huffed.
“So you’re not into fists. Doesn’t mean you’re not a fighter. Way I see it, you spend the whole day making sure me and Shea know you don’t take any crap and that you’re smarter than us. Maybe you are smarter than me, I don’t know. But you’re not gonna outsmart Shea…she’s a nurse. If you piss her off, she might give you a shot.” He winked.
“She can’t just DO that. There are rules ,” Olive said with disgust.
“Oh, well, I’m your dad, so I guess I could give permission for her to give you a shot,” he teased.
“You’re only my biological father,” Olive said knowledgeably, “and you wouldn’t do that. You’re just teasing,”
“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to see if you got my sense of humor or your mom’s.”
“My mom thinks Larry the Cable Guy is funny,” Olive admitted, looking downcast.
“What do you think is funny?”
“Those YouTube videos where people fall down. And those ones where cats are in containers and try to get out. Those are funny.” She let out a giggle almost by accident.
Shea thought again how incredibly cute she could be when she wasn’t being actively obnoxious. Kids, it turned out, were not automatically loveable just because they were small. This one had an attitude. She shook her head, thinking of the tangle of complications that walked into Kyle’s life on practically the same day she met him because of this girl and her mother. About how there was no hope of this ever being a casual fling, because it was too real and too messy now.
Shea was trying to think of something to say while Olive played with the tomatoes she’d first removed and then mushed up with her plastic fork, swirling them around her plate.
Kyle’s phone blared to life, and he answered it, mouth turning a shade more serious. “Fine, fine, we’ll meet you there in a minute. We’ll be right there. Yeah, you can talk to her.” He passed the phone to Olive.
“Hi Mom,” she said, rolling her eyes, “Yeah it was great. We got tattoos and he let me have a wine cooler. Best. Dad. Ever.” She laughed, but it sounded harsh. “I’m KIDDING, God, if you’re not Larry the Cable Guy you’re not supposed to joke?” She clicked off the call. “She told me to STAY on the phone with her until we got to JC Penney. Like me being on the phone is gonna keep you from kidnapping me at gunpoint or something. I tried to tell her if you didn’t want me for my whole life you’re not gonna run off with me now!” she said with a shrug, affecting the artificial sophistication of a teenager.
Kyle stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. “Hey, I didn’t know about you. That’s NOT the same as not wanting you. I didn’t know I wanted a daughter at all ‘til I found out I had you,” Kyle said.
Shea had to stifle a sob that rose in her throat, because it was maybe the best thing she’d ever heard anyone say. Her reaction was fast and powerful, and she plummeted, like an elevator, into love with Kyle. It wasn’t gradual. It was right then, that moment. She thought, that’s the man I want to be with .
Olive squared her shoulders and looked at him, gave a silent nod, and walked on, as if accepting this tribute. At the store entrance, she turned and looked at them, shifting from foot to foot.
“Thanks for the phone and stuff,” she said. “I guess I’ll talk to you—” She stared at her scuffed up canvas shoes, the ones with the hole in the toe. When they’d asked, she’d insisted they were her favorites, not just some worn-out old shoes that needed replacement.
“I’ll text you later, okay? Do you think you can call me tomorrow?” he asked a bit shyly.
“Yeah.” She brightened. “I mean, like, if I don’t get super busy and forget.”
“I’ll call you if you forget,” He said. “Now smile,”
He held up his phone to take her picture, but Shea stepped in front of him.
“Let me,” she said, and took his phone.
Kyle moved
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