Page 123 of Chasing Shelter

I wasn’t sure. But something about Trace encouraged me to follow my instincts. To show up exactly how I was. And somehow, that was just what we both needed.

Music blared—one of the kids’ versions of a current pop hit. Trace scowled as he pulled back from me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is this worse than my playlist?”

“Definitely.”

We watched as the school paraded by, kids dancing to the music as they went. Keely waved like mad when she passed, beaming with pride as she flipped one of her pigtails. Nora took a million photos, and I probably took the second most.

When the parade was finished, the kids had to wind their way through the endless sea of students to find their parents. I could see Keely’s unicorn horn bobbing along with frog hair, Eiffel Tower, and Pippi, making their way toward us in the distance. As they did, I felt Trace stiffen.

It wasn’t an abrupt movement that made me think danger was near; it was a slow hardening of muscle beneath my hand. I looked up and followed his gaze as Leah approached. “Hey, Le,” he greeted.

She nodded, her gaze tracking between us. “Hi. Nice to see you again, Ellie.”

There was a pained forcefulness in her words, and I hated it. For her, for me, for Trace. My hand slid out from under his shirt as I smiled at Leah. “It’s good to see you, too. Don’t the kids look amazing?”

“They do,” she agreed and then glanced at Trace. “Did Fallon help you with Keely’s hair? It looks great.”

“No, Ellie did it,” Trace said, keeping his tone light. “She’s got a thing for unicorns just like Keels.”

The words seemed to hit Leah like a blow, and I felt like the world’s biggest jerk. But to her credit, she turned to me, smile still on her face even though it wavered, and said, “You did an amazing job.”

“I really like hair stuff,” I explained lamely.

“Keely does, too,” Leah said quietly.

Shit, shit, shit.I wanted to fix the awkwardness. I didn’t want Leah to feel like she was on the outside looking in. Especially not with her own daughter.

I slid my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it. “Here. Give me your number and I’ll shoot you my favorite website for hair stuff. They have some really good tutorials on there, too. You and Keely could have a ton of fun with it.”

Leah looked from my phone to my face, blinking a few times before accepting the device. “Thanks. That would be, uh, great.” She tapped her number into my contacts and handed it back.

“Anytime,” I said, my smile coming a little more authentically.

“Mom!” Keely yelled, racing over to her. “Did you see my unicorn hair?”

Leah let a soft laugh free. “I did. You look so incredible.”

“Ellie did it! She even made me sparkle,” Keely went on.

“I see that. Did you thank her for helping you steal the wacky hair show?”

Keely did a twirl and then ran to me, giving me a huge hug. “Thank you, Ellie!”

“I need to head back to work, baby,” Leah said. “Can I get one more hug?”

Keely easily went to her mom, squeezing her hard and leaving some glitter on Leah’s business-casual attire. But Leah didn’t seem to mind. She kissed the top of Keely’s head and then let her go. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Keely called, but she was already running back to Trace and me. “All my friends loved my hair. Benny said I look like a real live unicorn.”

Mr. Frog Hair appeared then, blinking up at me. “Maybe next year you can do mine. I bet you can do something epic with frogs.”

I chuckled. “I think you’re looking pretty great right now.”

He shrugged. “My frogs are starting to fall.” One plopped onto the ground as if to punctuate his point.

“My main man,” Linc greeted, holding out his fist for a bump.

Benny’s gaze turned suspicious, but he tapped his knuckles to my brother’s. “Are you looking out for my girlfriend?”

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