Page 13 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

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She was beautiful. Even sneezing and struggling with a flower arrangement almost as big as her. Nothing could take away from all that Ellie was. And her fierce determination was a big part of that.

She whirled, her hair in two pigtail braids that swung wide as she gaped at me.

She’d changed at some point and now wore a neon blue sweatsuit covered in shimmery stars.

The sweatshirt’s sleeves were pushed up to reveal colorful bracelets in a rainbow array that accented the various rings dotting her fingers.

She opened her mouth to speak, likely to issue some pithy retort, but stilled when she saw my tiny companion. “I’m allergic to lilies.”

My eyes narrowed. Something about that wasn’t the whole story. “Might want to tell whoever sent those.” I gestured toward the trash can.

“Not wasting my breath,” Ellie muttered, then turned to my daughter. “Miss Keely, how was your day?”

Keely beamed up at Ellie like she’d hung the moon. “It was the beeeeeest! Everyone wanted to know who did my hair and how.”

An authentic smile lifted Ellie’s lips, and I nearly stumbled back a step.

It was then that I realized I’d never seen one from her before.

Not once in the half a dozen or so family gatherings we’d both attended or when I saw her around town.

This was the first genuine smile I’d seen Ellie wear. And it was devastating.

“We’ll have to see if we can up our game next time.”

Keely’s mouth dropped open. “There’s more?”

Ellie’s smile only widened. “Bestie, I got you covered. We’ll do Dutch braids next time.”

“What are those?” my daughter asked, fascinated.

“Basically, inside-out braids.”

“So. Freaking. Cool!” Keely cheered.

Ellie laughed. “What are you two up to tonight?”

Keely jumped as if just remembering what was in her hand. “I made this for you!”

Ellie looked down at the glitter-infested construction paper creation. “You did?”

Keely nodded and handed it to her.

As Ellie read the words I’d helped Keely spell, her eyes got a little misty.

Thanks for making me spunktacular! I love you!

“I love you, too, bestie. And anytime.”

“We also wanted you to come to dinner,” Keely said. “Dad’s making chicken veggie stir-fry, and it’s fire!”

Ellie’s brows drew together as she turned to me. “Fire?”

“Apparently, it’s a compliment,” I said, one corner of my mouth kicking up.

“Gotcha.” Ellie toed at a pebble with her sneaker. “I, um, I actually don’t eat meat.”

“You can just have vegestables. Right, Daddy?” Keely offered.

“She’s right. I cook them separately anyway.

” It was the last thing I should’ve said.

I should’ve told Keely no when she asked if we could invite Ellie for dinner.

But Ellie’s face from earlier today had flashed in my mind.

How she’d seemed somewhat alone in all she was dealing with, even with her brother in town. So, I’d found myself agreeing .

Ellie’s gaze lifted to my face. “You don’t think that’s weird?”

“Why would I? As long as you don’t try to steal my cheeseburgers.”

Her lips twitched as she lifted a hand into a sort of Boy Scout salute. “I solemnly swear.”

“Then come on,” I said with a wave.

“Okay, just let me lock up.” Ellie jogged for the front door as Keely and I watched.

“Daddy, she is sooooo pretty,” Keely whispered.

I hadn’t missed that fact, but I didn’t need my daughter reminding me. “Mm-hmm.”

“Even her sweats are pretty.”

That had me chuckling because, with their bright and shimmery design, Ellie’s sweats could’ve easily been found in a kids’ store. “You should tell her.”

Keely’s cheeks heated. “She might think I’m silly.”

My gut churned. I knew where that doubt came from. Keely’s mom didn’t have time for the more fanciful stuff Keely was into, and it left my girl uncertain and doubting. It made me want to rage. Instead, I took a deep breath and crouched low.

“Would it make you happy if someone told you they loved your outfit?”

Keely nibbled on her bottom lip but nodded.

“We should always shout out the good in others,” I encouraged.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Ellie called, jogging over to us.

