“Anything, Casey. I’d do anything for you.”
Sutton squeals in excitement when she bounces into the kitchen and finds Casey and me at the island, nursing coffees.
Turns out, we didn’t need all twenty minutes.
I lift my mug, hiding my smirk.
“Good morning,” Mom sings from behind us. “Casey, what a surprise.” The knowing lilt in Mom’s voice tells me that she isn’t surprised in the slightest. “It’s so lovely to see you.” Mom’s eyes are full of genuine happiness. The sight has emotion burning the back of my throat.
Now it’s time for her to find someone as well. As weird as it’ll be to see her with someone who isn’t Dad. It’s time.
She has so much love to offer. It deserves to be spread wider than just the people under this roof, Casey now included.
“You too, Kathleen. I love your dress.”
“It’s so pretty, Gran, is it new?” Sutton joins in.
I sit there watching their exchange with the widest smile on my face, but also…
“Uh…I’m here too, you know.”
Their conversation stops, all three sets of eyes turning to me. Casey and Mom wear knowing smirks, but guilt washes over Sutton’s face.
“Daddy,” she cries rushing to me. “I only watched the first period last night.” She shoots Mom a glare that makes us all laugh. “Tell me you won,” she begs. “Their D line was a mess.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, baby. We won.”
“Yesss,” she hisses before giving me a hug. “Missed you,” she whispers so only I can hear.
“Missed you too, Peanut. Is it okay if Casey has breakfast with us? Maybe comes with to take you to school?”
She looks at me emotionlessly for half a second before her eyes roll. “Of course it is. Did you even need to ask?”
Laughter ripples around the room.
“Right then, seeing as you don’t need me, I’m gonna head out,” Mom says.
“You can stay,” Casey offers.
“You three enjoy your morning together. I’ll see you later.”
A couple of moments later, the door closes behind her.
“She didn’t need to leave on my account,” Casey says, looking concerned.
“She didn’t. She does far too much for us. She’s escaping while she can.”
“Fair enough.”
“She’ll head to her favorite diner and have someone else cook for her.”
Casey sighs. “She’s awesome. You’re so lucky to have her.”
“I know,” I admit. “Right,” I say, changing the subject before Casey thinks too much about the hard things today. “Who wants eggs and bacon?”
“What? No pie?” Casey asks teasingly.
“Or pancakes and ice cream,” Sutton pipes up.