Page 29 of The Lilac River

"Who?" I glanced sideways, dodging a group of kids darting into a minivan.

"Miss. Gray! My new teacher! She was waiting with us in the line!" Bertie huffed out an exasperated breath. "I can't believe you missed her. She's so pretty, Daddy. She wore the cutest pink blouse and even her lipstick matched."

Smirking, I turned onto the main road. "You like her, then?"

"I love her. She's so nice and cool and pretty!"

I listened to her chatter about her new teacher, a warm feeling creeping through me. Bertie loved hard and fast, at full speed and every day she reminded me I wasn't completely screwing up this whole single dad thing. I wanted her to stay fearless, to love wildly, to be exactly who she was.

"You think maybe this Miss. Gray might get you to concentrate a little more in class?" I teased.

She slapped my arm with a little growl. "She's good, Daddy, but she's notthatgood."

I laughed loud enough to scare the birds off the fence posts.

And then, of course, she had to ruin it.

"Did you make the cupcakes for tomorrow?"

My stomach dropped.

"Not yet," I admitted, clearing my throat. "We need to hit the grocery store first and?—"

She flopped back in her seat, crossing her arms dramatically. "You don't even know what goes into cupcakes, do you?"

The betrayal in her voice killed me.

Pulling over onto the gravel shoulder, I grabbed my phone from the console.

"What are you doing?" she asked, twisting around like something out ofThe Exorcist.

"I'm Googling recipes. Then we're going to the store. AndthenI'm going to make you the best damn cupcakes Silver Peaks Elementary has ever seen."

She gave me a skeptical stare. "Oh dear. We aresodoomed."

"Ta-da!" I stepped back from the kitchen counter and waved my hands grandly.

Thirty cupcakes sat there, half with chocolate sprinkles, half with rainbow. They weren’t Pinterest-worthy, but they were homemade. And I’d taste-tested one. It didn’t kill me. That counted as a win.

"I saved one for you to try," I told Bertie, nudging a sprinkle-covered one toward her.

She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously. "You didn’t go buy them while I was out with Uncle Gunner, did you?"

"Bertie," I said, hand over my heart. "As if I would do such a thing."

"You would if you could."

She wasn't wrong.

"Just eat the cupcake."

She sniffed it like a little bloodhound, then, finally, took a bite. Two, actually and then it was gone.

"They'll do," she said loftily, before holding her arms out for me to lift her down from the counter.

I picked her up, savoring the weight of her against me, the way her arms wrapped tight around my neck and her legs dangled against my sides. She wasn’t a baby anymore, but for now, she still needed me. I breathed her in, holding onto that moment like a lifeline.

"I love you, Bertie," I whispered against her messy hair.

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