“That must have been nice for you.”
“It was nice. And at times it was a lot. But mostly, yeah. It was nice. When I hired you, I knew you were a single mom. I still thought you were the best candidate for the job—maybe even a better candidate because of the fact. Any woman who runs a home while providing for her family has what it takes to do far more than most people.”
The lump in my throat threatens to leak out my eye sockets. I clear my throat and say, “Thank you for that. I hope to continue to live up to your expectations.”
“I have no doubt you will.” He looks at me and sets his pen down. “You already have. Now go on and spend some time with your daughter.”
I nod and back out of the office. When I pass through the kitchen where our crew is hanging out in the recliners, I say, “I’ve got an appointment. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“You’re leaving me?” Dustin says, clutching his heart and tipping his head back.
“You’ll live,” I say, smiling.
Greyson’s watching me. He doesn’t look away. I smile softly at him and walk out the open bay door to pick up Mia.
I didn’t give Danny our address. He has access to it if he goes looking, but I don’t want him seeing our home or Mia’s bedroom. He chose the life he has without us.
Mia’s at home, eagerly waiting for me. We load her and her pink duffel bag into the van and we drive to the parking lot at a park we never go to on the other side of town from our neighborhood.
Mia’s bouncing in her booster seat, energy radiating off her in giddy waves.
“Excited?” I ask.
“I’m so excited, Mommy! I get to see my cousins and all the other people. And Daddy!”
“I’m excited for you, Spike.” I turn and smile at her.
“But you’ll miss me.”
“I sure will. But we’ll talk on the phone every day.”
“And every night?”
“And every night. You can call me anytime on the phone I gave you—even for silly things or anything, okay?”
“Even just to say knock-knock, who’s there?”
“Yes. Even that. Do you have any good ones?”
“I’m saving them for when I call you.”
“Okay. You do that. I’ll have to come up with some myself now.”
“Just don’t use the one with ice cream in it.”
“Okay. I won’t.”
“Or pigs.”
“Got it. No ice cream and no pigs.”
“Can we see a pig sometime?”
“I think so. Did you know my captain is engaged to a woman who grew up raising pigs? Her family has a whole pig farm.”
“Really?” Mia’s eyes go wide.
“And he has cattle. So many. And horses.”
