The Following Morning
“Miss Jane, ride in the back with me!” Adeline holds the back door to my car open.
She’s earlier than she’s ever been for getting ready for school.
“She can ride in the back when you get picked up,” I say. “She needs to be in the front with me today.”
“Okay, fine…”
Autumn adjusts the collar of her shirt, hiding the mark I left on her hours ago, then slides into the seat beside me.
I cover her hand on the gear shift as we pull away, and for a moment, everything settles.
Her presence. Adeline’s quiet hum in the back seat. The slow rhythm of a normal morning.
This could be my life.
And hell—I could get used to it.
“Are you still my nanny, Miss Jane?” Adeline asks from the back. “Or just Dad’s girlfriend this time?”
Jesus, Adeline…
I shoot her a pointed look through the rearview mirror. She shoots one right back at me.
“I’m just here,” Autumn says, glancing back at her. “We don’t have to put titles on anything.”
“But you’re not leaving me again?”
“No, Adele,” she says. “I’m not.”
“Good. Can you find the time to talk to my dad about us going to the mall? Or just—out someplace on weekends from time to time?”
She asks her that as if I’m not sitting right fucking here.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Autumn holds back a laugh as Adeline pulls out her violin.
For whatever reason, I don’t have to force her to practice anymore. She does it on her own and often—like now—she just plays until we get to wherever we’re going.
The morning light slants through the windshield, golden and quiet. Adeline’s music swells through the car, mingling with the faint scent of Autumn’s perfume—something soft and heady that still clings to my skin from hours ago.
“About that,” Autumn says over notes ofSymphony No. 7. “Will leaving be different now, or is that still impossible?”
“I’ll always have someone following or protecting you,” I say.
“But we can go places?”
I nod, feeling a weight off my chest.
When we pull into the school’s entryway, Adeline snaps her violin back into her case and gives me a kiss on the cheek. Then she gives Autumn one.
“See you later.” She beams before rushing away.
“What made you change your mind about letting her stay in Seattle?” Autumn asks.
“You.”
“What?” She looks at me. “How so?”
