Page 107 of Charlotte

Blake was praying about it too, but his confidence that God would grant him a second chance wasn’t very high. It was entirely possible that at the end of the day, Charli would decide that the hurt he’d inflicted on her in the past was just too much to get over. He was braced for that, even as he hoped for more.

After lunch, he went back to work on the car Stan had assigned him that morning. Blake was glad that the job was something he could do in his sleep because his attention was only about fifty percent—if not less—on what he was doing.

When the end of his workday arrived, Blake stopped by Stan’s office to let him know he’d finished the car, then he left the garage. Once at the school, he quickly found a parking spot. He usually arrived a few minutes early, so he sat in his car, reading through an email from the only one of his closest friends who had kept in contact with him.

Thomas had left the army recently, and their communication had picked up since then. Being done with the military had become one more thing they had in common.

Thomas had been a Christian since he was a teen, and Blake appreciated his spiritual maturity. He had been glad to hear that Blake had settled into a Christian community that supported both him and Amelia.

They usually sent text messages back and forth, but occasionally, Thomas would send a longer email. Most of those came when Thomas wanted to share something deeper that was on his mind, something embodying a spiritual lesson he’d learned and wanted to pass on to Blake.

Thomas was a father of four, so Blake appreciated the time he took to keep in contact with him. He knew about Blake’s history with Lauren and how he’d come to be a single father. What he hadn’t yet told Thomas about was his past with Charli, but Blake figured it was only a matter of time before he needed some advice regarding that.

This particular email shared about Thomas’ struggle to adapt to civilian life. The man was frank about what he was feeling, knowing that Blake would be a safe place for him to spill his guts.

There wasn’t much advice Blake could offer the man, but he could sympathize and pray for him. Thankfully, that seemed to be enough for Thomas.

After reading the email, he had enough time to tap out a quick reply before he had to pick up Amelia. Once that was done, he climbed out of the truck, then wandered down the sidewalk to the walkway leading to the steps at the front of the school.

Parents were not allowed inside the building. But soon, aides guided children out of the front doors, Amelia among them.

“Hi, Daddy!” she called as she ran up to him.

Blake scooped her up and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead, giving the aide, who’d come out with Amelia and others from her class, a nod. Turning his attention back to Amelia, he said, “How was your day?”

“It was great,” she replied as he set her back down on her feet.

Hand in hand, they walked away from the school. This time of the day had become more interactive as Amelia had started to share spontaneously about her day without him having to ask her a bunch of questions.

Slowly but surely, what she shared began to include the names of kids in her class. He was so happy that she was making friends beyond Layla and Peyton. They were still the two she preferred to spend time with, and he didn’t blame her for that, but at least she had a few kids at her school that she liked to spend time with.

When they got home, he set her up with a snack, then went to take a quick shower. Even though he’d be handling dirty tires later, he still didn’t want to show up smelling like grease.

While he’d been in the army, he hadn’t been as meticulous about keeping his hands, especially his nails, free of the grime that had built up on his hands during the course of a shift. But since having Amelia, he made sure to work the grease off his hands.

And now with Charli, he didn’t want to come near her with dirty hands. He felt like he had enough figurative dirt on them from what he’d done to her in the past.

They had a bit of time before Charli would be home, so after he was done with his shower, Blake went through Amelia’s backpack. He emptied her lunch bag, grateful to see that she’d eaten almost everything he’d sent with her that day. It was such an improvement over the start of school, when she’d hardly eaten anything while at school.

“What are we having for supper?” Amelia asked as she leaned against the counter.

“I was thinking maybe we’d get some burgers and fries.”

Amelia smiled. “Cheeseburger?”

“Yep. If you’d like.”

“Or nuggets,” she said, a contemplative look on her face.

“Maybe we can each have a burger and share some French fries and a small order of nuggets.” He doubted she’d eat her half, but he could finish whatever she didn’t.

“Perfect.”

“Perfect,” Blake agreed as he held out his hand for a high five. She didn’t leave him hanging and gave his hand a smack.

They didn’t go out to eat too often, since his budget didn’t really have room for it. However, since they would be out during their usual dinnertime, he’d make an exception that night.

When he pulled up to Charli’s house a short time later, Blake spotted Charli’s car in the driveway. Without delay, they both got out of the truck. A gust of cold air greeted him as he closed the door and walked around to join Amelia on the sidewalk.

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