures.
Kate returns a few minutes later. The shorts are the same, the T-shirt is the same, but now I know there is a swimsuit underneath and I can’t un-know that.
Evie comes out from her room, Matilda’s tail in one hand, her backpack bulging at the seams over her shoulder. Kate shakes her head at the site, grabs her purse and lifts Evie’s backpack from her back and looks at me.
“All right,” she says. “Hit me with this grand plan, Wells.”
“You’ll see.”
The drive to Knox and Brynn’s is short. Evie talks the whole way about what dinosaurs might be on TV and whether Brynn will color inside the lines or not. Kate listens, one hand resting on the console, a small smile on her lips, relaxed in a way I haven’t seen enough.
At Knox and Brynn’s duplex, the front door is already open. Brynn standing with a stack of coloring books in her arms. Knox is behind her, the TV light flickering over his shoulder.
Evie bolts inside the second her seatbelt is off. “I’m here,” she sings, dropping her backpack on the rug. “Do you have snacks? Do you have dinosaurs?”
Brynn laughs and crouches to her level. “We sure do. And crayons. And markers if your mom says it is okay.”
Kate points a mocking stern finger. “No drawing on the dog.”
“Or Knox,” Brynn adds. “Although honestly he might deserve it.”
From the living room, the rumble of a nature documentary narrator spills out. Knox leans around the corner and gives me a nod. “Got the prehistoric lineup ready. T-Rex and everything.”
Evie squeals. “Yes! He has big teeth like Uncle Knox.”
Everyone laughs. Knox shakes his head, smiling. “Don’t hold back, Evie.” He steps forward to pick up Evie’s backpack. “We got her. Go have fun, kids.”
Evie plants her hands on her hips. “Hey. I’m the kid.”
He grins down at her. “Exactly. Go pick our first dinosaur show.”
Kate’s eyes shine, amused and a little soft around the edges. She kisses Evie’s forehead, lingering just long enough to whisper something I don’t catch. When she straightens, she looks at Brynn.
“Are you sure you two are okay with this?” she asks.
Brynn nods. “We love our little Evie, we’re definitely okay.”
Knox slings his arm around Brynn’s shoulders and presses a kiss to the side of her head. “Go. We got your girl.”
We say our goodbyes and head back to the truck. Kate is quiet for a moment after I start the engine.
“She loves them,” she says finally. “She feels safe here.”
“Good,” I say. “She should.”
