done, I fill the cup and wrap my greedy hands around the mug and breathe in the strong scent that helps wake me up a little faster. Drinking half of it before I decide to wake Ainsley, I set three plates down on the island and place silverware next to them as he finishes off the eggs.
When Ainsley is up and sitting beside me in front of the plate that Easton makes quick to cover with food, I observe the scene with a new kind of interest. Everything about it is domesticated. Normal. After breakfast is in front of us all, I wait until Ainsley and him start eating before I let my gaze wander over both of them.
Ainsley doesn’t notice at all.
But Easton does.
And the look he gives me…
I quickly glance down, too unsure and unconfident to keep the stare. I focus on my food, on Ainsley, on my headache being gone.
Anything but Easton.
Chapter Twenty-Two
For the first time in years, March leaves winter in the rearview and offers us fifty-degree weather for the first two weeks. No snow, just sunshine. It leaves me breathing a little easier when I drive Ainsley to school and me to campus. There’s no internal pep-talk before I get behind the wheel or anymore panic attacks when ice coats the roads.
The flowers in the front lawn planted around the dogwood tree begin to bloom, mixing with the pretty white blossoms on the branches above them. It brings color to the yard that’s otherwise a murky green and brown from the melted snow and mud. But I don’t complain, not even when Ainsley chooses to go outside in her good clothes and rainboots to jump around until she’s dirty from head to toe.
She smiles. Like me, she loves the nicer weather. I don’t know if it’s because she can go outside and play easier, or because the spring reminds her of her father. Danny loved springtime the best. He and Willow would always comment on how everything comes to life after months of a dark depression that seems void.
Clicking my tongue as I help Ainsley finish drying off from her much-needed bath, I run a brush through her damp hair and note how long it’s gotten. When she meets my eyes in the mirror in front of us, I realize even more how much she looks like Danny. There are bits of her mother mixed into her soft features, but my late best friend is who stares back at me.
Emotion clogging my throat, I clear it and kiss her cheek once her hair is smoothed out. “I left clothes on the counter for you. Get changed, okay? We’ll go downstairs and make dinner.”
She hurries and meets me outside the room, holding my hand all the way downstairs. I wonder what’s going through her mind today. Ever since we got home from the Rec Center after our class, she’s latched onto me. I don’t mind it one bit—seeing her play outside and smile with bright eyes in the sunlight makes me happier than I’ve been in a while. But I also know that she shares more than just her father’s looks. Like him, she prefers being on her own unless there’s something on her mind.
When I start a pot of boiling water, I turn to face her, signing, Is everything okay?
She stares at my hands for a moment, her bottom lip drawing into her mouth. A sure sign something’s up. But she eventually nods like all is well.
You can talk to me, Ainsley.
Her eyes go to the floor.
I kneel, tapping her chin until she meets my eyes with those beautiful brown ones I love so much. Instead of signing, I just hold her hand and smile. Her hands twitch like she’s itching to sign, but they remain at her sides.
I say, “I love you, Nugget. Whatever is on your mind you can tell me if you want. I won’t force you either way. Just know I’m here.” Pecking her forehead, I stand up and turn back to the water on the stove that’s just beginning to bubble on the bottom.
A small hand wraps around mine and tugs, causing my attention to look downward at the trembling lip on Ainsley’s face. She signs three words that assault my heart.
I miss Daddy.
My arms are instantly around her, hers clinging to my neck. I pick her up until her legs wrap around my waist. Flicking off the burner on the stovetop, I walk us into the living room the