Page 86 of Grumpy Player

“I’m here,” I hear Syd say from her room. She comes running to the door and straight into my arms.

“Hey, Sweet Pea,” I say, swinging her.

“Daddy, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m fine. I’m getting strong again,” I assure her. Sometimes she seems so mature for her young age.

“As strong as Superman?” she asks.

Ellie walks toward the door holding a dish towel.

“Stronger,” she says. Her green eyes dancing mischievously.

I laugh.

We haven’t had sex since I took them to the game at the arena two weeks ago. When we got home from the game, I told her we shouldn’t make a habit of ripping each other’s clothes off. I could tell she was offended, and I hated it, but I need to draw the line somewhere. We can’t just start fucking when the impulse arises. We need self-control. Especially since Sybil returned to Canada and contacted an international lawyer to deal with our custody issue and has asked for visitation rights. There is too much riding on the line.

“I got a surprise for you girls.” I grin.

“Yes, yes, yes, I love surprises,” Syd cheers.

“I don’t usually but this seems like a good one, so I will go along with the excitement here,” Ellie chimes. She’s wearing a pair of shorts and one of those cropped shirts that show off her belly, and I am a goner.

“I booked us a cabin in the Catskills for a couple of days,” I announce. “It’s got three bedrooms, a hot tub, and it’s surrounded by nature.” I hate that I am mentioning three bedrooms, but I need to for my sake, really. To remind me I can’t just take what I want. That I have to think of the consequences.

“Sounds amazing,” Ellie cheers.

“Will that be fun?” Syd asks probably because she doesn’t know what the Catskills means.

“We’ll make it fun. We can go on hikes, bike rides, there’s a water park,” I say, crouching down to speak to Syd.

“When do we leave?” Ellie asks.

“Now,” I say.

“Now?” Ellie repeats. “I just made dinner.”

“After dinner then.” I’m really pumped for the time away. I know I will have to keep my hands to myself, but this trip will be good. Ellie will love it when she takes in the beautiful scenery. I chose the place because of her. She’ll understand when we get there, and I won’t feel like such an asshole for sending her hot and cold signals.

We eat the dinner Ellie made and, as usual, it’s delicious. I then follow Syd to her room and pack her up. Ellie heads off to her own room.

“Ellie,” I call out and she pauses at the door to her room.

“Yeah.”

“You’ll want to bring your art supplies. The place has some amazing views. You said you like to draw landscapes, right?”

She swallows and watches me. “One of the artists I admire most had an art school in the Catskills. He was influenced by the beauty there and created the most amazing pieces.”

“Thomas Cole,” I reply.

Her jaw drops. “How . . .?”

“I looked up places with beautiful landscapes when I was picking a place to book. He’s the reason the Catskills came up in the search,” I explain.

Her brows furrow and she watches me like maybe she doesn’t understand me. Truth is, I don’t understand myself most of the time.

“That was very. . .thoughtful,” she finally says. “I’ll pack some of my supplies. Thank you, Connor.”

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