Page 55 of More Than Words
Something about the tone in her voice stopped me.“You do?”
She nodded.“You’re a lot happier in Trickle Creek.You smile more.”
“I do?”
“And you laugh a lot.”Quinn nodded again.“With Delaney.”
Her observation, and the fact that she used Delaney’s name, took me off guard.But she wasn’t wrong.Ididsmile and laugh a lot with Delaney.
Before I could contribute to the conversation, Quinn continued.“Which is why I want to know what’s going on between you guys.Are you dating?”
I choked on my soda.
“You like her.”
“Is that a question?”
She shrugged.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts.Quinn was only twelve.But in so many ways, she was mature for her age.She’d been through so much already.She’d lost more than she even knew.And she’d just asked me a question that meant way more than it sounded.
She deserved the truth.
I inhaled a deep breath.“Yeah,” I answered honestly.“I do.”
She nodded and pulled her blanket up under her chin.“Good,” she said.“I do, too.”
I waited for her to elaborate, but she simply turned back to the movie.For a few minutes, we were both lost in the drama playing out between Barbie and Ken on the screen.
Quinn and Delaney were right.It was a pretty good movie.Not that I was ready to admit it.Especially considering I was no longer paying any attention to it.Instead, my conversation with Quinn replayed over and over in my head.
Finally, I turned to her.“You like Delaney, too?”
Quinn blew out an exasperated breath, but she was smiling when she turned to me.“You know I do.She’s not fake, like a lot of grown-ups.She actually listens to me, and she recommends really good books.”
I didn’t bother to hide my smile.
“That and the cookies, of course.”She reached for the container.Against my better judgment, I let her take another.“It was nice of her to make those for you.”She wiggled her eyebrows and gave me a look that was definitely too old for her.
“What are you trying to say?”
Quinn shrugged and took a big bite of the cookie.“I don’t know anyone else making you cookies just ’cause.”
Fair enough.
“Look,” I said after a moment.“You know that you and me…we’re a team.”
She nodded.
“And I really value that, Quinn.”I had to tread carefully.If I got too serious with it, she’d shut down.“So I want to make sure I keep you in the loop, just like always.”
“Like telling me all the things?”
I shook my head.“Age-appropriate honesty, remember?”
She groaned, and I chuckled.It was something I’d started saying to her when Polly and I were in the thick of things with our divorce.Quinn wanted to know what was going on, and I’d promised to never lie to her.But I’d also prefaced that by letting her know I’d give her one hundred percent age-appropriate honesty and some things she wasn’t old enough to know yet.
She hadn’t been thrilled by the idea, but she’d accepted it.
