“So get out of here, Doc.”
I finally turned toward my front door and headed down the steps when I spotted the car.
I stepped in, checked my phone for any flight updates, and let my head fall back.
This was going to be a long fucking season.
ELEVEN
STELLA
“Come on, Bennie. You’ve been eating that waffle for the past fifteen minutes. What do you say we get ready for school?”
Bennie let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders drooping as she pushed away from the table. This girl was so dramatic, and I already loved her for it.
“Maybe I should stay with you today.”
“Are you feeling okay?” I smoothed her hair off her forehead, trying to feel if she was warm. I hadn’t planned on a sick kid on my first day, but I pushed a smile across my lips to hide the panic churning in my stomach.
“In case you get confused and you want me to show you how to work stuff.” She draped her hand over mine, her crystal-blue eyes narrowed. “I should stay home and help you.”
I laughed, relieved for the moment. She was a cute little conniver.
“Daddy already showed me how to work everything. You can help me with anything he forgot when you come home.”
Her mouth twisted as she squinted up at me.
“Are you sure you want to take that chance?”
“I’ll be fine, kiddo,” I told her, trying and failing to hold back a laugh. “But I appreciate your offer to help.” I led her over to the stairs. “You don’t want me to get in trouble with your dad if I let you stay home when you’re not sick, right?”
“Right,” Bennie said, letting go of another deep sigh as she trudged up the stairs.
“Do you know how to do braids?” she asked me as she stomped up the stairs. “Aunt Deb could make me a braid ponytail.”
“I do. I had to do something with all this hair, right?”
She laughed when I flipped my hair over my shoulder.
“I know how to do all kinds too, but today, I’ll keep it simple. Save the complicated braids for makeover night.”
I gathered Bennie’s school uniform as she brushed her teeth. I’d gotten up extra early to go over everything Lee had told me so our first morning would go off without a hitch, and so far, it was going well.
Other than whatever had been going on with Lee before he left.
Something had felt off, and I’d tried to believe him when he said that he was just prepping for the road trip. He seemed to be in a rush to leave, but then I almost had to push him out the door.
I wanted to prove to him that he had nothing to worry about while he was away, and I’d taken the odd vibes from him this morning as doubts.
“Okay, Stella! I’m clean and ready for my braid now.”
I flicked my wrist to check my watch before grabbing a brush. School was a fifteen-minute walk away, and we had a little less than an hour before she had to be there—just enough time to show off alittle.
I made two side braids and twisted them into a high ponytail. This had been my mother’s go-to hairstyle for me as a kid, fancy enough to satisfy me and keep my hair out of my face for most of the day.
“How’s this?” I asked Bennie as I turned her toward the mirror.
She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
