Page 73 of Chasing Shelter

“Can we teach Ellie blueberry chocolate chip pancakes next?”

My gut twisted. Keely was getting just as attached as I was. “Sure, we can.”

“Maybe we can make them into unicorns.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you might be overestimating my pancake-art abilities.”

Keely beamed at me through the rearview mirror. “You can doanything, Daddy.”

God, that confidence slayed me. Suddenly, I heard Ellie’s voice in my head again.“You’re a good dad.”

I cleared my throat, trying to brush off the emotion. “Just remember you said that when the unicorn looks more like a sad horse.”

Keely giggled. “At least it’ll still taste good.”

I pulled into a spot at the end of a makeshift row next to a bunch of my family’s vehicles: Fallon’s hatchback that had seen better days. Kye’s black truck with its shadow detailing in art that looked like the patterns he inked on people’s skin. Anson’s equally dark truck with far more dust and dirt on it. Linc’s Range Rover. Shep’s truck with theColson Constructionemblem on the side. And an SUV I’d memorized the sight of by now.

I looked for hints of it all over town. Just like I looked for flashes of the girl with hair that sparkled like a rainbow in the sunlight. My fingers tightened around the wheel.

Everything in me battled, knowing that Ellie was inside. But anticipation won out. Because I was like an addict hunting for his next fix, knowing it was just around the corner.

I switched off the engine, and Keely was already unfastening her booster seat. “Do you think I can go riding after dinner?”

I laughed as I got out of the SUV and moved around to help her down. “You went this morning.”

Keely beamed up at me. “Two’s better than one.”

She jumped, and I caught her easily and set her down. “Let’s see how long dinner lasts.”

“Daaaaad, it’s always forever.”

She wasn’t wrong there. Colson family dinners always started early because they went long. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was everything I’d never had as a kid and everything I wanted to give to Keely. I might have failed to give her a two-parent home, but at least she had this.

As if she wanted to remind me of that, Keely took off running for the porch steps of the home I’d lived in from twelve until I leftfor college. It looked like something out of one of those feel-good movies: a white farmhouse with a wraparound porch, complete with rockers and porch swings. I knew it was worn from years of use, but Nora and Lolli never let so much as a chip show through on the paint or anything else.

Keely hauled open the front door just as I reached the top step. The moment she did, voices and laughter spilled out. Keely didn’t wait to be invited in because she knew she always belonged here. And that was a gift, too.

The moment she stepped inside, she yelled, “Bestie!” and charged for Ellie.

I stood frozen, watching it play out. My daughter flew at Ellie, pigtails streaming behind her. Ellie grinned widely, her pale green eyes lighting at the sight of my daughter, her dog dancing at her feet. She’d changed from what she’d worn earlier, and it was so much worse—maybe even more torturous than that damn pegacorn T-shirt with no pants.

She wore a pleated plaid skirt in burnt oranges and browns that hit her at mid-thigh, paired with tights with artful little tears that revealed tan skin. I wanted to slip my hand up that skirt and tear the stockings right off. But I’d want her to keep the heeled boots on. They weren’t exactly cowboy boots, but they were close, and with the white turtleneck sweater revealing a sliver of taut skin at her navel, it was like she’d blended New York and Sparrow Falls into something uniquely her.

Someone knocked into me from the side, offering a beer. “You’re drooling.”

I glared at Kye, taking the bottle and returning my gaze to my girls just as Ellie caught Keely. She spun her around, and Keely giggled as Gremlin barked.

My girls.

It was dangerous to even think the words, but I couldn’t stop myself. Because it felt…right.

“Looks like those two have bonded,” Kye murmured, amusement in his tone.

“Don’t start,” I growled.

His lips twitched beneath his dark stubble, and the action made the tattoos on his neck flutter. “What did I say?”

“You know exactly what.”

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