Page 106 of Songbird: Black Kite
“I mean, anyone with a brain could probably tell. Just look at him. We have the same hair.” She turned her gaze on me, gesturing to the exact feature I’d just been contemplating. “Add in the fact that you’re kind of freaking out and you’ve never brought a guy home before. There weren’t a whole lot of options, were there?”
“I guess not,” I said, and she narrowed her eyes at me briefly before sliding her uncaring mask in place again as I watched her closely.
She may be acting like she was unaffected, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the redness of her eyes.
Cooper was also freaking out, even if she didn’t want anyone to know.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cooper,” I said, extending my hand and taking a step toward her, trying not to take it personally when she took a clear step back.
“Yeah, well. You’re about fourteen years too late,” she said, and as she spun away from us, I saw the tears she tried to keep at bay spill over.
And I felt each one of them as though they were my own.
Chapter sixty-two
Wren
Present
“Shit!”Ihissed,droppingthe hot pan on to the stovetop before yanking off the oven mitts and inspecting the burn closer.
“You alright?” Hawk asked, coming around the island and taking my hand in his gentle grip, his calloused fingertips rubbing against the delicate skin of my inner wrist, sending a shiver along my spine.
“Yeah,” I sighed, pressing my free hand to my forehead as I blew out a breath and tried to focus. “I just wasn’t paying attention.” I nodded my chin to the offending oven mitt, the hole in one thumb clearly visible where it was laying on the kitchen floor. “Have to remember to put them on the right hands, so the hole is on the outside, not the inside.”
Hawk frowned, but said nothing about my shitty oven mitts, instead guiding me to the sink and holding my injured thumb under the cold water. I sighed in relief, feeling the tension of the day roll through me.
After the disastrous conversation in the living room, I’d given Cooper her space, sitting with Hawk and fretting over how every word that had come out of my mouth had been wrong. When it was time to start dinner, I’d put together a quick casserole, something I knew Cooper loved that we’d discovered onTikToklast summer.
It was a clear attempt at bribery, and I wasn’t even ashamed.
I’d fucked everything up, and now my daughter was paying the price.
“That feel better?” Hawk asked quietly, snapping me out of my pity party.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“How can I help?” he pressed, handing me a tea towel to dry my hand. We’d already established that he couldn’t cook, so while I’d puttered around the kitchen assembling the ingredients for dinner, Hawk had hovered close by, watching me like, well...like a hawk.
It was like he didn’t want to let me out of his sight.
I hated to admit how much I liked it.
“Would you mind setting the table?” I asked, and he immediately nodded. “Just poke around until you find the dishes you need.” There were only so many cupboards, so it wasn’t like it would be a long hunt. “I’m going to get the first-aid kit. See if we have any ointment.”
I left him in my kitchen, a rock star who was currently pulling paper towels off the roll and folding them neatly so they’d serve as napkins for our meager feast and I headed down to the en suite bathroom in my bedroom. I kept a small first aid kit under the counter, mostly stocked with princess band-aids and tweezers for removing splinters, but I managed to find a nearly empty tube of antiseptic ointment, which I was eternally grateful for.
Once I’d seen to my burn, I headed to Cooper’s room, knocking just loudly enough to be heard over the music she had playing.
“Coop?” I asked hesitantly. “Can I come in?”
Nothing. I waited, giving her time to pout a bit more before I knocked again.
“Cooper? Dinner’s ready. I made thatTikTokpasta you like.” Still nothing. I sighed, leaning my head against the wooden door and closed my eyes. “Cooper, I’d really like to talk to you tonight. I know this thing with your—your dad”—holy shit, that felt weird coming out of my mouth—“is strange and maybe a bit overwhelming. But if we could talk about it, I’ll answer any questions you have. I promise.”
Still nothing. She must have been really pissed.
“Cooper?” I said, turning the handle and letting myself in to her room. “I really think we should—” I froze, staring around the empty room as my heart climbed into my throat. “Cooper?”
