Page 44 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

ELLIE

“I think my heart is exploding with the cuteness,” Sutton said as she took in all the kids with their adorable and over-the-top hair creations.

“Man, my new school doesn’t have wacky hair day,” Luca complained, looking up at his mom.

Cope clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Next year, Speedy. We’re back here and you can dominate the hair game.”

Luca seemed appeased by that, turning a smile to Cope. “I do get to see a lot of hockey games in Seattle, though. That might make it cooler.”

Sutton laughed. “Gee, wacky hair or hockey games? I wonder which one wins?”

“Hockey, Mom. Always hockey.”

“I keep wondering how they’re going to get some of this stuff out of their hair,” Shep muttered. “I’m pretty sure that one kid with the purple spikes used glue.”

My gaze caught on the older boy Shep indicated, and I winced. “That looks painful. ”

Fallon leaned in closer so she could see around some kids to get a better look. Then she started laughing. “That is a serious punk phase. And it has nothing on the cuteness you created for Keels.”

The first- and second-grade classes were lining up right in front of us, and they looked adorable.

But Keely was certainly one of the best with her unicorn ‘do.

There were some other contenders, though.

A quiet little girl with dark hair rocked a Pippi Longstocking replica, her hair sticking straight out in two braids.

A boy in their group had sprayed his hair green and had frogs pinned to it.

And then there was the brunette whose hair had been made into a legit Eiffel Tower.

Linc moved in on my other side, his hand in Arden’s. “How’s the new job treating you?”

“Yeah,” Sutton called. “I heard the boss is a real piece of work.”

I smiled. “Which one, you or Thea?”

Sutton laughed. “Both.”

Linc frowned down at me. “You seem…good.”

Arden smacked his stomach. “Cowboy.”

“What?” he asked, his brows pulling together.

I shook my head. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Not bad,” Linc said quickly. “Just surprising. I mean, after the photos.”

“ConCon, as Lolli would say, stop harshing my buzz.”

My brother’s mouth quirked in a half smile. “And what buzz is that?”

“The happy buzz. I have a house I’m slowly making my own. A job that’s fun. A new dog?—”

“And goat,” Arden added.

“And goat,” I amended. “My brother’s making me an auntie. I’m making good friends. I’m happy.”

Linc’s expression softened. “Trace a part of that happiness?”

I couldn’t help the way I braced at the question.

Maybe because, as much as I’d been standing on my own lately, there was still a part of me that wanted Linc’s approval, and I couldn’t decide if that was healthy or not.

I’d wasted so much of my life doing what others wanted because I didn’t want to lose them .

I rocked from my heels to my tiptoes and let the answer out with my breath. “Yes. He’s a part of that.”

I felt Linc’s gaze on me, but he didn’t speak right away. When he finally did, it was a single word. “Okay.”

My eyes shot to my brother. “That’s it? I was bracing for a lecture or a warning or—or?—”

“Some other big-brother overreaction,” Arden offered. “I know all about those.” She gave Cope a long look as if to make her point.

“Hey, what did I do?” he groused.

“Tried to be all mad that you found Linc shirtless at her house,” Sutton reminded him.

Cope shuddered. “Don’t remind me.”

Linc leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “If you’re happy, I’m happy. I just want you to have the life you want. I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay in Sparrow Falls because of me.”

“She’s staying because of me, obviously,” Fallon chimed. “I’m excellent bestie material.”

“I heard that,” Rhodes called. “I thought I was your bestie.”

“I can have more than one,” she yelled back.

My mouth kicked up into a smile. “I don’t know what forever looks like, but right now, I’m happy. I’m good. And I’m standing on my own two feet. That feels better than good.”

The truth was, I couldn’t imagine leaving Sparrow Falls.

The patchwork family the Colsons had created was the most beautiful piece of art I’d ever seen, and I loved being even a single thread in its fabric.

But more, I couldn’t imagine walking away from Trace.

His quiet strength, the way he kept me rooted in exactly who I was, the care he poured into the world around him…

A woman who had to be the principal began yelling for the teachers to get everyone ready, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced around but didn’t see Trace anywhere. That wasn’t like him. He was always on time—if not early.

“What’s wrong?” Fal asked.

“I don’t see Trace,” I said, still looking around. Nora and Lolli stood with Anson and Rhodes while Cope’s crew, Fallon, Shep, and Thea were by me. But there was no sign of Trace anywhere.

Fallon frowned. “Kye isn’t here either. He can be notoriously late, but not for something of Keely’s.”

