Katie had always been important to me, but now, she was the most important person in my life. Everything that affected her, affected me. If she was excited about a costume contest and getting to see her friends dressed up, then so was I.
I might not have planned to become a mother to a five-year-old at twenty-six, but I had. The circumstances sucked and I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy, but they were my circumstances and I had to make the best of them.
For Katherine.
For Katie.
And for my parents.
For today, that meant getting excited about a costume contest. At least we were finally getting excited again, finding joy in the little things. I’d never realized how much all that meant to me until I’d lost it. Now that it was back, I planned on cherishing every moment like it was my last.
Because who knows? It very well could be. I’d learned that lesson in the hardest way possible, and it wasn’t one I would ever forget.
Chapter 2
Jacob
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Nick. You can take that extremely generous offer I gave you by ten this morning, or you can meet us in court.” I held my phone to my ear with my shoulder, freeing up my hand to reply to an email from a junior member of the firm asking me for advice.
“But Jacob—”
God. It’s way too early to deal with Nick. My esteemed colleague hadn’t been given the nickname “Tricky Nicky” for nothing.
“Don’t even try,” I said. “I meant it when I said that offer was extremely generous, and you know it.”
He sighed. “Your client wouldn’t have made the amount you’re asking for in punitive damages in three lifetimes. Let’s settle on enough for one lifetime and call it a day.”
“No can do. Just because he’s the little guy and you’re the giant doesn’t mean you can short-change him. Your client’s product nearly killed the guy, and you knew it could happen.” I checked the time after hitting send on the email. Fuck. When did it get that late? “Look, Nick. I haven’t even left my house yet. I need to wrap this up and get my daughter to school. I’ll be looking for the signed offer on my desk by ten. If it’s not there, I’ll see you in court.”
“Be reasonable, Jacob. We can talk about this.”
“We already have.” A noise in the doorway made me look up. Allie, my seven-going-on-thirty-year-old daughter, stood there with her hand on her hip and her tiny eyebrow raised. “I’ve got to go, Nicky. Remember what I said.”
Without waiting for his reply, I pulled the phone away from my ear, hung up, and lifted my palms at her. “I know. I know. We’re going to be late if we don’t get moving and Halloween is your favorite day of school. You don’t want to miss it.”
I grinned when I looked over her outfit. She was dressed in a black suit, shiny dress shoes, and a tie that was much too big for her.
“You make a very convincing lawyer. Want to just skip the whole schooling thing and come work for me?”
She smoothed out the jacket and shook her head. “I can’t skip school. There’s a costume contest after lunch.”
“That’s not what I meant, but it is a compelling point.” I got up and walked across my home office, ruffling her loose hair as I passed by. “Do you still want me to help you with your hair?”
“Yes, please.” She followed me to my bathroom, held her arms out so I could help her onto the counter, and folded her hands in her lap. She tipped her head back while I got some product on my hands. “Can you slick it back? I want to look like the lawyer in that show you don’t like.”
I rolled my eyes but nodded. Her big brown eyes still melted my heart every time I looked into them. There was no saying no to her, even if I knew exactly which make-believe lawyer she was referring to and I hated the character he played.
“Let’s slick it back then. Just remember. He’s blond, and you’re a brunette, so you won’t look exactly like him anyway. There’s also the small matter of him being an adult male and you being, well, not.” I grabbed the comb and got to work, smelling the fresh scent of citrus when I kissed her forehead once I was done. “There we go. All done.”
“Thank you, Daddy!” She hopped off, hugged my waist, and started walking backward after she released me. “Can we go now?”
“Yep. Just about. We need to pack up your lunch. Then we can head out.”
She groaned. “We should have done that last night.”
“Well, it would go faster if you’d stop complaining and start helping.” I smiled when we walked into the kitchen. “Go grab your backpack. I’ll get your lunch.”
I’d already packed her lunch box earlier, but I added a juice box and some fruit before snapping the lid in place. With Allie pitching in by fetching her backpack and her school supplies, we were ready to go in no time.
Our garage held a new luxury Mercedes parked beside my electric-blue Corvette. I’d always been a bit of a sucker for a nice car, and the Corvette had been one of my first ever purchases once I could afford it. The Mercedes was our family car, but it was still a fucking dream to drive. Its safety ratings had clinched the deal for me.
Who says a Dad-car can’t be an awesome one?
We piled into the Mercedes and, once Allie was buckled in, peeled out of the driveway and headed to school. Glancing at her in the mirror when we were on the road, I smiled again at her outfit. “We’re still going trick or treating tomorrow, right?”
She shrugged a shoulder, her gaze fixed on the landscape rolling by. “I suppose we can.”
“Have you decided you’re too old for trick or treating now?” It’d been a topic of discussion for the last couple of weeks. It broke my heart to think my little girl was growing up so fast that she didn’t even want to go out on Halloween, but I wasn’t giving up yet.
Allie shrugged again and gave her head a small shake. “I’m still not sure. What if I’m the oldest kid out there?”
“You won’t be.” That much, I was sure of. “You only get to be a kid once, honey. Seven is too young to stop trick or treating.”
“Do you really think so?” She cocked her head to the side, shifting in the backseat so she faced me. “I don’t know. None of my friends have said if they’re going.”
I laughed. “If it was socially acceptable and people in this town wouldn’t recognize me, I’d still be doing it. Trust me. Your friends are going. It only really becomes fun after seven.”
“I’ll think about it,” she promised, scrunching up her freckled nose as she lowered her chin to give me a look. “But I’m not saying yes yet.”
“You should go,” I said, “for both our sakes.”
Uncertainty marred her forehead and darkened her eyes, but eventually, she agreed—even if it was begrudgingly. “Fine. I’ll go, but if I’m too old, we’re going home.”
“That’s my girl.” I grinned.
Allie always wanted to be an adult. Convincing her to be a kid for just a little while longer was an ongoing struggle, and debates like this one happened often in our house.