Page 93 of That First Flight

It’s like they lit a fire inside of me, making me dream of more things.

Like… having a family one day.

Once we step foot into her room, I hand her the camera. “Here you go.”

She eyeballs the camera. “I still can’t get over how cool this is. I want to get one of these when I’m old enough to have one.”

“When you’re a little bit older, I’ll make sure you do.”

Her amazement staring at the camera washes away quickly, like something I said has struck a chord unlocking feelings she doesn’t want to think about. Mackenzie frowns down at the large, black camera as she fiddles it between her palms. She looks like she’s assessing the device, but she’s likely processing something in her head.

Mackenzie lifts her head. “Will you still be around when I’m old enough?”

Damn. That stings.

I sometimes forget Mackenzie doesn’t have a father figure in her life which makes me wonder if she believes that no one will stick around long enough. I also question how much she knows about her dad and the story behind that.

After Mackenzie told me she loved me and then having that explosive night after Macey’s first work shift, I knew I wanted them to stick around. I want these girls in my life for the long run. Despite not knowing how to approach this, I want it.

I clear my throat. “I want to stick around for as long as you both will let me,” I admit.

She smiles up at me. “I think mom would like that too.”

I raise a questioning brow. “What makes you think that?”

“Ever since her first day at work, she’s been much happier. She smiles a lot more now. You can’t tell her what I’m about to tell you though,” she whispers as if someone else is in the house and might hear her.

I lean down and match her tone of voice, “My lips are sealed.”

“The other night…” Mackenzie lowers her voice to a whisper. “I caught her dancing in the kitchen while she cooked breakfast. She wasdancing, Ollie. Like what?” She giggles, waving her hands in the air the way I would picture a teenage girl gossiping.

She’s not wrong, though.

I noticed too.

Macey has been smiling so much more this week. She’s been getting out of the house to explore the city on her days off too. I’ve watched with my own two eyes how much brighter she gets every day.

It’s almost like the weight of her past has lifted and she now looks ahead for what's to come, as if she’s had a massive shift in her atmosphere. Whether it was the crazy hot orgasm I gave her after her first night of work, or the fact she’s actually working.

While I had to organize my life and plan my trips for the second half of the year, I noticed a shift.

Doing that used to excite me before Macey.

Now, I just dread leaving.

“I think her new job is definitely making her happy,” I finally answer Mackenzie.

She lifts the camera, tapping on the button on the top right corner. “I press this button to take a picture, right?”

“Yup. One click.”

She lifts the large camera to her small face and snaps away at the puzzle she created, something she and James worked on that makes her really damn proud. I love that for her. Because she needs that boost. Something to feel good about.

Just as Mackenzie pulls the camera away from her face, bouncing up and down in excitement, it slips from her grip and tumbles to the ground with a crash.

Her hand comes up to cover her face and she turns to stone.

“Oh my god. Oh my god,” she repeats over and over. The color has drained from her face at this point and I can’t even tell if she’s breathing. “Tell me it’s okay.”

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