Page 7 of A Season of Second Chances
"Alana, your daddy know where you are?"
"He's in his office," Alana says, already reaching for the syrup. "He said I could eat breakfast and then we're going to build a snowman."
Carol gives me a knowing look before heading back to the kitchen, and I find myself reaching for a pancake, adding it to the plate that mysteriously appeared in front of me.
"Do you have kids?" Alana asks, drowning her pancakes in syrup.
"No, I don't."
"Do you have a husband?"
"Nope, no husband either."
She considers this while taking a bite that's far too big for her small mouth. "My daddy doesn't have a wife. My mom left when I was a baby. I don't really remember her."
The casual way she says it breaks my heart a little. "I'm sorry, sweetie."
She shrugs, swinging her legs under the table. "It's okay. Daddy says some people aren't meant to be parents, and that's not my fault. He says he loves me enough for two people anyway."
God, this kid is going to make me cry, and it's not even eight in the morning yet.
"Your daddy sounds pretty smart."
"He is! He knows everything. Well, almost everything. He doesn't know how to braid hair very good. Fiona has to do it, but sometimes I want my hair braided when she's not around." She touches one of her pigtails self-consciously. "Do you know how to braid hair?"
"I do, actually."
"Will you teach my daddy?"
Before I can answer, a familiar voice comes from behind me. "Alana Rose, are you bothering the guests?"
I turn to find Winter standing there, looking far too good for this early in the morning in jeans and a flannel shirt that makes his eyes look impossibly dark. There's a dusting of snow on his shoulders, like he's just come in from outside. So maybe he hadn't been in his office like he was supposed to be.
"I'm not bothering her, Daddy. We're having pancakes together. Right, Joy?"
Winter's eyes meet mine, and I see the flash of surprise. "Joy, I'm sorry. If she's interrupting…"
"She's not," I say quickly, and I mean it. "She asked very politely if I wanted to share pancakes with her."
"And she said yes!" Alana adds a huge smile on her face. "And she knows how to braid hair, Daddy. Maybe she can teach you."
A flush creeps up Winter's neck, and it's possibly the most endearing thing I've seen. "Maybe we shouldn't ask Joy to do that, sweetheart."
"Why not? You said you wanted to learn."
"How about I grab a chair and join you two instead?" he suggests, already pulling one over from a nearby table.
"Yes!" Alana bounces in her seat. "Then you can have pancakes too!"
As Winter settles into the chair next to me, close enough that I can smell his cologne again, I realize my laptop is still sitting on the table, closed and forgotten. The Harrington pitch seems not as important right now.
"I didn't expect to see you down here so early," Winter says, his voice low enough that only I can hear it beneath Alana's chatter about the snowman they're going to build.
"Couldn't sleep. And the wi-fi in my room is terrible."
"It's not much better down here," he admits. "Small town infrastructure. We're working on upgrading it, but..." He trails off with a shrug.
"It's fine," I say, and I'm surprised to find that I mean it. For the first time in months, maybe years, the constant pressure to be connected, to be working, to be proving myself isn't nearly as important as it should be. Since I don't have good service, I'm going to use it as an excuse to not be as responsible as I normally am.
