Knowing that Zach was standing right there listening to Darla mention the girls made me cringe. It was the colossal white herd of elephants in the room between us, and I was trying desperately not to be trampled by them. I just wanted to put in my hours and be on my merry way so life could be the way it was before.
“Wait up!” Zach called out as the ER doors slid open and a rush of cool night air hit me in the face.
“What do you want?” I asked, walking faster without making eye contact.
He jogged to catch up to me. “What are you guys doing this weekend? Can I see them?”
“No.”
“No?”
“That’s right. No.”
“Just like that?”
“Pretty much.” I reached into my purse and grabbed my keys and my pepper spray. The parking lot was well lit and in a safe area, so it wasn’t random weirdos I was concerned about; it was the asshole next to me.
“Can I ever see them?”
“No.”
“Kacie, stop.” He tugged gently on my elbow and I stopped and spun to face him.
“I warned you once before not to touch me. This is the last time I’m going to say it. Do. Not. Touch. Me. Got it?” I said as sternly as I could.
“Got it, got it. Please, talk to me.”
“No. I have to go.”
He didn’t attempt to touch me again. He just stopped and watched me climb into my Jeep. I locked the door, started the engine, and pulled out as quickly as I could, praying that my heart rate would return to normal by the time I got home.
“Mom! Mom! It’s today, right?”
My eyes bolted open and attempted to focus on Lucy’s tiny face, but she was too close to me. I closed my eyes again as I felt them crossing involuntarily. “Yes, baby. It’s today.”
“Yay!” she cheered loudly as she ran out of my room.
I rolled over and let my eyes drift shut, secretly wishing I had three more hours of sleep. When I got home from work the night before, I was so exhausted I went right to sleep instead of packing ahead of time—something completely out of character for me. Clearly Brody’s laid-back, go-with-the-flow demeanor was seeping into me. I kinda liked it.
“What time are we going?” Piper crashed through my bedroom door.
“Brody is picking us up at nine o’clock.” I yawned.
“He’s here!” she shrieked and slammed my door shut again.
“What?” I called out and sat straight up in bed, realizing I was talking to an empty room. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and blinked several times, trying to focus on the time.
9:12 a.m.
Shit!
I flew out of bed and into the kitchen where Brody was leaning against the island, blowing on the coffee cup in his hand.
“Morning.” Brody cocked a small smile at me.
I stood with my mouth open, my eyes darting back and forth between him and the table where my mom and Fred sat with their own steaming cups of coffee. “I overslept.”
“I can see that.” He raised an eyebrow as his eyes traveled down to my feet and back up to my face. He walked over and planted a kiss on my forehead. “You’re still the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Quickly, I threw some clothes in a duffel bag for the girls and myself, kissed my mom good-bye, and we were out the door.
“Where are you going?” Brody asked as I headed for my Jeep.
“I need to grab Lucy’s and Piper’s booster seats. Hang on.”
“No you don’t. I got it covered.” He grinned.
“You what?”
“I bought some.”
“Booster seats?”
“Yep. Consumer Reports said they were the safest and they are super comfortable. Viper tried them out.”
“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks and narrowed my eyes at him. “First, you checked Consumer Reports? And second, Viper tried them out?”
“Hell yes I checked Consumer Reports. I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to car seats. And the pictures of Viper are probably on the internet somewhere. He tried to fit his big ass in one to make sure it was comfortable and some lady videoed the whole thing with her phone.” The girls covered their mouths and giggled from the side of Brody’s truck. “I actually had to buy three. Two for the girls plus the one Viper broke.” He rolled his eyes and walked over, opening the door for me.
I climbed up into the truck and turned around. Sure enough, sitting in the backseat were two brand new booster seats and Diesel.
Brody walked around and opened the door on his side and the girls hopped up, settling nicely into their new seats. Every single day that crazy man offered up some innocent text or gesture that made me fall in love with him all over again. Today’s dose came in the form of two booster seats.
The drive from my house to his parents’ was only about an hour. Brody and I held hands quietly and listened to the girls chatter the whole way. They were so excited to see his parents’ farm and swim in the lake. We’d lived on a lake their whole lives, yet they were still thrilled to swim in someone else’s lake. We turned down a dirt road and drove along several miles of farm fencing before making a sharp right down another dirt road.