Page 41 of Wild Hearts

"It would be nice to continue some of the things your mom thought were important. I appreciate you being honest with me about that."

"What kind of things would you want me to do around the house?"

"Keep your room clean. Put your dishes away. Tidy your bathroom."

"That's easy enough."

"We can always revisit it later. I wouldn't mind having some help with dishes."

"Do you think you could teach me how to cook? We had a class at school, but it was short, and we were almost always out of the ingredients and didn't get to cook much of anything."

Warmth spread through my chest that I could help her with something. "I'd love to."

"Good. I'm going to catch up on my assigned reading for the week, and then I'll get ready to meet with Scarlett."

"I told her I'd drop you off at their house."

"That works." And then she surprised me by crossing the room and hugging me. When she pulled back, she said, "I hope that's okay. Mom was a hugger."

"I don't mind." In fact, I kind of loved that my teenager wanted to hug. Everything I read said that teens could be distant. Kids who preferred cuddling suddenly wanted space. I'd prepare myself for the latter.

Dakota disappeared upstairs, and I stared at my coffee, wondering how I'd gotten so lucky. She was such a good kid. The therapist and Addison had warned me that grief could sneak up when I least expected it, so I was a little on edge wondering when that would happen with Addison.

I pulled out my phone and contemplated what I could suggest for an outing. We could go skiing or to a movie. I needed a plan. My gut said that Addison would rebuff me unless it was a good cause.

Walker: What are your plans for the day?

Addison: I'm catching up on laundry.

Walker: Want to play hooky?

Addison: What would we do?

Walker: I'm still working on that part.

Addison: What's Dakota up to?

Walker: She's going shopping with my aunt and Scarlett. I'm dropping her off in a couple of hours. Then I can swing by and pick you up.

I thought it would be best not to give her a choice. She seemed open to the idea, but now I needed something for us to do.

I jumped in the shower, got dressed, and was going downstairs when Dakota called out to me. I paused in her doorway. She was sitting in the chair I'd bought for her to read in with her foot swinging. "We don't have any holiday decorations?"

"I don't."

"Why don't you ask Addison to get a tree?"

"I thought you’d want to do that together.”

Dakota shrugged. "It would be something for you two to do together."

"I'll think about it."

"Then you could bring it home and decorate it."

"Is that romantic?" I asked her, wondering what she'd say.

She tapped her chin. "I think she'd like it."

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