“Kacie, they’re only going for two nights,” Brody teased as he watched me rifle through the bags and pull everything out for the fifth time.
“I know, but I want them to be comfortable and have their stuffed animals and—”
“Babe. They’re good.” He walked over and took Lucy’s pajamas out of my hand, gently tucking them back into her Princess Sofia duffel bag. “I know this is tough for you, but in the long run, as much as I hate to admit it, it’s probably best for them,” he said. I could see the tension in his jaw.
“Is this hard for you too?”
“Of course,” he admitted. “Selfishly, I want them to love me more than Zach. I know he’s their biological dad, but they’re such an important part of me, it would sting like a motherfucker if they ever chose him over me.”
I nodded and looked down at their duffel bags filled with four pairs of pajamas, stuffed animals, and toothbrushes.
“Kind of like it stung for Fred the other night,” Brody continued slowly.
My head snapped up as my eyes bore into his. “Huh?”
“I watched him when you went on and on about that letter from your dad. He didn’t say a word, but I know it must have been hard for him to listen to you talk about wanting a relationship with your real dad.”
“Oh, it’s different with Fred and me.” I waved him off, not wanting to think for a minute that I’d hurt Fred’s feelings.
“Really? How so?”
“For starters, I was twelve when we bought this place, and secondly, he wasn’t even with my mom until a couple years ago.”
“Get real.” He took Piper’s stuffed bunny out of the bag and threw it at me. “They may not have told you they were together, but those two have been going at it for years behind your back. And regardless of when they started seeing each other, he didn’t have to be making out with your mom at night to care about you.”
“I guess.” I shrugged.
A knock on the front door cut our conversation short. I took a deep breath and puffed my cheeks out as I exhaled. “It’s go-time.”
As we walked out of my room, the girls came flying out of theirs, racing each other to the front door.
“You got this, kid.” He rubbed my shoulders, walking behind me.
“I’m opening the door!” Piper bounced up and down excitedly.
Lucy pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. “No, I wanna open it.”
“I’m opening it.”
I hushed both of them as I walked past, grabbing the knob and pulling it.
Zach’s head snapped up quickly. “Hi,” he greeted nervously.
“Hey.”
I tried to sound peppy, but I knew I was failing miserably. I’d had the girls almost solely to myself for the better part of the last five years and I wasn’t yet ready to share, but it had to be done. Like a Band-Aid, just rip it off.
Zach offered his hand to Brody, who didn’t hesitate in shaking it. While those two would never be best friends, they’d been able to come to an understanding of sorts. Zach didn’t interfere or question Brody’s role in the girls’ lives, and Brody didn’t try to stop Zach from starting a relationship with them. I felt so blessed that they were able to see past their pride and embrace what was best for Lucy and Piper.
“So, what’s on the agenda this weekend?” Brody stood with his legs apart more than usual and puffed his chest out. While he wanted what was best for his Twinkies, every once in a while he still had to let his alpha flag fly just a little bit.
“My sister is in town with her husband and new baby girl. I think we’re gonna take the kids to the zoo and maybe let them swim at the hotel pool. Nothing too exciting.”
Pool? Oh my God. I hadn’t even entertained the thought of them swimming.
“Zach, they’ve taken lessons, but neither of them are great swimmers yet.” My voice squeaked as I felt the panic rising in my chest. Brody must have sensed it too and instinctively found my hand, squeezing it gently.
“You mentioned that before, so I went to the sports store and bought these really cool suits that have floaties built into the chest area and actually make it impossible for them to be submerged,” he said proudly. “They can go down the slides and go under real quick, but they immediately pop right back up. They’re pretty cool.”
“Those do sound cool. We should get them for here too, Kacie.” Brody did his best to sound reassuring.
Oddly enough, I didn’t need it. Just knowing that Zach had thought ahead and taken the time to run to the store and get the girls something that would both protect them and satisfy my crazy overprotectiveness, made me feel so much better. It also showed me just how much Zach had grown over the last year. In the beginning, it was rocky. He didn’t know them and they didn’t know him, but he did his best to try learn all he could about them and have fun every time he was over.
But now, this showed me he was thinking like a real dad. In that moment, I relaxed. Maybe my relaxation would last five minutes, maybe five days, but I knew Zach was capable of being a great father to them. With him and Brody behind them, Lucy and Piper were gonna conquer the freaking world.
“How you doing?”
Kacie sighed and let her head fall back against the couch, turning it to look at me. “Miserable.”
I pushed a stray piece of hair from her forehead. “For what it’s worth, you make miserable look beautiful.”
She smiled at me and leaned over, resting her head on my shoulder. “Thank God I have you here with me or I’d lose my mind.”
“I know.” I squeezed her knee gently. “You’re doing good.”
I lied. She wasn’t doing that great, but some lies are just necessary. Lucy and Piper had only been gone two hours and she’d already texted Zach twice to check on them. I had to give the guy credit though, he was being very patient with her.
“How long have they been gone?” she whined.
My head fell against the couch, mirroring hers. “About ten minutes longer than the last time you asked.”
She grimaced. “No way am I going to make it.”
“Yes, you will.” I stood up and grabbed her hands, pulling her up too. “Come on. I wanna show you something.”
“Where are we going?”
I pulled her along behind me, out the front door. “Hush. You’ll see.”
Holding her door open while she hopped up, I stood back and whistled for Diesel, who was sound asleep on Kacie’s porch. “Come on, you lazy bastard.” He opened his eyes and slowly walked down the steps and over to my truck. I stared down at him and he stared up at me. “Well, come on. Get up there,” I ordered. Two steps back, one running start forward, and he leapt into the backseat of my truck, parking comfortably in the middle of the two booster seats in the back.
I walked around to my side of the truck and climbed up, smiling at Kacie, who was looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
Shooting her a big cheesy grin, I started the engine and pulled out of her driveway. After driving north for fifteen minutes or so, she asked again, “Are you gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“I want to check on something and figured you might want to see it too.”