She pops a slice into her mouth.
Presley grins and follows suit.
Rowan looks up, catching sight of me. She gives me a small smile that shouldn’t have any effect on me. But a strange warmth fills me.
Then she turns back to Presley, who carefully arranges the cheese over the chicken. When she finishes, there’s one slice left.
Presley snatches it and shoves it into her mouth, her eyes bright with triumph.
“Hey!” Rowan gasps. “You beat me to it.” She winks, lifting a cheese grater I didn’t even know I owned. “Last step. Parmesan. Because there’s no such thing as too much cheese.”
She picks up a block of cheese and rubs it against the grater. Once there’s a large pile of cheese, they sprinkle it over the chicken together.
“Thank you for your help,” she says warmly after sliding the casserole dish into the oven. “Now we wait for the cheese to get all melty and gooey.”
Presley beams as she heads toward the table. Thenshe changes course and walks straight to me. Before I can process what’s happening, she wraps her arms around my waist.
I stiffen out of instinct.
I can’t remember the last time Presley hugged me like this. Or anyone, really. After Cora died, everything shifted. She closed down. Shut out the world. We both did.
Pushing out a breath, I pull her closer, my arms tightening around her. The contact feels grounding. Real. A reminder of what’s important.
When she pulls away, she skips to the table, acting as if hugging me is the most normal thing in the world when it’s been months since she’s initiated this kind of contact with anyone.
I push off the wall and join Rowan by the island. She checks the spaghetti, then opens the fridge and pulls out romaine, tomatoes, and a cucumber.
“So,” I begin, grabbing the lettuce and a knife. “Things go okay today?”
“We had a great day,” she replies, slicing tomatoes. “Jemmy taught me how to roar like a dinosaur. And I taught him some yoga poses.”
“Yoga?” I glance at Jemmy. “He’s not even two.”
“It helped him burn energy and wind down before his nap. Plus, you’re never too young to check in with your body.” She looks at Jemmy. “Tell Daddy what you learned.”
“Down dog!” Jemmy announces proudly.
“That’s right.”
I smile despite myself. “Good job, buddy. You’ll have to show me.”
Jemmy slams his hands on the tray and kicks his legs straight out, attempting the pose from his high chair.
“Maybe later.”
“K, Dada.”
I put the romaine into a colander and bring it to the sink, rinsing it. “I have to admit,” I begin as I place the lettuce into the salad bowl. “I’m impressed.”
Rowan arches a brow. “Were your expectations so low that you’d be surprised to learn I managed to keep your kids alive?”
“No.” I laugh nervously. “Maybe. I just…”
“Like I said this morning… Kids feed off your energy. If you’re tense, they’re tense. If you’re relaxed, they relax too. Now why don’tyougo relax with your kids while I finish up?”
“I can help clean.” I reach for the bowls from the breading station.
But before I can bring them over to the sink, she wraps her hand around my forearm.
