“You’re a good mom, Mags.Don’t let anyone get in your head about that.”He cleared his throat.“You hear me?”
“Yeah…” She heard him but she didn’t believe him.Winding up, alone, in a hospital in a developing country had given her a sobering week to consider the choices she’d made in her life.The fact that she’d left Cody for work as often as she had weighed heavily on her heart and mind.She’d never doubted the importance of her work, but that didn’t stop her from regretting the time it had cost her with her little boy.“You don’t need to worry about me.I promise.”
“Never going to happen.You’re my twin sister.”He sighed.“If you want, Danny and I can come up to the school and run interference for you.”
“That won’t be necessary.I’m not going to bother you or Danny over something so trivial.”This was one of those times when having that twin telepathy wasn’t a good thing.No matter what she said, her brother could sense what she was feeling.She was nervous about today—nervous about having another not-so-pleasant run-in with one or more ofthe room moms that helped out at Cody’s campus.If Mike hadn’t been at the house when she’d come home crying, he’d never have known about her encounter.But he had been, and, clearly, it’d been enough to bring out her brother’s protective side.“But I do appreciate the offer, Mike.”
“You being bullied isn’t trivial, Mags.I’ve never stood by when you’ve been treated poorly, and I’m not going to start now.If things take a not so pleasant turn, call me, okay?”
No, not okay.“Yeah, yeah.I’ll call in the cavalry.”She forced a laugh and hurried on to say, “I’ll see you tonight.Bye.”She hung up and started the car.Enough of that.Today was going to be a good day.No, a great day.It was Cody’s birthday—that was all that mattered.
“Ma.”Cody was staring out the window.“Do you think I could spend the night with Uncle Mike this weekend?We were going to watch the wholeWalking with Dinosaursseries, but then you came home so we didn’t get to.Plus, I’ve been teaching Danny lots about dinosaurs because he doesn’t know lots about them.That’s sad, right?”
“Mmm-hmm.”She wasn’t going to let his choice of words get to her.He was nine—which meant he had no filter.“I’m sure Danny appreciates your tutelage.”
“My what?”Cody giggled.“Toot?”
“Tutelage.”She laughed, too.What was it about boys and fart jokes?The word, or any version thereof, always made Cody laugh.“Tutelage means instruction.You’re teaching Danny, right?”She smiled at Cody in the rearview mirror.
“Oh.”He nodded.“Yep.I’m trying.But man, he has lots and lots and lots to learn, Ma.I meanlots.”
He sounded so sincere.The way his eyebrows rose and he cocked his head to the side made him look so much like Mike.“Not everyone is a dinosaur expert, Cody.Since Uncle Mike likes him so much, maybe go easy on him.”
“I know, Ma.”He sighed and rolled his eyes.“Uncle Mike loves him and stuff.He did get Uncle Mike to buy milkshakes with our pie—that was awesome.So Danny’s cool—even if he doesn’t know about dinosaurs.And if I get to stay the night with Uncle Mike, I can tutelage him more.Can you ask him?Please.It can be one of my birthday presents.”
“I’ll ask him.”She winked at him in the rearview mirror and was rewarded with one of Cody’s blindingly sweet smiles.That smile eased some of her lingering self-doubt and nerves.She could go into life-and-death situations, instill order in all the chaos without a second’s hesitation, and set up a functioning medical clinic with the most rudimentary equipment.At work, no one questioned her about anything.No one asked her why she’d leave her child to work in potentially dangerous situations or doubted her competence or choices.But that wasn’t always the case in her non-work world.
Still, she couldn’t let her nerves get the best of her.Whether it was judgmental room moms, precocious nine-year-olds or the as yet unknown Ms.Jalen, she would handle it with a smile on her face.It was Cody’s birthday.If he wanted her to be his special guest for the day, then that’s exactly what she’d do.
* * *
Braden Parker stared at his daughter’s mismatched socks and shook his head.How had he just noticed?One knee sock was bright pink with white polka dots and the other was dark blue with yellow stars.Then again, he was running on less than three hours’ sleep, he had one heck of a crick in his neck, and he’d only managed to down one cup of coffee before he and Delilah started their morning routine.So far, that routine meant Delilah picking out and changing herclothes a half dozen times, trying to do her own hair and poking at the breakfast he made.Her breakfast of choice was a banana but she was such a tiny thing, he worried it wasn’t enough.He’d tried French toast, pancakes and eggs but she always reached for her banana.For her birthday, he’d tried banana pancakes and been delighted with the six extra-large bites she’d taken.
“Daddy?”Delilah liked to hold his hand and swing their arms back and forth—like she was doing now as they entered her school.“You gonna see cows today?”She stared up at him with her big blue eyes.
“Yes, ma’am.”He smiled down at her, determined to make her birthday special.“After I do some celebratin’ with you.”
“Cuz it’s my birthday.”Delilah’s smile was so bright and sweet it was impossible for him not to smile back.“I’m the birthday gir-l.”
“Five whole years old.”He wiggled their arms.“Soon, you’ll be driving.”
“Me?”She laughed.“I gotta grow wots.”She held her free hand up over her head and stood on her tiptoes.“Up here.”She jumped, her tangled mess of a ponytail bouncing.“Up this high.Wike this.”
Delilah tried to enunciate all herl’s, but they still came out sounding like w’s—especially when she was excited.It was something he’d read up on and was trying to help her with but, if she kept struggling, might be something he’d have to talk to her teacher about.But no matter what, to him, she was just about the cutest little girl on the planet.
“That’s pretty tall, Delilah.Might take some time.”And he was in no hurry to rush through a single minute with his daughter.He still marveled at how much he loved thistiny wisp of a girl.Not too long ago, he hadn’t known she existed.Now she took up his whole heart—and then some.
“Delilah.”A little girl with curly red ponytails ran up.“Come on, let’s go.”She grabbed Delilah’s hand and tugged his little girl down the hall to their classroom.
It was a relief to see his daughter was making friends.But why wouldn’t Delilah make friends?She had a happy-go-lucky spirit that could charm even the crustiest of individuals.His father was proof of that.That was a relief, too.That his family—his father in particular—had been so eager to welcome his daughter into the family.They’d been surprised when he’d shown up with her at his brother Miles’s wedding but not as surprised as he’d been when Delilah’s mother, Phoebe, had called him to tell him he was a father—and that she had terminal cancer.The six months since that phone call had been a whirlwind.Going to Florida, taking care of Phoebe, handling all the paperwork required to ensure his paternity and legal guardianship of Delilah—made easier by the birth certificate with his name on it—before Phoebe succumbed to cancer, and, finally, bringing his daughter home to Tenacity to start their new life as a family.
If someone had told him he’d be bringing princess and football birthday cupcakes for his daughter’s kindergarten class a year ago, he’d have thought they’d suffered some sort of head injury.But now, here he was, doing exactly that.
All around him, moms and dads were dropping off their kids like it was just another morning.They knew how to do this—how to be a parent.While he had so much to learn.Some days, he felt like he was making progress.Others, he felt like he’d taken three—or more—steps back.Lucky for him, Delilah was loving, kind, smart as a whip and fullof imagination.When he was struggling, she’d give him a hug or a smile and things wouldn’t seem so bleak anymore.
The only time he felt truly helpless was when she was missing her mother.Delilah’s tears tore at his insides in a way he couldn’t reconcile.Her pain gutted him.And knowing there was nothing he could do to ease her pain?It was the closest thing to torture he could imagine.
“Mr.Parker.”Mrs.Peacock greeted him at the door.“Welcome.I hope you had extra coffee this morning because I can tell today is going to be a high energy day.”
