Page 58 of Bleeding Hearts

“No.” She takes the paper, and I can’t help but notice how her entire demeanor has shifted.

“Is this why you’ve been moping around here all week?” She shrugs and then nods, prompting me to reach out and yank her into a hug. “Kellie, I want you to listen to me and know that I mean this. I will never tell you that you can’t do something because you’re a girl. Never. Girls can do anything they want. There are no sports or jobs out there that are only for boys. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay?”

“Okay.” Her arms wrap around my waist and she squeezes. “I promise to always come to you. Thanks, Dad.”

It warms my heart every time she calls me Dad, even after all these years. Being her dad is the greatest gift I’ve been given a chance at. I know I’m not always the best at it, but I do the best I can and will always have her back.

“Time to go,” I tell her, knowing if we don’t leave soon, I’m going to be late.

Mollie is just finishing up as we walk down the hall. I prompt her to get her shoes on while I turn off the lights. The girls trample down the stairs, gather their stuff, and as soon as I’m down the stairs, they’re standing by the door.

“Ready?”

They both nod and we head out the front door to where my truck is parked.

Bethany comes out of her house and crosses the street before we make it to the truck. She catches Mollie, who saw her and started running, has her up in her arms and is carrying her back to the truck. They’re chatting a mile a minute as she opens the backdoor and helps her buckle in. Seeing Bethany like this with my girls hits me in that soft spot, hard.

“Have a great day. I’ll see you after school.” Bethany leans in and kisses Mollie’s cheek before shutting the door. “You too, Kellie. Are you going with us tonight?”

Kellie shrugs as she settles in the front seat. “Maybe.” Her tone is flat in that way only kids her age can pull off.

Bethany picks up on the fact that Kellie wants to go, but feels she’s too cool and too old to go now that she’s in middle school. “Finn and Felix both informed me they’re going. They can’t wait to walk Mollie around the neighborhood andhelpher get candy.”

“Oh.” Kellie shrugs again. “I guess I’ll go, too, then. I’m sure I have something to wear.”

“I’m sure we can figure out something.” Bethany steps back and lets me slip past her. “We’ll see you tonight.”

I grab her face and lean down to kiss her, but not before I let her know how much I appreciate her. “Thank you.”

“I can’t wait. I haven’t been trick-or-treating in years. When the boys turned ten, they decided they didn’t want me or Jodi going with them. We let them if they promised to stick together and turn on their location. Then we stalked them by watching the little dots the entire two hours they were gone.” Bethany leans the rest of the way in and kisses my waiting lips. “Have a good day.”

“You too. Now go before you make me late,” I tease as I pull her in for one more.

She gives my chest a slap, then waves goodbye to the girls while I get in, start the truck, and back out.

“I like her.” Mollie sighs like she’s telling us something we didn’t know.

“Me too,” Kellie parrots, but not in a mocking way. She turns to look at me and lifts her eyebrows while she lowers her head, as if waiting for me to agree.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to say it, too, Daddy?” Mollie chirps from the backseat.

Kellie’s gaze shifts to her sister. “I’m not so sure Daddy likes Miss Bethany. I think he more than likes her.”

That gets the two of them going and has me rolling my eyes while I drive and they sing the kissing song. I mean, they aren’t wrong. I do more than like her. But there is no way I’m telling them before I tell Bethany, which is why I turn up the music streaming through my stereo hoping they’ll stop and start singing the newest Taylor Swift song I’ve had to listen to on repeat since the album released.

Chapter 28

Bethany

Mollie is such a character, a bundle of energy, and a chatterbox. The boys never talked this much at her age. Hell, they don’t talk much now. On most days, all I receive from them are terse sentences and monosyllabic grunts. I think she’s talked more this first hour than they’ve said all year. I’m not even kidding.

As soon as we finish eating, I tell the older kids to get ready if they’re coming with us. My sons packed a duffel bag with everything they needed for their costumes. I haven’t a clue what costumes they’re wearing. If I’m being honest, I’m a little worried. As boys, they live for the scary shit. The gorier the better. And with Mollie being only four, I don’t want them to scare her.

While I’m cleaning up, the little chatter box helps. When she stops talking, I glance behind me to find her staring out of the kitchen and into the living room. Her mouth is wide open.

I follow her line of sight and can’t help the laugh that sneaks out. “When did you get those?”

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