I hurry inside, but he stays on the porch and shakes out the umbrella. “You’re welcome. Just trying to be a gentleman.”
I snort. “I wish all men were like that. My ex would’ve stayed on the front porch and laughed while I got wet.”
Caleb walks inside and shuts the door. “What a dirtbag.”
“Exactly.”
“I already got out a pan and the two pots you requested in your earlier text.” He nods toward the kitchen. “Come on. I’ll show you to the kitchen.” When I turn to get a good look at his living room, I freeze. There are boxes everywhere, the new couch still has the plastic covering on it, and there isn’t a Christmas tree.
“Oh, Caleb, this is awful.”
He comes up beside me and runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. “I know. It’s been hard to find motivation.” He takes my bag of food, and I follow him into the kitchen.
“The boxes will get emptied in time, but you have to get a Christmas tree.”
“Yes,” Alyssa squeals, appearing around the corner. “A Christmas tree!”
Caleb places his hands on the counter and sighs again. “Uh-oh, I’m in trouble now. Two against one.”
I shrug and smile. “I had mine up the second week of November. If I had my way, it’d be Christmas all year long at my house.”
He throws his hands up in the air, trying his best not to smile. “Fine. Alyssa and I will get a tree tomorrow. How does that sound?” he asks her.
Alyssa bounces up and down on her feet. “Yay. Can Bree help decorate with us?”
Caleb turns to me and lifts his brows. “Well, I don’t know. Bree might be busy tomorrow.”
Alyssa clasps her hands together, pursing her lips in a pouty way. “Please, Bree. Daddy doesn’t know how to decorate.”
“Hey,” Caleb calls out. “That’s not nice.”
Bree and I both giggle. “I tell you what,” I say, bending down to tap her on the nose, “I’ll come over right after I’m done with Santa. Maybe when we’re halfway done with the tree, we can bake some cookies?”
Her eyes widen. “Chocolate chip?”
“Whatever you want, pretty girl.”
She dances around and runs back down the hallway. Caleb chuckles and shakes his head. “You’re spoiling her, Bree. First, extra candy canes and now a Christmas tree and cookies?”
I shrug. “She deserves it.”
“That she does,” he agrees. “She’s been through a lot.”
He slides the pan I need over to me, and I put the chicken in it. “Hopefully, I’m not putting you out. I have an artificial tree you can use if you don’t have the time to find one.” I turn the oven on and slide the pan of chicken inside.
Caleb shakes his head. “It’s okay. I want to find a tree with Alyssa.”
“Good. We’ll have fun decorating it. I’ll bring over some of my ornaments. I have a ton of them.” I might have a habit of buying new ornaments every year. Every time I see one I like, I buy it. My poor tree can’t hold them all; that’s why I bought an extra one a couple of weeks ago, only I haven’t put it up yet.
Caleb moves out of the way to run water into one of the pots for the pasta. “Thanks, Bree. This means a lot.”
“Happy to help.”
“Daddy, do you and Bree want to play tea party with me?” Alyssa calls out, her voice echoing down the hallway.
Caleb looks at me and smiles. “What do you say?”
“Sounds like fun. Let me get the macaroni and cheese started, and I’ll be free.”
After I finish getting everything started for dinner, I join Caleb in Alyssa’s bedroom for tea. We all three sit at her tiny table with pretend plastic food on our plates. Watching Caleb play along with Alyssa makes my heart melt. It makes me wish I had my own family.
The timer on the oven buzzes about thirty minutes later, and I leave them to finish up dinner. I pull the BBQ chicken out of the oven and add plenty of extra cheese to the macaroni. All that’s left are the fresh green beans my grandmother canned last year. Once those are heated up, dinner is made.
“Dinner’s ready,” I shout.
Caleb already had three plates pulled out of the cabinet, so I scoop out a small portion of food onto Alyssa’s plate, making sure to give her extra mac and cheese.
I set her plate on the kitchen table, and she rushes over to it. “Yummy. I love cheesy macaroni.”
Caleb joins me and takes in a deep breath. “Everything smells fantastic.”
I hand him a plate. “Dig in.”
He shakes his head. “You go first.” Pursing my lips, I stare him down, but he backs away and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m not getting my food until you get yours. We can stand here all night.”
I have no doubt he’d do that too. “Fine. I’ll get mine.” I fill up my plate and take a seat at their small, round kitchen table while he sits to my right. Alyssa digs into her food and eats all the mac and cheese first. She even eats all of her green beans, which shocks Caleb.
“Wow. That’s a first. She usually doesn’t eat green beans.”
Alyssa shrugs. “They taste good.”
“That’s because my grandmother canned them,” I confess. “She was the best cook in my family.”
Alyssa looks up at me. “She needs to make more.”
I’d give anything for her to be able to make more. “I wish she could, pretty girl, but she passed away last year. I have her recipe, though, so I might have to give it a try.”
Her little smile turns sad. “Is she in heaven with my momma?”
“I’m sure she is.”
We finish dinner, and Caleb takes her empty plate. “Why don’t you go get ready for a bath while Bree and I clean the kitchen.”
“Okay.” She slides out of her chair and starts down the hall, but then stops. “Can I have a treat when I get done?”
Caleb chuckles. “Sure, why not. I think there’s still a couple of chocolate truffles Nana brought over the other day.” She races off down the hall and squeals. “Do you need me to wash your hair?” My heart skips a beat hearing him say that. He’s such a good dad.
Alyssa yells back. “No. I’m a big girl now. I can do it.”
Caleb shakes his head and laughs. “Yep. She’s eight going on thirty.”
We gather all the dishes and set them in the sink. I fill my side with soapy water and start washing them. Caleb takes them from me and rinses them off before placing them on the drying towel.
Caleb looks over at me, his brown eyes boring into mine. “Thanks for cooking dinner tonight. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this happy having someone else around, someone I can talk to.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I enjoy hanging out with you and Alyssa. She’s such a sweet girl.” I elbow him in the side. “You’re not so bad either.”
We finish the dishes just about the time Alyssa comes running into the kitchen with her hair wrapped partially in a towel and dressed in her pink pajamas. I grab my car keys off the counter and kneel to her level. “I had fun tonight, Alyssa.”
“Are you leaving?”