Page 108 of Unbreakable Love

Gavin loaded up my new-to-me Hyundai Santa Fe with the remaining sparklers and streamers I needed to hang from the ceiling along with cardboard boxes we were using for life-sized dice and red blankets I’d bought from the Dollar General a few towns over and turned into Bingo cards.

“And grab your lunches,” Gavin declared. He went to the kitchen island where he’d packed both Josie’s and my lunch bags.

In the last two months, we barely spent a night apart. As soon as Josie was comfortable with us together with her, Gavin had started asking me to stay the night. At first, I’d sneak out before Josie woke up, but she caught us kissing one morning at the front door and said it was silly for me to go home before breakfast.

That was it. Since then, my rental home had become more of a storage unit, a place where I went to pack and wash clothes and occasionally stock with foods for lunch. For the most part, I was living with Gavin and Josie, even if he hadn’t officially asked to move in.

Josie never skipped a beat or seemed to need an adjustment in the time we all spent together, and with every passing day, I not only fell in love with her more like she was my very own daughter, I started imagining what it would be like if I did have one.

More recently, especially.

“Thank you.” I kissed Gavin and picked up my lunch bag. “Are you still coming to the school later?”

“I wouldn’t miss the performance,” he whispered against my mouth.

The second and third graders were having a concert for the whole school and any parents who could make it, which was only part of the reason for Josie’s vibrant ensemble.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! We’re gonna be late.”

“Can’t have that,” I deadpanned like I hadn’t been the one who’d been hurrying her up all morning.

God, she was awesome.

“See you soon,” I told Gavin and kissed him again. “Love you.”

“Love you both.”

He walked us to the door, then to my car, where even if he wasn’t driving or going anywhere, I learned he’d still open my door.

Once Josie and I were in and buckled, we pulled out to the street.

“You know what, Penny?”

“What is it, sweetie?”

“I know today is a day to show people love, so I just think you should know I love you a whole lot. And I like how happy you make my dad.”

Happy tears immediately blurred my vision, and I looked back at Josie. She was kicking her feet against my passenger chair, looking out the window.

Like she hadn’t just rocked my world. Like she hadn’t given me the most precious gift I could ever receive.

“Thanks, kiddo. You know I love you too, right?”

She glanced at me, shrugged, and went back to looking out the window. “Yup. Sure do.”

Well, good.

I put the car in drive, drove to school, and spent the next five hours, corralling kids hopped up on FunDip and PixieStixx, wondering how in the world we’d get them settled enough to stand still and sing later.

But not for a single moment did I forget the words Josie said to me or how incredibly much I hoped I was around to hear them for the rest of her very sweet, adorable, and precocious life.

Somehow, it all worked. We started preparing for the concert right after the kids had their lunchtime and hoped the healthier food options soaked up all the sugar.

Faye and I and the two second grade teachers were standing off to the side as the kids stepped up to the risers and gathered in their lines. Every child looked adorable in either red or white or pink shirts. Josie, like the star she was, shone bright with her headband and glasses. I scanned the gymnasium, where the classrooms were still getting assembled. Kindergarten through fifth grade teachers led their classrooms into the gym in neat little lines, then directed their children to sit in squiggly little rows. Teachers took their seats in chairs at the end of the rows, and beyond the space the kids would fill in, were rows of chairs of parents and family friends and grandparents, and heck, from the crowd, it looked like the entire town was there.

At the far back stood Gavin. Standing tall and wearing a wine-red sweater with dark blue jeans, the man made my mouth water. He also wasn’t alone. On one side of him stood Charles and Jenny, and on the other were Dalton, Bryce, Cameron, and Ava. My brows winged up with surprise as almost all of the Kelleys gathered to watch Josie sing. Cameron and Ava still spent most of their time in Denver, but they were working on moving back to New Haven. In a few weeks, Cameron would officially retire from his professional playing career. From talking to Ava, I knew he was healed enough to play, but he no longer wanted it. He’d lost the certainty he’d be able to remain a starting quarterback and never wanted to risk being traded and forced to leave Colorado. I also knew Ava wanted to live in New Haven, and like Gavin with me, Cameron would break every bone in his body, his leg again included, to give that to her.

I caught Gavin’s gaze and pointed my finger, trailing it along his family.

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