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“So, where are we going for ice cream?”
He walked around to the passenger side of the truck and held the door open for Carli, helping her into the back seat, then made sure she was buckled tightly. “There’s a shop in town.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.”
Of course, that tended to happen when a person didn’t leave the property very often.
“Carli has become addicted since we first tried it,” he answered, holding my door open as I hauled myself up. The truck was so high, but I didn’t mind so much. It was a ride.
When he got in and drove forward, I flinched as he turned, relieved when he didn’t hit the house.
“What was that?” he asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.
“Nothing. I— The truck is so big. How did you know you weren’t going to hit the house?”
“Because I’ve driven it for so long, I know how it handles.”
I huffed in annoyance. “I can hardly see over the hood. It’s humongous. If I ever get a car, it’s going to be something small.”
He glanced over at me, eyeing me carefully. “Is that something you want?”
“A car?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know. I guess this is the first time I’ve thought about it. I don’t even have a license. I can’t even remember the rules of the road.”
“It’s not that hard. I could get you a pamphlet to study.”
“What’s wrong? You don’t like driving me around?” I asked, smiling over at him. It was meant as a joke, but when he looked at me, there was something intense about his gaze that immediately had me looking away.
Clearing my throat, I turned in my seat and smiled at Carli. “So, what kind of ice cream are you going to get?”
“Chocolate! I love chocolate. It’s the best! What are you going to get?”
“I really don’t know. Maybe I’ll try some of everything.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “You can do that?”
I shrugged, not sure if they had a way to do that or not. “I have no idea, but it would certainly help.”
“Daddy, can we do that, too?”
“How about we just stick with one flavor tonight,” he answered, shooting me a look. “Thanks for that.”
“Uh…sorry.”
“If I end up buying every flavor, you’re going to be responsible for putting her to bed tonight.”
That did not sound like fun. This was the most I’d ever really interacted with Carli. I had a few moments off and on, and she was always a nice child, but I knew nothing about taking care of kids. And I knew for a fact that I never wanted to have any of my own. Not after what happened.
“So, what did you do while I was gone?”
“Not much.” I had been bored out of my mind. After shopping almost every day for two weeks straight, it was strange to sit around the house, unable to leave even if I wanted to. “Kavanaugh came by almost every day and dragged me out of the house.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
I shrugged. “It started when he was stuck around OPS. I was out on the porch and he stopped by. It just turned into walking.”