Page 13 of Hello Tease

She laughed again, and I smiled to myself as I turned, deciding to go with my favorite vanilla blend, roasted at a small coffeeshop in Dallas called Barry’s. While the pot gurgled, Emily came running out of the bathroom, breathless with wisps of brown hair askew.

“Did you fall in?” I teased her.

“No!” she said too fast.

I held back a laugh, half eager, half nervous to see what she’d done in there. Then I noticed the square box stuck into her leggings. Oh boy.

Larkin said to her daughter, “What do you tell Officer Madigan for letting you use his bathroom?”

“Nothing,” I answered, leaning back on my counter. “But you can tell Knox anything you want. I’m off duty.”

Larkin’s cheeks tinged with color while Emily said, “Thank you, Knox.”

The coffee pot sputtered like it had brewed all the water, and I turned to find it full. “How do you take your coffee?” I asked her.

“Sweet,” she replied. “I like a little coffee with my sugar and cream, if you know what I mean.”

Chuckling, I said, “Can do.” I got the milk from my fridge and frothed it, then dropped a spoonful of sugar into a travel mug. After adding the coffee, I poured in the milk, making a heart shape. I handed it without the lid to Larkin so she could see.

Her eyes softened with a smile. “I love this.” She showed her daughter. “Look, Emily, a heart.”

Emily smiled. “Can I have one?”

Larkin said, “I’m sorry hon, I don’t think we have time for him to make a whole new drink.”

“I can do it with hot cocoa next time you’re over,” I supplied.

Larkin adjusted her hands so she could have a free one and still keep Jackson upright.

“I can hold him,” I offered.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Of course.” I walked over to them and scooped him up, making an airplane sound. He giggled happily, sounding so much like his mom. It made me like his laugh even more.

“Higher!” Emily told me.

And I lifted Jackson, flying him through the kitchen while Larkin got situated and took the first sip of her drink. I didn’t miss the way her eyelids fluttered closed or how her throat moved with her swallow.

I brought Jackson down to my chest, his bottom resting on my forearm. “You’re going to be a pilot one day, aren’t you, little flier?”

He just blinked his big eyes up at me and made a sweet babbling sound.

“No words yet,” Larkin said sadly. “Emily could already say nine or ten words at this age.”

I looked down at Jackson, seeing more than a cute little baby. I saw someone who’d lost his dad and his voice along the way. My youngest brother had done the same after our mom passed. He was two at the time and stopped talking completely for months. “You’ll figure it out in your own time, won’t you, buddy?”

Larkin took him from my arms, resting him on her hip. “I hope so.”

Then I said, “Will you all wait while I use the bathroom? I want to say goodbye before you leave.”

Emily said, “Do you poop forever like my daddy does?”

Both Larkin and I burst out laughing, and Larkin coughed a little on her drink.

“It will be a quick one,” I said with a chuckle.

Larkin gave me an amused look while Emily bounced up and down. “Can we wait for him, Mom? Please?”

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