Page 38 of This Kind of Forever

She shakes her head, like I knew she would. “That’s not necessary.”

“It’s very necessary.”

Impatient, Abbie drops my hand and marches off, consulting her list. Hallie and I follow after her.

“Just because I’m living in your house doesn’t mean you’re responsible for me,” Hallie says as we turn down the aisle with the canned goods.

I grab the vegetables we need before Abbie can, flashbacks of our last shopping trip together assaulting me. We don’t need to give Gordon a reason to instate that ban on children he muttered about.

“I don’t think I’m responsible for you. But we’re going to the same place, Foster. Whywouldn’tI drive you?”

She looks down at where her hands grip the cart handle. “I don’t want to burden you.”

“It’s not a burden if I’m offering.” I smirk. “Demanding, really.”

Her lips quirk upwards. “You have grown rather bossy.”

“Sobossy!” Abbie agrees.

Hallie outright laughs. I shake my head, but I can’t hide my own amusement. It quickly dies, though, when I pin Hallie with a stern look. “You have never been, nor will you ever be, a burden to me.” I raise a brow. “Got it?”

She nods sheepishly. “Got it.”

“Good. Now that that’s settled,” I say, gently nudging her out of the way so I can take over pushing her cart, “let’s finish this list and get out of here.”

Hallie purses her lips, but she doesn’t object. Instead, she moves to my daughter’s side, helping her check the items off. I can’t help but notice that Hallie’s pile of items is lacking, so I end up adding a few things to my pile that I know she likes.

And for a minute, I let myself think about how this scene looks from the outside. A family doing their weekly shopping. My hands tighten on the cart handle. It’s a damn good scene.

Too bad it’s not real.

After a while, Hallie falls back to my side. “Did something happen between you and Ethan? You seemed a little…irritated back there.”

I sigh. “It’s nothing. He brought up Luke, and I’m just…sick of all my conversations with people revolving around my brother.”And I hate the fact that he liked you back in high school. “I’ve always been compared to him, but working in his shadow has somehow made it worse.”

“And you want to shine on your own,” she says.

“I don’t need toshine.” I shake my head. “I’m not looking for glory or anything. It’d be nice to be seen as me first, instead of Luke’s brother first. That’s all.”

“Are you gonna say yes?” she asks. “To Ethan’s offer?”

“You think I should?”

Hallie shrugs. “You kind of lit up when he mentioned search and rescue. And…I don’t know, you’ve never seemed that enthusiastic about being a firefighter.” She glances at me, a blush rising in her cheeks. “But what do I know? I’ve been gone a long time.”

“And you still know me better than anyone else.” She blushes harder. Even after all this time, that pink colour remains my favourite. “I’m not sure. Leaving the department…”

Hallie sets her hand on top of mine. “It’s hard when you’re a legacy,” she says. “But you owe it to yourself to consider all theopportunities you’re given, not just the ones you think Luke or your dad want you to take.”

How do you admit that maybe you made a mistake? That the path you’re on isn’t the one you want to be walking? I don’t necessarily regret following in my dad’s and brother’s footsteps, but if I were given the choice to do it all over again, I’m not sure that I would.

“I’ll think about it,” I finally say.

She smiles. “Whatever you end up deciding, I support. Not that you need my approval or?—”

“Hallie.” She looks up at me expectantly. “Thank you. I might notneedit, but your opinion matters to me.”

We turn out of the aisle, and Abbie starts leading us toward the cash. Hallie’s phone pings, and she digs it out of her purse. I watch the expression on her face as she reads the screen. It’s a mixture of excitement and nerves.