Keely looked up at her and blurted, “I love your starry sweats and your pigtails and your bracelets. The bracelets are the best because they’re like little rainbows. And you’re really pretty.” Keely snapped her mouth closed, her cheeks turning pink.

Ellie’s expression softened, and she crouched to Keely’s level, too. “That is the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time. And it made my whole day. Thank you.”

Keely beamed at her. “Really?”

“Really.”

I got stuck on the first thing Ellie had said. “That is the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.” How the hell was that the case? Ellie was a force to be reckoned with. Funny and fierce. Kind and caring. She should’ve been getting these kinds of compliments every day of the week.

Keely threw her arms around Ellie in a hug. “I’m so glad.”

Ellie chuckled as Keely released her, and her fingers dipped to her wrist. “I think you need one of my bracelets.”

“You don’t have to,” I hurried to say.

“I want to,” Ellie argued. “Besties need matching bracelets.”

“Duh, Daddy.”

Ellie grinned as she slipped the bracelet onto my little girl’s wrist. “Yeah, Chief. Duh.”

My eyes narrowed on her. “It’s Sheriff.”

“Whatever you say.” And with that, Ellie took Keely’s hand, and they skipped off toward our house.

Ellie tugged a leg up onto her chair, hugging it to her chest. “Thanks again. This was amazing.”

Keely had abandoned us for her dolls, and I was now in the danger zone. Alone with Ellie. At least there was a table between us.

“Anytime.” Apparently, the table didn’t keep me from saying stupid, reckless things.

One corner of Ellie’s mouth pulled up, and I couldn’t help tracing the movement. “Careful. That’s a dangerous offer.”

She had no idea how much.

Ellie leaned back in her chair, studying me. “Where’d you learn to cook?”

It should’ve been an easy question. A simple one. Normally, I dodged it, but in this moment, with the soft strains of Keely’s voice wafting from the living room as she played, the darkening sky outside, and Ellie’s face glowing in the dining room’s low light, I found I didn’t want to.

“My parents weren’t the greatest. Mom would try to cook when she wasn’t high. Dad couldn’t be bothered. I figured out early that if I wanted to eat consistently, I needed to cook the meals myself.”

Ellie stared back at me for a long moment. She didn’t look horrified or shocked. She didn’t look away like Leah had when I’d tried to share things about my childhood. She just met me where I was. “That had to be scary.”

It wasn’t what people usually said. They were horrified and offered platitudes. I leaned back in my chair and reached for the one beer I allowed myself. Never more than one. I’d never risk activating the addiction genes running through me. “It made me appreciate the Colsons that much more.”

Ellie’s thumb stroked her calf in a rhythmic motion. “That’s a good way to look at it. Doesn’t change the hard, though.”

“No. No, it doesn’t.” And I left it at that. Because giving Ellie these explosions of truth was playing with fire.

“Do you like it? Cooking, I mean.”

She was cutting me some slack, and I appreciated it. I took a sip of beer, mulling it over. “I like it. I’d probably like it more if I didn’t have to do it every day and account for a tiny human’s taste buds half the time.”

Ellie grinned. “Linc likes to remind me that I thought dipping grapes in ketchup was the height of cuisine.”

I barked out a laugh. “Please, don’t give Keely any ideas.”

“I promise. What would you cook if it was just for you?”

Interesting question. One I hadn’t pondered for a while. Usually, when it was just me, I did the quickest thing possible or grabbed takeout. “Might horrify you, but I’m going brisket, baked mac and cheese with breadcrumbs on top, mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake for dessert.”

Ellie stared at me for a long moment, and then those gorgeous lips twitched. “What did vegetables ever do to you?”

“Says the vegetarian. You’re probably on the take for Big Kale.”

She burst out laughing, and the sound was pure magic—throaty with a little rasp but so damn free. It wrapped around me in smoky tendrils, and I never wanted to lose the feeling of it. How the vibrations clung to my skin.

“Big Kale, huh? I could probably be convinced. Kale is expensive.”

I inclined my beer bottle toward her. “See?”

“You can’t hate veggies that much. Tonight’s dinner was full of them.”

