Page 61 of Summer Salvation
The joy on her face when she sees me is staggering. I once thought she would grow up to resent me, but I’m grateful I haven’t yet fucked up so badly our relationship is permanently damaged.
“Daddy!” she squeals.
I press a finger to my lips. “Shh. Hadley is still sleeping.” I sit down on her small twin bed so she can climb up onto my lap. She’s still talking about the trip to the animal shelter and I’m more than content to let her ramble on about dogs.
Eventually, I convince her to come downstairs with me to eat breakfast. By this time, Colton is also awake, and he follows us into the kitchen.
“Who’s ready to go to the farmer’s market tomorrow?” I place empty bowls in front of each kid and set out a variety of cereals I find in the pantry.
Piper’s hand shoots in the air. “Me! The animal shelter is going to be there and—”
“They’re going to let you pet the dogs,” Colton finishes with a grumble. He rolls his eyes as he picks up a box of cereal.
“That wasn’t a very nice thing to say,” I scold him.
“But it’s true, Daddy!” Piper is bouncing in her chair. Her love for dogs is borderline obsessive but I’m not going to take anything away from her if it makes her happy. She’s not hurting anyone. Thankfully, she doesn’t pick up on her brother making fun of her.
I shoot Colton a look, which he seems to understand because his shoulders slump and he directs his gaze down to his breakfast. I sit down next to him and ask, “Aren’t you excited? You love going there and getting honeycomb.”
“I guess,” he mumbles.
“Is something wrong?”
His head lifts as Hadley walks into the kitchen, wearing one of my T-shirts and a pair of hot pink yoga pants.
“Morning,” she greets us all with a smile. I want to reach out, snag her around the waist and kiss her, but I know she’s not comfortable doing that around the kids.
Colton says something under his breath that I don’t quite catch. I should ignore it, let him work through his own issues about us, but I hate the example he’s setting for his sister. Disrespecting someone in our house isn’t okay. “What did you say,” I ask.
“Nothing,” he insists.
“It didn’t sound like it. You said something.”
Hadley touches my arm. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine. Tell us what you said.”
Colton exhales loudly and set his spoon on the table. “I said ‘stop pretending’!”
“Stop pretending? What does that mean?”
He crosses his arms over his chest and sit back in his chair. “She’s leaving tomorrow. I heard her talking on the phone. So stop pretending you care when you don’t.”
Piper finally realizes what’s happening, her gaze shifting between me and Hadley. “You’re leaving?” Tears swim in her eyes. “But you can’t leave!”
“I’m not leaving,” Hadley insists, but the situation seems to have spiraled. Hadley turns to me for help the minute Piper starts bawling. “Tell them I’m not leaving.”
“Colton, you heard wrong,” I tell my son, but he turns away, effectively ignoring me. “Piper, stop crying, peanut, and listen. Okay? Hadley’s not leaving.”
“Don’t you love us?” my daughter wails. “Why do you want to go?”
Hadley sits down next to her and places an arm around her shoulders. “Of course I love you. I love you both. I’m not leaving. I promise.”
“But what about Daddy?”
“What about me?” I ask.
“Does Hadley love you, Daddy?”
A sweet smile spreads across Hadley’s face as she relaxes against the back of her chair. “Yes, Piper. I love your daddy too.”