Page 12 of Chasing I Do
“Love you too, Mommy.”
Kylie laid back and immediately closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She was so in character, she even let Darcy pull the blankets taut and tuck them snuggly around Kylie’s petite frame.
The stuffed dog cuddled beside her daughter caught Darcy’s eye, and she looked at the smug little face and smiled. Between all of the drama with Gage and the wedding, she’d completely forgotten about Fancy. “Guess who crashed the wedding today?”
The only answer she got was a fake snore.
“Oh my, she’s already asleep,” Darcy said to no one in particular. Kylie cracked a smile, but didn’t open her eyes.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to tell her tomorrow about the dog that visited Belle Mont House.” Darcy stood and clicked off the bedside lamp. Kylie still didn’t move. “It was a miniature white Pomeranian named Fancy.”
“A Pomeranian?” Kylie bolted straight up and clicked back on the light. “Like Sassy?”
“Yup. Fancy had on pink bows and collar. And you know what else?” Darcy leaned down to whisper, “Fancy was a boy.”
Fingers over her mouth, eyes bulging like she’d just learned a national secret, Kylie released a breathy giggle. “But he’s got a girl name.”
“I know. Isn’t that weird?”
Kylie thought about that, then shook her head. “You’re taking me to the daddy daughter picnic and that’s not weird. Unless.” She sucked in a horrified breath. “Are you gonna dress like a boy?”
“Only if I can pretend to be Mr. Sims down at the post office.” Darcy furrowed her brow and formed her lips into a stern look of disapproval, then in a Mr. Sims-esque voice, said, “Little girls who don’t go to sleep don’t get cake.”
“For breakfast?”
Tomorrow was Saturday and every kid needed to have cake for breakfast at least once in their life. For this little girl, it was a weekly occasion, but Kylie always acted as if it were the first time. After her day, Darcy might even be open to a Saturday Cake Buffett. “Sure, why not.”
“Day old cake is better than right out of the oven cake,” Kylie said dreamily, then laid back down.
With one last kiss, because Darcy could never get enough, she turned off the light and watched Kylie close her eyes.
She wondered if there would ever come a time when Kylie would think it was weird that her mom went to everything—including father only events. That she’d one day notice the lack of male presence in her life.
If things had gone differently, her daughter would have had a really great uncle to look up to in Gage. Five great uncles who would pamper and protect her with the fierce Easton love. It made her question her decision to keep them at a distance all these years. Brought back doubts that maybe she wasn’t enough for Kylie.
She could love her with everything she had to give, but in the end, would it be the same as being surrounded by a family full of love?
Then there was Margo Easton, and the reign of terror that woman had brought down on Darcy.
Humiliation rolled in her stomach at the memory of being arrested in her own home. The cold handcuffs, the judgmental neighbors, the place she’d worked so hard to make safe—it was all destroyed in that moment. And brought Darcy back to her childhood—to a time when her home was a revolving door, and visits to the police station weren’t a school sponsored field trip.
Margo knew,knewhow Darcy’s neighbors and friends would react to her being taken away in cuffs. Just like she knew that, although Kyle’s was the only name on the lease, the loft had been her home too. Her safe sanctuary away from the memories.
Margo had stolen that from her.
Even worse, Margo had forced her family—the family Darcy had come to consider her own—to abandon Darcy at her lowest point. Her stomach hollowed out whenever she thought back to those first few months. How she’d cried until she had no tears left to give and how, at night, the terrifying loneliness would creep in and take hold.
Every cruel word spoken and every betrayal against Darcy came rushing back.
Nope, the only question Darcy should be asking herself was why she hadn’t moved further away.
Chapter 4
For a guy who was supposed to be the self-appointed spokesman for the Eastons, keeping an eye on the prize instead of Darcy’s ass would have been a smart move. Instead, he was so busy appreciating the heart-shaped perfection pointed in his direction from behind the rose garden, he nearly made a tactical error.
Darcy wasn’t the goal, securing his family’s happiness was. Something his brain had always known, but his heart had a hard time accepting. Gage wasn’t an expert by any means, but he was pretty sure that spark he’d felt the other day was more than just a lingering attraction. Or nostalgia from a happier time.
Reason enough to forgo hand delivering the new offer, and head straight for the mail slot. The envelope contained personal assurances from Rhett about the venue and caliber of personnel he’d be bringing in.
