Page 18 of Gabriel & Skye

I’m happy I have something lined up for Monday with Skye, even if she is only here for a short time. It might just leave me some time up my sleeve to figure something out more permanent.

The next day, Trin and I head to the bake sale. I have a ton of merch in the car that Georgia wanted for the stall. My sister, Celeste, Trudy, Mom and Aunt Patti were cooking up a storm last night for the stall. I think Hartley may have also gotten roped in somewhere down the line. The women in this family are bossy.

“Are we going to see the puppies today?” Trin asks me when we’re halfway there.

I smile. “Not today, baby.”

“When?”

I glance at her delicate frame in the rearview mirror where she’s strapped into her car seat. “Soon.”

“When soon, Daddy?”

I know she’s going to win out on me any day now. It’s all she’s been talking about for weeks.

“We’ll see. We have to find one first.”

“Emma has Gizmo. He’s a really cute puppy.”

“I know, darling. Maybe we will look in the shelter. There might be a puppy that doesn’t have a home that needs one.”

She beams up at me.

“How does that sound, princess?”

“Good, Daddy.”

Oh, she wins my heart every time she calls me that.

She’s such a sweet soul.

“Are you going to help walk the new puppy every day, help me feed it and teach them new things?”

I glance in the rearview mirror to see her nodding enthusiastically.

“I will, I promise.”

“Good, then it’s settled.”

“Is Uncle Gray-Gray at the bake sale?” she asks, moving onto something else already.

I don’t know why he’s her favorite uncle, but it’s always been that way.

“I’m not sure, princess. But Uncle Brooklyn and Blake will be there.”

Blake is Brooklyn’s ten-year-old daughter. He split with his wife Eden a few years ago, but they still remain good friends after the most amicable split in history.

“Yay!” She claps her hands together.

She’s taken to dressing herself and finding her own outfits lately. And today, sure enough, she’s gone for her pink sparkly tutu again over her leggings and a t-shirt.

I still do her hair — and I have to say I’ve gotten better at it over the years with some practice — and maybe a little help from my sister. It’s all been a learning curve ever since I became a single dad.

I’ve had to figure every little detail out myself. And I can’t say it’s been easy, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. We have formed a bond that can never be broken.

“You can show Blake your new Bunnykins.” She loves dragging around her giant bunny rabbit she’s named Bunnykins. I got it for her last birthday.

“I think Blake will like Bunnykins!” She giggles.

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