Page 63 of Stirring Up Trouble

“Oh.” Bree dropped her chin to her chest, but the gesture became a nod. “I know the whole mess with those older girls was stupid, but I really didn’t steal that stuff. I wouldn’t have done that.”

“I know,” Gavin said, and meant it. “But I still have to do what I think is right to make sure you’re cared for. And, for now, that means having someone stay with you when I’m not here.”

“I guess having a babysitter isn’t a horrible idea.” She slipped a glance around the kitchen. “And spending time with Sloane is okay. She doesn’t make me feel like a kid, even though she still has rules.” Bree’s gaze flicked to the spot where Sloane had stood. “And she’s pretty smart. I like her.”

His gut clenched. “I like her, too.” The truth was, they wouldn’t even be standing here having this conversation if it weren’t for Sloane’s intervention. It hadn’t taken much, but she’d somehow known exactly what to say to get them to talk to each other rather than yell.

So, where on earth was she?

Bree tried on a tiny smile. “So, it’s okay if she comes over for breakfast tomorrow? That kind of sounded like fun.”

Just an hour ago, nothing would have made Gavin happier than spending the morning in the kitchen with Bree, getting back to something that had once been so easygoing and right.

But now, the right thing was to back up his words with his actions.

“How about this? Why don’t I call Mrs. Carter on my way back to work and talk to her about the ski trip. If you promise to be careful and check in when you’re supposed to, I can ask Sloane to drop you off tonight and then I’ll pick you up from the resort tomorrow when you’re done. Then we can have breakfast together next week. Sound okay?”

Bree blinked. “Y-yeah. Are you sure?”

His heart lurched against his ribs, but he nodded. “You and I still have a lot of talking to do, and that will come in time. But you’re right. You’re old enough to do things like this. If Mrs. Carter is going to be there, I don’t see a problem with you going skiing with your friends.”

She threw her arms around him, and both the force of the movement and the emotion behind it knocked into him like a battering ram. “Oh, my God! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I promise you won’t be sorry! Can I go call Caitlin and Sadie and tell them? Please?”

Her burst of happiness was infectious, and Gavin chuckled by default. “Go. I’ve got to get back to the restaurant, but I’ll work out the particulars with Mrs. Carter and call you in a little while.”

“Okay.” Bree rushed to the entryway, excitement visible on every one of her features, but she paused when she got to the door. “Thank you. I really mean it.”

“You’re welcome. And hey”—Gavin paused for a second, the words sticking to his throat with emotion—“no matter what happens from here on in, just promise you’ll talk to me.”

She nodded. “Okay. I promise.”

Gavin stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment after she was gone, simply inhaling the quiet. So many thoughts flung themselves at his brain, and even more at the spaces in his chest and his gut, that trying to process them would take hours he didn’t have.

Getting this parenting thing down was going to take his entire life. Even then, the odds were good that he wouldn’t get it completely right.

Then again, did anybody?

“You did a really great thing, you know.”

Sloane’s voice startled him halfway to the ceiling, and he whipped back to reality with a graceless jerk.

“Sorry,” she said, not moving from the kitchen doorframe. “I was in the living room. I know I should’ve given you complete privacy, but I wanted to make sure you two were okay. So, I overheard a little of what you said.”

Even if she hadn’t copped to being within earshot, her red-rimmed eyes and quiet tone would’ve been a dead giveaway. He nodded, but it did nothing to bring order to his thoughts.

“Oh. Yeah, we’re, ah, okay.” The word didn’t touch the tip of the iceberg of what he felt, but he was too overwhelmed to go into further detail. Hell, he was too overwhelmed to spell his own name right now. Despite the fact that he and Bree had made more progress today than they had since their mom got sick, he still had no clue how to parent her. After all, Sloane had done more in five minutes than he’d managed to do in the last year, and she had no experience with kids whatsoever.

Words snapped around in his brain, trying so hard to form phrases, thoughts,somethingto let her know how he felt, but it was all so overpowering that he couldn’t get out from beneath the guilt of not having seen it all sooner.

So, he covered it up instead.

Gavin blanked his expression, save for a small, perfunctory smile that was as forced as it was uncomfortable. “If you could drop Bree off at Jeannie’s in a little bit, I’d be really grateful. Then we’ll just see you on Tuesday morning, I guess.”

“Gavin, wait.” Sloane looked right through him with those beautiful summer-sky eyes, under his skin, past the wall he’d desperately thrown up, and God damn it, she saw everything.

“You’re not really okay, are you?”

Something larger than his desire to cover up all of his emotion pushed words to the forefront, and he took a step toward her to saynoand bury himself in her arms, knowing he’d feel right there. But his cell phone rang, jolting him from his reverie.