Linc nodded slowly, imagining the scene. Amelia and Kirsten in that nearly vacant, dirty apartment, cooking in a skillet. Maybe laughing together. Maybe it wasn’t all as bad as he’d thought. It couldn’t have been, or Amelia would have been more eager to leave that life.
He lowered his voice. “Tell me what else was good.”
Amelia’s hands drifted from her hair to her lap. “She liked driving with the windows down. I mean, the AC didn’t work a lot, so she had to, but she’d turn up the radio, make me sing with her.”
A smile tugged at Linc’s mouth. “Sounds fun.”
“And she said we’d get a dog one day, maybe when I was in high school.” Amelia’s smile faded, her eyes glossed over. “I guess that’s not happening now.”
Ouch. He hadn’t meant for this conversation to take a sad turn. But maybe it was long overdue.
“That’s why you wanted the phone, wasn’t it?” Linc dipped his head toward her. “You miss her. Wanted to be ready to talk again, if you got the chance.”
She sniffed, avoiding his gaze. Shrugged one shoulder.
“Youcantalk to her again, you know. As soon as we know where she is.” He frowned. “No one here is trying to keep you away from her. We just need to keep you safe, and teenagers can’t live alone.”
“I know.” Amelia’s voice cracked. “It was…hard…to think of good things just now.”
“I’m sure that’s normal to get choked up over it.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I meant hard because there weren’t a lot of things to pick from. We did some goofy stuff, but that’s because she never felt like a mom. Felt more like a babysitter, or an older friend.” She snorted. “Clearly she’s selfish.”
They sat in silence a moment. What did he say? This moment felt…important. But he couldn’t rail on Kirsten to their kid, even if she did deserve it.
He drew a breath. “Sometimes parents make bad decisions that affect their kids. Some are just bigger than others, have bigger consequences.”
She nodded. “Like this.”
“Yeah, like this.” Linc winced. “And I’m sure I’ll make mistakes too. Parents aren’t perfect—and I’ve only been one for about a month.”
Amelia side-eyed him, pursed her lips. “You’re not doing horrible.”
A compliment? This night kept getting more and more unreal.
“Even if you did ground me.”
Thereit was. He grunted. “For stealing? Right, how off balance that was of me.”
“I really am sorry about that.” She pulled at a thread in her pants. “I just knew you wouldn’t let me have a phone.”
Linc shrugged. “To be fair, you also never asked.”
She quirked a brow, interest lighting her face. “So can I have a phone?”
“Of course not.”
She huffed, but a smile slipped through.
He grinned. “Nice try, though.”
Overhead, the shower shut off.
“Guess I better go to bed.” Amelia stood from the chair, fiddling with her hair again as she headed across the room.
“Okay.” He wanted to tell her how glad he was she came downstairs, how glad he was that she wasthere. But it felt like too much, too soon, and he didn’t want to scare her off. It’d been a good conversation—he’d leave it at that. He leaned back against the couch, readjusting his legs on the ottoman. “Good night.”
“Good night.” Amelia half turned, her eyes darting to meet his before flicking away. She paused. “Dad.”
