Page 42 of The Scars We Heal

My heart swelled in my chest, and I sat down on the floor next to her. “You’re taking good care of him. How about I show you how I feed him his kibble later, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, so one of Mommy’s new friends is bringing her son over for a playdate. Can you get dressed for me? You and Noah can play outside with Cheeto.”

She pouted, crossing her arms in defiance. “I don’t want to play with Noah. Boys stink.”

I couldn’t hold back a laugh in time, and Whitley tilted her head.

“What’s so funny?” Her eyebrows pinched together as her mouth turned down into a frown.

“Nothing. You might like Noah. Will you at least give him a chance? I bet he’s going to love Cheeto.”

Her eyes watered, and she reached for the kitten. “He’s going to take him away from me?”

“No, no. Cheeto is going to stay here, but maybe Noah can play with him too while he’s here.”

“I don’t want him to play with Cheeto. Cheeto is my kitty.”

I inhaled a deep breath, keeping myself calm and collected. “Yes, Cheeto is your kitten. Let’s get dressed, now, yeah?”

Whitley grumbled, but still got to her feet, letting me dress her in denim shorts and a yellow top.

By the time the doorbell rang, I had barely finished putting together the snack plate.

“Coming!”

I opened the front door to a smiling Bec and a little boy who was the spitting image of her, with shaggy brown hair and the same hazel eyes.

“This house is adorable!” Bec exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. “I’ve been jealous since I pulled onto your road.”

“I got really lucky. If Jake hadn’t offered to let me stay here, we’d probably be living out of a hotel room.”

Her lips curled up into a grin, her eyes reflecting a suggestive tone. “Yes, yes, you are. Very lucky.”

Heat rushed into my cheeks, and I changed the subject, grateful that Jake wasn’t home. The last thing I needed was Bec knocking on his door to meet him. “I made a snack plate. Come on in.”

“Ooh, I love a good snack plate.”

“Whit! Come out to the living room, please!” I called for my daughter.

A few moments later, her head poked around the corner of the hallway, a guarded expression plastered on her face. The kitten was tucked in her arms, sleeping peacefully.

“Kitty!” Noah shrieked when he saw the orange bundle, and he started to approach Whitley with a little more enthusiasm than my daughter probably would have liked.

“No!” she screamed before running down the hallway. A few seconds later, her bedroom door slammed shut.

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, looking over at Bec. “We’re still working on sharing the kitten.”

“Don’t worry about it. Noah and I went over personal space and how we need to ask before petting people’s animals, but apparently that all went out the window the moment we got here.” She offered me an apologetic glance, but I waved her off.

“I also told Whitley she needed to share the kitten, but she seems to think he’ll be taken away from her.”

“Oh, she’s so sweet,” Bec cooed.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. “She is right now. No promises she won’t call me a toe or something. Or threaten to take away my birthday. That’s something I’ve been hearing a lot lately.”

Bec let out a soft giggle. “I may not have to deal with as much sass, but I have to worry about him climbing the walls or trying to ride his scooter around the entire neighborhood without telling me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten calls that Noah is riding around without me knowing. Or I’ll walk out into the living room and the front door will be wide open and he’s just gone.” She paused, covering her mouth with a hand. “Oh, gosh, I probably sound like a horrible mom.”