Page 26 of Break the Barrier
I step out of the truck, throwing my hat back on, and making my way to the front door.
The sound of music hits my ears, and the smell of something cooking hits me in the senses, pulling me further into the house.
I hear laughter from the kitchen, and when I peek my head around the doorframe, Thea and Lue are standing at the island assembling something in a cast-iron skillet.
They haven’t noticed me yet, and I take a second to admirethe sight. Something about it has my stomach twisting with…something. I don’t know if it’s fear or excitement or something else.
My boot scuffs against the floor, and Thea glances up, startled. Her features relax when she realizes it’s me, and she smiles so broadly, I’m struck.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t hear you come in.”
Lue’s head snaps up. “Hi, Dad!”
“Hey, pumpkin,” I greet her, wrapping an arm around her when she comes over and snuggles into my side for a brief second before returning to her job. “What’s going on here?”
Thea frowns at me. “Did your mom reach out?”
I shake my head and purse my lips, a grin threatening to tug wide. “Nope. I haven’t heard from her.”
For whatever reason, this makes Thea blush. I fucking love that blush. “Oh shoot. I’m sorry. Your mom had some sort of emergency?—!”
“And Thea volunteered to help me with my lines!”
I lift a brow at Thea. “You did?”
She turns her attention back to her food prep and lifts her shoulders. “Sure. No big deal.”
But it was a big deal. It was a big deal to me.
Seeing them in here together, cooking a meal and laughing with each other after practicing for my daughter’s play—something that was incredibly important to her—fills my mind and my heart with all sorts of ideas about how the future could look.
Of course, I won’t say that out loud. Not yet.
“What are you guys cooking?”
“Shepherd’s pie!” Lue answers enthusiastically. “Thea’s teaching me how.”
Thea chuckles lightly, glancing at me before returning to hertask again. “It’s not that hard, Lue follows instruction very well.”
That’s not my experience, but I don’t say so.
“Well, do I have a minute to shower before dinner?”
“Sure, go, do what you need to do.” Thea waves me off, not looking up from the food, and I hustle down the hallway.
Twenty minutes later, I head down the hallway to see Lue standing in front of Thea, going over her lines. Thea answers back with lines of her own, reading off the script I’ve read from at least three times now.
When they hear me come in, they pause their reading, and Thea stands, setting the script down.
I changed into clean jeans and a T-shirt, leaving my feet bare, wanting to be comfortable for the evening. Thea tracks her eyes over me quickly before diverting her attention.
“Okay, well, dinner should be done when the tops are golden brown.” She points over at the stove, not making eye contact with me as I frown. “Lue, you are going to nail the audition. You’re so talented.”
Luella frowns at her, too. “You’re leaving? But we made dinner.”
Thea waves her hand around, grabbing her bag off a chair. My gut churns uncomfortably. “Oh, I made that for you two.”
“But you said that’s what you were having for dinner. Did you buy extra for home?”
