Page 87 of From Nowhere

“I bet Ozzy is envious,” Amos says.

“Why is that?” Maren asks.

“Before our daughter died, Ozzy got his pilot’s license.”

Maren eyes me when I hand her a mug of coffee. “Really?”

I shrug. “It’s nice to be able to fly the planes I work on.”

She blows at the steam. “You’re full of surprises.”

“Am I?” I sip my coffee.

“Sounds like a dangerous job,” Tia says.

Maren faces the dining room table again. “It’s a necessary job.”

“Are you married?” Tia takes a bite of her toast.

“I’m not.”

“Kids?” Tia won’t quit.

“Nope.”

“Well, if you ever want a family, I imagine you’ll have to find a new job,” Tia says.

“Why is that?” Maren pushes back before I can jump in and save her. I don’t think Maren Bernabe needs anyone to save her.

“When you have children, you must put their well-being first.”

“By quitting my job?”

Tia frowns. “By not taking unnecessary risks.”

Maren hums. “That’s an interesting take on parenting. Well, I’d better get downstairs and braid Lola’s hair. It was nice chatting with you.” She heads to the stairs, and I follow her.

“I’m sorry about that,” I murmur.

“Don’t apologize. She lost her daughter.” Several steps from the bottom of the stairs, Maren turns. “I’m not a parent, but I can imagine that losing a child would change you forever. And not for the better.”

I let that sink in for a few seconds. If I lost Lola, like I almost did, I’d probably be a sad, grumpy, unbearable bastard.

“Here’s my brush.” Lola skips toward the stairs.

“Thanks.” Maren takes the brush and sits on the sofa, setting her coffee mug on the end table. “What kind of braid do you want? Just the sides? Pigtails? Twist? French? Infinity?”

Lola’s eyes pop out of her head as she sits on the floor between Maren’s spread knees. “I don’t know.” She giggles.

“I’ll do a French braid. It’s quick and easy.”

I stand with one arm over my chest and the other holding my coffee at my lips. It’s early in this relationship, too early to think about a future with Maren, but it’s hard not to when she does things like this.

When she rescues a kitten for my daughter.

When she stands up to Tia.

When she—everything.

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