“There.” I caught sight of the two men making their way through the crowd of parents and other onlookers, but neither looked especially happy. The set of Trace’s jaw had my anxiety ratcheting up another few degrees.

They stopped to greet Nora and Lolli first, Cope, Sutton, and Luca making their way over to say hello. I didn’t take my eyes off Trace. He smiled and chatted, but there was something beneath the surface. A darkness gathering.

Finally, he made his way over to the rest of us. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t for Trace to pull me to him. He didn’t kiss me or make some huge show, but when he tugged me against him, I felt his entire body vibrating.

“What happened?” I whispered.

Trace opened his mouth, and I could see some sort of non-answer forming.

“Chief,” I warned.

He knew that tone. I couldn’t take lies. There’d been too many in my life. So, instead, he gave me one word.

“Jasper.”

I muttered a curse.

“That’s gonna get you the swear jar,” Trace chastised, his mouth attempting to form a smile but failing.

I looked up into those dark green eyes. “What can I do?”

He stared down at me for a long moment. “Just needed to feel you with me.”

Everything in me softened. I slipped my hand under Trace’s jacket so I could untuck his uniform shirt and the white tee beneath. Then I moved so my palm was pressed against his back, giving him skin-to-skin contact, telling him without words that I was there and wasn’t going anywhere .

Trace let out a shuddering breath and dropped his forehead to mine. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me for this.”

“You always know what I need. How is that?”

I wasn’t sure. But something about Trace encouraged me to follow my instincts. To show up exactly how I was. And somehow, that was just what we both needed.

Music blared—one of the kids’ versions of a current pop hit. Trace scowled as he pulled back from me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is this worse than my playlist?”

“Definitely.”

We watched as the school paraded by, kids dancing to the music as they went. Keely waved like mad when she passed, beaming with pride as she flipped one of her pigtails. Nora took a million photos, and I probably took the second most.

When the parade was finished, the kids had to wind their way through the endless sea of students to find their parents. I could see Keely’s unicorn horn bobbing along with frog hair, Eiffel Tower, and Pippi, making their way toward us in the distance. As they did, I felt Trace stiffen.

It wasn’t an abrupt movement that made me think danger was near; it was a slow hardening of muscle beneath my hand. I looked up and followed his gaze as Leah approached. “Hey, Le,” he greeted.

She nodded, her gaze tracking between us. “Hi. Nice to see you again, Ellie.”

There was a pained forcefulness in her words, and I hated it. For her, for me, for Trace. My hand slid out from under his shirt as I smiled at Leah. “It’s good to see you, too. Don’t the kids look amazing?”

“They do,” she agreed and then glanced at Trace. “Did Fallon help you with Keely’s hair? It looks great.”

“No, Ellie did it,” Trace said, keeping his tone light. “She’s got a thing for unicorns just like Keels.”

The words seemed to hit Leah like a blow, and I felt like the world’s biggest jerk. But to her credit, she turned to me, smile still on her face even though it wavered, and said, “You did an amazing job. ”

“I really like hair stuff,” I explained lamely.

“Keely does, too,” Leah said quietly.

Shit, shit, shit. I wanted to fix the awkwardness. I didn’t want Leah to feel like she was on the outside looking in. Especially not with her own daughter.

I slid my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it. “Here. Give me your number and I’ll shoot you my favorite website for hair stuff. They have some really good tutorials on there, too. You and Keely could have a ton of fun with it.”

Leah looked from my phone to my face, blinking a few times before accepting the device. “Thanks. That would be, uh, great.” She tapped her number into my contacts and handed it back.

“Anytime,” I said, my smile coming a little more authentically.

“Mom!” Keely yelled, racing over to her. “Did you see my unicorn hair?”

Leah let a soft laugh free. “I did. You look so incredible.”

“Ellie did it! She even made me sparkle,” Keely went on.

“I see that. Did you thank her for helping you steal the wacky hair show?”

Keely did a twirl and then ran to me, giving me a huge hug. “Thank you, Ellie!”

“I need to head back to work, baby,” Leah said. “Can I get one more hug?”

Keely easily went to her mom, squeezing her hard and leaving some glitter on Leah’s business-casual attire. But Leah didn’t seem to mind. She kissed the top of Keely’s head and then let her go. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Keely called, but she was already running back to Trace and me. “All my friends loved my hair. Benny said I look like a real live unicorn.”

Mr. Frog Hair appeared then, blinking up at me. “Maybe next year you can do mine. I bet you can do something epic with frogs.”