Page 1 of Unbreakable Love

ONE

GAVIN

“Josie!” I called down the stairs to my parents’ basement where my daughter had disappeared after dinner with my youngest brother Bryce. He was probably teaching her poker or pool, or self-defense using himself as the dummy.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Time to go home!”

Her whine echoed up the stairs and I grinned, shaking my head. My daughter was eight, almost nine, although she reminded me a lot of my older sister Meredith when she hit the teenage years. The thought of Josie becoming a teenager, living her life the way I did—or her mom who I never spoke of—made me grind my teeth together.

Someday, I’d get over Monica and the gaping black hole she not only left in my heart, but the fury that still remained. Maybe.

“Need any leftovers?”

I spun to find my mom packaging up food from today’s Sunday dinner and game watching, a tradition we had where we gathered to watch my older brother Cameron play football for the Colorado Mountaineers where he was the starting quarterback.

“Please. Thanks.” I’d become a father when I was a teenager, a single father a few months after I got my driver’s license, and I’d been living on my own since I was nineteen, thanks to help from my trust fund and the work ethic instilled in all of us Kelleys. While I’d learned how to cook early on and didn’t mind it, heating up meals I already knew Josie would enjoy was easier.

It wasn’t much of a sacrifice, either. My mom was an incredible cook.

“Busy week coming up?” she asked, slapping the glass containers closed. “And what help do you need with Josie?”

“Same as last week, I think. But I should be able to pick her up earlier.”

Josie rode the after-school bus to my parents’ house where she spent the afternoon hanging out with her grandma and riding her pony and running all over the land that had been in our family for generations. Land I loved but had no interest in working full-time. The ranching bug wasn’t in my genes the way it was imprinted in our oldest brother Dalton or Bryce. But I loved my job as a general contractor, and the project we were currently working on in the town’s limits of New Haven was going smoothly so far.

“No rush. You know we don’t mind her here.”

“I know. Thanks for the food.” I leaned in and kissed my mom’s cheek as my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it back, I frowned.

“School’s calling.” I glanced at my mom.

“On a Sunday?”

“Right?” I tapped the screen and then the speaker button, only to have the kitchen suddenly filled with my daughter’s principal’s voice.

“Good evening, parents. This phone call is to give those of you who have children in Mrs. Bonners’ third grade class a heads-up. Unfortunately, she has taken an emergency leave of absence and has left us to take care of a personal emergency with her family in Phoenix. We are saddened to see her leave, especially under such devastating circumstances. However, we are also calling to let you know that a new teacher has already been offered a position as her replacement. She was a candidate who applied during the summer, but we were unable to offer a position then within our school district. Miss Pesco is a vibrant, qualified teacher and we are so fortunate to have her joining us. Please join us in welcoming Miss Pesco into the New Haven Knights family this Thursday night in your child’s classroom. Further details will be forthcoming in an email. We are in the process of securing substitute teachers for the upcoming week. As always, please feel free to call me with any questions and have a wonderful rest of the weekend.”

“I’m getting a new teacher?”

I spun. Josie’s green eyes, mirror images to her mother’s, were wide and round, and her little chin wobbled. To say she took change easily or endured the loss of women in her life with grace was a lie. She hated every time she had to say goodbye to a woman in her life. Only more things to hate Monica for.

“Come here, munchkin.” I crouched down and patted my knee. She came straight to me and rested her backside on my thigh, her head on my shoulder. “It sounds like Mrs. Bonners has a sick family member she had to go help, and that’s really sad, but it’s really nice of her to do that, isn’t it?”

Josie sniffed and burrowed her forehead into my throat.

My chest squeezed. I never understood true pain until Josie’s feelings were hurt for the first time. Seeing my little girl cry? I could raze a town for the anger that pulsed through me when it happened.

Tonight was no different, but I was a pro at managing my little girl’s emotions. At least for now. Someday that would change, but for now, I was still her hero.

“I guess.”

I hugged her tight to me and rocked back and forth. “It’s okay to be sad when people you like move away and you don’t get a chance to say goodbye, but I bet we can find out where Mrs. Bonners went and you can write her a letter or send her a card letting her know how happy she made you.”

“I can?”

“Absolutely. And besides, now you get to meet a new teacher. That’s fun, right?”

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