Page 39 of The Right Kind of Wrong

Maisie’s chin bobbed up and down, and she scooted a little closer. Monroe’s heart cracked, cleaved by the weight of Maisie’s words when she asked, “Are you gonna leave me, too?”

Monroe wrapped her arms around Maisie then, pulling the little girl against her chest. She kissed the top of Maisie’s head and tangled their fingers together. “No. I’m not going to leave you. I’m going to be here. Even if you’re mad. Or have big feelings. No matter what. Okay?” Monroe swallowed, trying to keep her tears at bay.

“I woke up last night, and you weren’t inside,” Maisie said sadly, though she was far more composed about it than Monroe would have expected.

Monroe kissed the side of her head again, wanting Maisie to feel enveloped in the security she was hell-bent on providing. “I’m sorry. I was just outside, in the backyard. Talking to Miss Blake.”

Maisie, seemingly done being vulnerable—and who could blame her, really?—tilted her chin up. “I figured. I looked out my bedroom window and saw you on the porch.”

Well, at least Maisie hadn’t seen Monroe’s embarrassing descent from the fort. Blake had stood on the grass, her hands anchored gently around Monroe’s hips to steady her. Emotion and a little bit of cheap wine had had her even less coordinated than normal, but she’d made it down the climbing rocks without falling.

Maisie looked out toward the backyard, near where she must have seen them standing last night, once Blake had walked Monroe to the door. “Am I going to be able to go back to dance class?”

“You can absolutely go back to dance class.”

Maisie seemed pleased with the answer, and she nodded. “Good. I like Miss Blake.”

Monroe’d felt everything in her go a little soft then. “Yeah, I like her, too.”

Even if coming to Austin had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, Monroe didn’t regret it one bit.

She hadn’t realized how special it would feel to see everything through Maisie’s eyes.

The great news for Monroe was that, in their heart of hearts, she and Maisie were both creatures of comfort. They could have done some of the outdoor Austin activities, but the scenery was just as gorgeous, if not more, in Cypress Falls, and they both liked air-conditioning too much to give it up for prolonged periods.

Which is how they found themselves escaping the heat at the natural history museum that Saturday.

Monroe had been here once in high school. Her family definitely hadn’t been able to afford weekend trips—or even day trips—to Austin. To anywhere, really, so it meant something to Monroe, that she could give Maisie this experience. It was seemingly time well spent, given Maisie’s reactions to the exhibits.

They were walking through the main room, huge, with tall ceilings that had fossil replicas and paintings of what the corresponding dinosaurs would have looked like adorning the walls.

Maisie held her hand, pulling Monroe along in her excitement as she looked upward. “Aunt Monroe, look at this!” she said for the tenth time in as many minutes.

Monroe smiled and kept pace.

Right now, “this” was a giant, winged fossil replica hovering above them. Once Maisie had stopped, so she could look straight up, Monroe read the plaque. A pterosaur, with a thirty-three-foot wingspan. “Did you know that this is the largest flying creature to ever live?” she asked Maisie.

“Biggest ever?” Maisie echoed in astonishment, her eyes glued to the birdlike creature towering over them.

Yeah, Monroe loved that. How curious Maisie was about things, but also how easy it was to impress her. Monroe was definitely packing that tactic away in her arsenal for later, whenever they hit a rough patch.

Monroe nodded. “That’s what it says. If you like it, we can get you some dinosaur books to read at home. How does that sound?”

Maisie rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how to read, Aunt Monroe.”

That was another thing. Since they’d come to Austin, Maisie had started to acknowledge that they were actually related instead of acting like Monroe was some stranger dropped into her world to babysit her.

That was definitely progress.

“You will soon, though.” They’d briefly started discussing how, at the end of summer, Maisie was going to start school. daycare had already helped her understand what it would be like, but Maisie seemed especially excited to learn how to read.

She was a little budding nerd, which Monroe also loved. And sure, if Maisie got obsessed with dance or wanted to play sports or threw all of her energy into any of the million hobbies that she could try, Monroe would be supportive.

But there was nothing she loved more than snuggling up with Maisie on the sofa and reading her a book, Maisie trying to follow along as Monroe recited the words on the pages.

Maisie pointed up to the pterosaur again. “Can we send Miss Blake a picture?”

Monroe took out her phone. Yesterday, Maisie had asked what she was doing after Monroe had taken a few shots of her at the taqueria.