“Am I in trouble?”
“No, sweetie, of course not.” Cara ran her hand over Ava’s blonde locks. “I just wanted to tell you I was sorry that I haven’t been around that much.”
Ava looked into Cara’s eyes. “I missed you.” She admitted.
“I missed you too.” She said hoarsely. “I missed you and your dad so much.” Her voice catching as she spoke.
“Uncle Nick told me it wasn’t my fault. He said adults sometimes need to be pushed in the right direction. He also said you and daddy weren’t the brightest crayons in the box.”
Cara tilted Ava’s chin upward, forcing her to meet her gaze. “Uncle Nick is a hundred percent right. You did nothing at all to cause me to stay away. If we’re being completely honest, I never wanted to stay away in the first place, but like Uncle Nick said, sometimes adults need a push in the right direction. I needed a push to go after what I love. I love you, Ava. I love you so much and I don’t ever want you to think you did anything wrong when it comes to me and daddy. If anything you’ve given me more reasons to love your dad.”
Ava smiled widely. “I knew you loved him.” She said almost as triumphantly. “He loves you too you know? I can tell.”
Cara laughed slightly. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you’ve been hoping your dad and I were together.” She winked.
Ava shrugged her shoulders. “Why not? He smiles a lot when he’s with you. More than I can ever remember seeing him smile. And in case you were wondering, you smile a lot more too.” She nodded to emphasize her point. “Yep, you totally smile more around my dad.”
Cara leaned closer to her. “Is that so?” She asked, it was amazing what a child’s eyes had the ability to see.
“Uh huh… So does this mean you are going to be…?” She scratched her head as if to look for the right words. “If you’re my dad’s girlfriend what does that make you to me?”
“Well, how about you just call me Cara for now? We’ll be the best of friends.” She said with a soft smile.
“Do you think one day you’ll marry my dad? Because then you can be like my mommy. I don’t have a mommy, so it would be okay if I called you mom wouldn’t it?”
“Let me tell you something, Ava. I’d be the luckiest girl in the world if one day you called me mom. It would be my biggest honor. Do you know what that means?”
“It means you’re proud to do something. So you’d be proud to be my mom.”
“Exactly,” Cara leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “But for now, your dad and I need some time to get used to all of our feelings for one another and when that time comes that’s something you and your dad would have to talk about.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You and your dad are a team.”
“Always, but I’m sure we could make you part of the team too.” She said hopefully. “I’m being too pushy, aren’t I? Dad says I get that from Aunt Sam, but I don’t see it.”
Cara laughed. “I think you’ve had a really big day and need your rest.” She said taking the nightgown from the bed. “Let’s get you tucked in and I promise we’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“Okay, but can you pinky promise me you won’t disappear again? I really like it when you’re here.”
Cara held out her pinky, watching as Ava’s pinky wound around hers. “I pinky promise.”
*
Luke sat on his couch in the dark nursing a beer. He stopped himself at least half a dozen times from going upstairs. He told himself he’d have his turn. He needed to let Ava have her moment with Cara, knowing how much she had been affected by her absence. Cara wasn’t just some woman he was bedding. She had been a part of Ava’s life for years now and when Luke opened his heart to her, it was only natural that Ava followed suit. Some things were just inevitable and Luke was certain that Cara worming her way into their hearts was just one of those things.
He brought the long neck bottle up to his lips taking a slow pull as he lifted his eyes and found Cara descending the stairs. He slowly brought the beer down from his mouth as she stepped off the bottom step. Her eyes bore into his, causing him almost to forget to breathe. He leaned forward and placed the beer on the coffee table before leaning back against the cushions of the couch.