“You know,” he said with a private grin aimed solely at Daisy. “Maybe.”
She gave a thoroughly pleased grin right back. Until it morphed into a frown.
“I don’t have a brother.”
“That’s okay. I happen to have three, but every family’s different.”
Daisy gasped. “Three?”
“And a sister.”
Daisy’s mouth dropped open. Luca laughed. Everything about the scene threatened to crack Emerson’s sternum in half.
He took a bite of lasagna. He was being overdramatic. It’d only been a year that these meals had been just him and Daisy. It shouldn’t be throwing him off so much, having a new, ridiculously good-looking member of the table.
“Do you have daddies or mommies too?”
“Yeah. I have a mom and a dad. They live here, in Greyfin Bay.”
“I have two dads.” And then, “One lives in Portland. I live there sometimes.”
“That’s cool.”
“We do markets there, too.”
“Farmers’ markets?”
“Yeah.” Daisy added in a loud whisper, “They areBORING.”
“Daisy,” Emerson admonished, but it was barely heard over Luca’s guffaw. Emerson couldn’t help but switch hisgaze to Luca holding his fist to his mouth to hold it in, fork hanging in the air. The crinkle of the skin around his eyes. The sound of his laughter eased the tension in Emerson’s shoulders. He didn’t know why he was admonishing Daisy in the first place. She was telling her truth. She was making Luca laugh.
There had been a shadow of doubt in his mind about Luca’s first week on the farm coinciding with a Daisy week. Maybe Jayden had been right. Maybe it was irresponsible in a number of ways.
But as he continued to watch Luca and Daisy volley questions and answers back and forth, it was clear this was the only way this week could have worked.
His inquisitive daughter, the perfect buffer.
He imagined sitting here at his kitchen table across from Luca, alone, as it would be next week, when Daisy was back at Jayden’s.
Who would make Luca laugh then?
Certainly not Emerson. He’d never been a chuckle-inducing kind of guy.
Maybe they could eat in their rooms?
The tension returned to his shoulders.
The next time Emerson could breathe normally again, the plates had been cleared, Luca pulled into the living room by Daisy to watch her current favorite TV show. Emerson stared out the window above the sink, where he was pretending there was more to clean.
Fine. Luca’s first day on the farm had gone just fine. It was all going to be fine.
Emerson should probably text Jay about it, just to let him know.
As if it’d been listening to his thoughts, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. Turning away from the window, he leaned his hip against the counter.
The texts weren’t from Jayden, but from Ben. They lit up the screen, rapid fire, one after the next.
hey emerson!!
