Hard Knox - Riley Hart Page 0,90
be mad at me, but I wish you’d at least talk to me so I can understand more.”
Charlie sniffed, then finally said, “It’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair? Is it because Callum is a man?”
She shook her head. “Mom isn’t going to marry someone else. Mom isn’t starting a new family. You and Callum and Logan are starting a whole new family without me! You’re going to forget all about me, like Emma’s dad did.”
My heart shattered, like someone had taken a hammer to it. “No way. Not possible. I love you too much. I could never forget about my Charlie-girl, do you hear me? Never. I love you and your brother more than anything in this world, and I always, always will.”
In that moment, I felt like I’d let my little girl down. She had always been so much like me, blunt and strong and fierce. She didn’t let people get the best of her, and she stood up for herself, so I assumed she would be okay, that she would understand what was happening. I hadn’t seen that no matter what, she was still a kid. We all had so many complicated emotions. I hadn’t seen that she could have felt left behind; that the fact that we’d always been so close, so alike, could have made her jealous when Logan moved in with me. That she could have felt like we were starting a different family without her. Then, when you added Callum to the mix, that he and Logan were so close and that neither Carol nor I had been serious about anyone since each other. Callum was the only person she’d been introduced to, because even though we’d said we were only friends, Charlie had obviously seen through it.
“You guys do all sorts of fun stuff without me. When we watched the movie with Mom, we were left out. You have all these fun stories, and this was supposed to be our time, and you kept saying Callum was only your friend, but I knew that wasn’t true because you’re different with him than your other friends. You’re not supposed to lie to me, Daddy. We’re a team, that’s what you always say.”
“Oh, kiddo, come here,” I said and breathed more easily when she came. When she wrapped her little arms around me and squeezed tighter than I would have thought she was capable of. “You’re right. We are a team. I will never move on without you. No matter what happens, you will always be my girl, my daughter, my building buddy, my stubborn little monster,” I teased. “I’m sorry I lied to you about Callum. I shouldn’t have done that, and I’m sorry if you felt like he was taking our time. How about we do something special, just you and me? Maybe we can take an overnight fishing trip or something. Would you like that?”
“Who would keep Logan?”
“Callum,” I replied tentatively. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about how confusing all this would be for you. You and Logan have always lived together, and first he moves, and then there’s someone new in our lives. I let you down and I’m sorry. I’ll do better, okay?”
She nodded. “Sometimes I wish I could live with you too, but I don’t want to leave Mom. I wish we could all live in Havenwood.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Maybe we can find a way for you guys to come out more often. Mom too.”
She nodded again, was quiet a moment, then asked, “Are you gonna marry Callum? Have more kids? How does that even work?”
I tried not to chuckle. “It’s still very new, so I don’t know what the future holds. I haven’t talked to him about marriage or anything like that, but I love him very much. I want him to stay in our lives. And I know he loves you very much too. He really wants to be close to you, and I hope you’ll give him a chance, but no matter what, you still need to know that you can’t treat him the way you did tonight. You can’t say things like that to him. I don’t have plans for more kids, but if we do get married one day, or if we just stay committed to each other in other ways, it will never, ever, ever change how much I love you.” I would tell her that all day every day for the rest of our lives if I had to.