Page 26 of Scoop Me Up
Jennifer and I both pulled away from the other quickly. “No, honey. Daddy was just helping me feel better about something.”
Ellie tilted her head to the side, gaze curious. “Are you sad about coming home, Mommy?”
“No,” Jennifer asserted. “I missed you so much. I’m glad I’m home.”
“Are you…” Ellie looked at the floor.
“What?” I prompted.
“Are you guys going to get married again now that Daddy’s living with us?”
Jennifer seemed to deflate a little, shoulders dipping. “No, baby. Daddy and I aren’t going to get married again. And he’s not living with us. He’s just staying for the summer.”
“About that,” I said. It seemed like a good time to pipe up and explain my plans.
Jennifer frowned, her brow dipping. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong. I just—I made arrangements to stay somewhere else for the rest of the summer. I didn’t want to be in your way.” The last bit was partially true. It didn’t feel like the time to mention that I didn’t want Ellie to think we were getting back together.
“You did?” Jennifer turned on the couch to look at me more directly. When I hesitated, Jen looked at Ellie. “El, why don’t you go play for a little while? We’ll talk about it more later, okay?”
Ellie huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine,” she said before disappearing back down the hallway.
Jennifer looked at me again, eyes narrowed. “What’s going on? Are you—are you seeing someone or something?”
A laugh slipped out of me. “No, definitely not. Look, I appreciate you letting me stay here. I do. It’s been amazing being around Ellie so much again.”
“Are you going back to the city?”
“No, I’m staying. Just not here.” I let out a slow breath. “I didn’t want to give Ellie any more ideas than I knew she’d already have. I don’t think it’s a great idea if I stay here. One big happy family again? I don’t think it would be good for Ellie to get the wrong impression about us getting back together.”
She hesitated before nodding. “Okay. Fair. Where are you staying?”
“Do you know Sam Thatcher?”
“Ellie’s teacher? You’re staying with Ellie’s teacher?”
I held up my hands, palms to the sky. “Yeah, but that’s not… We met at the ice cream festival on the Fourth and we’re kind of getting to be friends. They invited me to stay at their place if I needed to, and when I couldn’t get a room at the inn, I took them up on their offer.”
Another nod. “Okay. That’s… different. But okay. Is there anything I can do to help you get your things over there?”
I shook my head. “I’ll pack everything up in a few minutes. I have my rental car. I’ll be fine. And this way, I can still spend the summer with Ellie without being too far away. It’s the best-case scenario.”
She took my hand and squeezed again. “I’m glad you’re sticking around. For Ellie’s sake. She misses you when she’s here, you know.”
A lump formed in my throat. If I took the job, she’d miss me a lot more. “I know. The feeling is mutual.”
A few minutes later, I was packing my things up, stuffing clean clothes into a suitcase and a duffel bag. Soon enough, I was packed up and loading the rental car. I went to find Ellie before I left, wanting to explain where I was going.
“Hey, El?”
She looked up from where she’d been playing with her toy trucks. “Yeah?”
I squatted down next to her. “I’m leaving now, okay?”
A deep frown formed on her face. “Are you going back to your house?”
“No, I’m going to go visit a friend. Your teacher, Mix. I’m staying with them for the rest of the summer.”
