The way she saysDadhits me right in the groin. A very unexpected erection begins, only worsening when she sticks her tongue out at me. “C’mon Trin, we gotta go.”
Quickly, I offer a wave before I turn from her, wondering what the hell is happening and how I am going to prevent it in the future.
Natalie
“What areyou going to do with these cupcakes?” I question Mia as we close up for the day. I have about an hour before I have to pick Trin up from school and I was thinking about getting her something special for making it through picture day. However, if I don’t have to rush, that would be amazing.
“Gonna take ‘em down to the police station and firehouse. Let them enjoy.”
“And maybe see the Chief of Police?” I raise my eyebrow, a saucy grin spreading across my face.
“Maybe. Do you want to take the ones to Bradford? So you can see the LT?”
“Already saw him today.” I brush my fingernails against my shoulder.
“Aren’t you special?”
“Totes am. You care if I take one for Trinity? It was her picture day.”
“No, give my girl this one.” Mia grabs one out of the case and pipes a flower onto it.
“Oh, she’ll appreciate that.”
Mia gives me a look. “Be sure and let her know I did that flower just for her.”
“I will. As much as Cam and I try to make up for the fact her mom left, I know she appreciates when others do things especially for her.”
“It’s a damn shame.” Mia grimaces. “She’s such a sweet little girl. Full of energy, life and love. For someone to not want it…” She trails off, shaking her head.
“True, but I would rather her mom not be here than for her to be here and not want to be. Trinity deserves to be loved and I do my best to make sure she hears me tell her that every day.”
“You’re a good mom to her,” Mia whispers.
“I’m not her mother.”
“Yes, you are,” she argues. “In every way that matters, you’re her mother. When she gets older, she’s going to see that.”
I don’t want to think about it too much. It’s a lot of pressure to put on not only her, but myself. Our relationship is easy and I’d prefer to keep it that way. Brushing Mia off, I put the cupcake in a box and blow her a kiss. “See you tomorrow.”
“See ya, Nat.”
* * *
Trinity runstoward my car when she sees me at pick up. The teacher supervising reaches out a hand to stop her, then verifies I have her name hanging in my car. When I get to the designated spot, the teacher lets her go and Trinity barrels over.
I roll down the window. “Hey, your hair is still holding up well.”
It’s only lost a little bit of the volume I put in it this morning.
“Yeah.” She nods, a grin covering her face. “A boy even told me I was pretty today,” she confides.
“Did he? How excited are you?”
“Pretty excited.” She cuts her eyes over to me. “He’s one of the most popular boys in the school. He’s a little older than me.”
“Are we talkin’ like a year?”
“Two. He’s a grade ahead of me, but he got held back a year.”