“Hey, Rivers. How’s it going? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?”
“So good. Gran made the best pumpkin pie. I wanted it for breakfast, but she wouldn’t let me.’
“Well, it’s not really a breakfast food, is it?”
“It should be, the morning after Thanksgiving.”
Unable to argue with that, I release her and move closer to the island where Kodie and Kathleen are watching us with soft smiles on their lips.
“Good morning, Casey,” Kathleen says, her eyes twinkling. “I’m sorry to rush off, but I’ve got something that needs my attention now that you’re up.”
“Is everything okay, Mom?” Kodie asks, a frown tugging at his brows.
“Of course. If you need anything, I’ll be right out there.” She thumbs over her shoulder as she backs away. “Everything you need for breakfast is in the fridge. The coffee is ready.”
Before Kodie can get another word in, she’s gone.
“What the?—”
“She’s giving us space,” I say, hyper-aware that Sutton is watching closely.
“Right. Okay. So…who wants breakfast?”
“Can I have pumpkin pie?”
We both look at Sutton before glancing at each other.
“Screw it, pumpkin pie for breakfast,” Kodie announces.
“With ice cream?” Sutton adds, pushing her luck.
“Yeah, why not.”
The smile on Kodie’s face as he turns around is something I’ll never forget.
“So, what did you two do last night? Watch a movie?” Sutton asks, pulling us from our thoughts.
“Um…yeah. We watched a movie and played some games,” Kodie responds as he slides three pieces of pie onto plates.
“Without me,” Sutton whines.
“We’ll have a movie night another day,” I promise, but the second the words are out of my mouth, I panic. What if Kodie doesn’t want me here hanging out with them as if we’re a fam?—
“And a games night?” Sutton asks with hope in her eyes.
“Yeah, Peanut,” Kodie agrees. “We can do both. We’ll look at my game schedule and see when wecan fit it in.”
I look between father and daughter with my heart in my throat and tears burning the backs of my eyes.
They’re the perfect little team, and the fact that they’re willing to let me join them blows my mind.
“Are you okay?” Kodie whispers as he places my breakfast in front of me.
“Yeah,” I agree, blinking back tears.
He studies me, not believing a word of it. Reaching for his hand, I give it a squeeze, trying to silently let him know how much being here right now means to me.
With a smile and a nod as if he understands, he turns back for his and Sutton’s plates.