“If I don’t want my kid or me to get scurvy, sacrifices must be made.”

“Especially in the battle of mealtime.” Ellie shook her head, dropping her foot to the floor and standing to grab the plates.

“You don’t have to do that.” The truth was, I didn’t want to lose the moment we were having right now. And that made me dumb. And maybe even a little reckless. But there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Ellie smiled, stacking the plates. “You cooked. The least I can do is clean.”

I shoved back my chair. “Well, I’ll supervise while I get dessert ready.”

“Dessert, huh? Chocolate cake?”

“Chocolate cake is a weekend, off-duty festivity. Tonight, you’ll have to settle for berry sundaes.”

Ellie’s pale green eyes sparked. “A berry sundae is not settling. That’s just rude to berries.”

I chuckled as we made our way into the kitchen. “Apologies to the entire berry family.”

“That’s a little better.” Ellie started scraping plates as I began slicing berries. But when she got to the dishwasher loading, I couldn’t help but cringe. Nothing was even. Plates were askew, bowls at odd angles, cups ready to be knocked over by the spray of the machine.

“Chief…”

My gaze flicked to Ellie’s face. “Yeah?”

“Why are you staring at me like I’m committing atrocities of war right now? ”

I scrubbed a hand over my stubbled cheek. “To be fair, you are currently committing atrocities against my dishwasher.”

Ellie gaped at me. “I rinsed these thoroughly.”

I set down my knife and moved toward the dishwasher and Ellie. “I give you a solid B on the rinsing.”

“A B ?” Ellie asked, offended.

“At least you passed. This Leaning Tower of Pisa in my dishwasher is a D at best.”

The shock on Ellie’s face morphed into a glare. “All right, Mr. Perfection. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” My hands flew over the top rack, righting glasses and reassigning bowls to their proper spots. I moved Tupperware from the bottom rack to the top.

“That was perfectly fine there,” Ellie groused.

“If you want to melt the plastic, sure. But then again, you did start a fire the last time you utilized kitchen machinery.”

Ellie gaped at me for a moment and then moved so fast I didn’t have a prayer. She grabbed the spray nozzle connected to the faucet, pointed it straight at me, and turned it on full blast.

The yelp that escaped as the freezing-cold water hit my chest was anything but masculine, but it couldn’t be helped. I dove for Ellie, and she shrieked as I wrestled the nozzle from her hands, keeping an arm around her waist so she couldn’t escape.

“You deserve worse!” she yelled between fits of laughter.

“I’ll show you worse,” I said, lifting the nozzle in her direction.

“White flag! White flag! I surrender,” Ellie begged.

Those pale green eyes swirled, the color something I’d never seen before—like delicate moss beside a creek or the first shoots of a new plant making its way into the world. Her body pressed against mine, her breasts brushing my chest with each inhale, her heat seeping into me.

“You gonna apologize?” I rasped.

Amusement danced over Ellie’s expression. “I’m sorry that I can get the job done way faster than you. ”

“You mean you’re sorry you’re about to start a plastic meltdown and ruin my dishwasher.”

Her lips twitched, the berry color deepening. “Your top rack looks like a drill sergeant assembled it.”

“Is that so, Blaze?”

“Gotta live a little, Chief. You know, mix your bowls and plates, see what happens.”

God, she was a little troublemaker. So, I did the only thing I could. I let some of that spray loose over both of us. Ellie shrieked, writhing against me, but I held her tight. “I am going to get you for this!”

“Naw, I got eyes in the back of my head.”

“You’d better be using them in your sleep!” she cried, fumbling to turn off the tap.

When she succeeded, she twisted back to face me.

It was only then that we realized how close we were.

I could smell the hint of bergamot and rose clinging to her, earthy and whimsical all at once.

Just like her. I could see those lush lips parting on an intake of breath, the pink color rising to her cheeks.

And all I could think about was what Ellie tasted like. Would the beer she’d had at dinner still cling to her tongue? Or would all that was her overpower it? I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to find out.

“Well, well, well,” a familiar, older feminine voice cut in. “What do we have here?”