Chapter 23
INEZ
23
“And now, pop the English muffins into the toaster,” I say, glancing over at Stella from where I’m taking the sausages out of the skillet.
The little girl follows my instructions and then eagerly turns back to me. “What next?”
I smile to myself, loving her enthusiasm. “We need butter,” I tell her. “Can you grab that from the fridge?”
“I’m on it!” She scurries off immediately.
Stella’s school is still under repair and we’re going to surprise Nolan with a big breakfast today. He’s sleeping in for once and he definitely deserves it.
I’ve been taking advantage of the days off to teach Stella new things. We painted rocks a few days ago and we also baked oatmeal cookies from scratch. We made jewelry and even convinced Nolan to get involved. Now, all three of us have matching friendship bracelets—a ‘manly’ black one for Nolan, yellow for Stella and blue for me. It’s the cutest thing ever. Truly, the three of us have been having a blast together.
When Stella pulls the fridge handle, it doesn’t budge. “It’s stuck,” she tells me, yanking again and again.
“Hang on.” I set down my spatula then give the fridge door a good tug.
And the duct-taped handle pops off in my hand.
Stella gasps loudly, eyes wide, like she’s afraid we might be in trouble.
Right then, Nolan ambles into the kitchen, his shaggy hair falling over his eyes. His attention bounces from Stella to me to the door handle clenched in my fingers.
“Uh-oh…” the little girl mumbles as she stares down at the broken part. “I think we’re gonna need a new roll of duct tape.”
Nolan’s eyes meet mine. And we both burst out laughing. I love this kid’s blunt honesty.
Stella’s face morphs from worry to amusement, and then she’s laughing right along with us.
Nolan takes the handle and sets it on the counter. “All right. That’s it—I’m going fridge shopping today. I can’t have my fridge door falling apart on the biggest celebrity in Starlight Falls.” He winks. “Will you go with me?”
I know it’s not a big deal but my stomach flips at the invitation anyway. “Sure. That could be fun.” I fake a casual shrug.
The three of us finish making breakfast and we sit together at the table. When we’re done eating, it takes us a while to clean up the kitchen. But eventually, we venture out and hit the road to go fridge shopping.
Our options are pretty limited around town, so the three of us drive to Honey Hill, a nearby town that’s about the same size as Starlight Falls.
It’s a mundane outing, but the forty-five minute drive turns into a mini roadtrip and we make it fun, picking up snacks at the gas station and singing along with the radio as a light drizzle hits the windshield. Plus, the sight of Nolan in a Sin Valley Saints hoodie and a matching snapback cap doesn’t hurt at all.
He mentioned as we were leaving the house that he was worried about Stella being mind-numbingly bored with all of this fridge shopping. So as we browse around the kitchen appliance store now, I come up with ideas to keep things exciting for her.
From the moment we walked in through the automatic doors, Stella and I have been playing this alphabet game I made up.
She picks up on the rules of the game immediately. She and I are taking turns and finding items around the store, one letter at a time. And with the little girl occupied, Nolan is able to shop without distraction.
Nolan tried chiming in when we hit the letter C, but Stella scolded him, saying that he has to focus on the appliance shopping.
This kid is so smart and confident. She impresses me every day, and I know that her charming personality is the result of her father’s great work.
We’re almost all the way through the alphabet, when Stella loses interest and shifts her attention to the refrigerators that Nolan is scoping out. She goes up to tug on her dad’s arm, where he’s still grilling the sales person about the freezer space.
“Hold on, Princess,” he tells her.
“No, I want to help,” Stella says, both persistently and convincingly. “I want to help pick which fridge we get.”
That’s when I step in. As Nolan is asking the sales guy a million questions about each one, I start talking prices with Stella.
At first, Nolan side-eyes me, like what would Stella care about the cost of refrigerators? But I see the wheels in her brain spinning as I explain all about decimals and commas, and how they change the numbers. I even try explaining warranties and financing plans to her, but I’m pretty sure that part goes way over her head.
I take my time with it, hoping my explanations make sense to a six-year-old. I mean, I would never have understood a word of this at six. But Stella? She’s pretty darn brilliant. Inquisitive. Hungry for knowledge.
Soon, we’ve ranked all the fridges that her daddy is considering from cheapest to most expensive. Stella is feeling pretty good about herself, too.
Then Nolan turns around, raising a curious brow at his daughter. “Okay, kiddo. I’m all ears. Which fridge should we buy today?”
Stella walks over to one in the middle. It’s a fancy one. With all the bells and whistles and high tech buttons. “This one, Daddy. I think this one is the best. It’s not the cheapest but it’s the prettiest and it’s got the most space. And it has a really cool ice maker.” She taps on the door, looking so serious as she confidently shares her thoughtful opinion. “And we should get the war-tee, too. Right, Inez?”
I nod. “Yeah. We should get the warranty.”
Nolan stares at his daughter for almost a minute before he barks out a full belly laugh. Then he laughs some more, wrapping his arms around Stella and pressing a kiss to her head. “You know what? We’ll take this one.”
The salesman’s eyes light up. “Well, that was easy. I’m gonna need to talk to my boss about getting this little girl on our team!”
At the compliment, Stella blushes sweetly.
As Nolan makes arrangements for delivery, Stella and I stroll through the rest of the store, looking at gadgets and small appliances as we resume our alphabet game. I think Nolan’s about ready to go, but Stella’s struggling to find something here that starts with the letter Z.
While she looks around, a new coffee maker catches my eye. Without hesitation, I put it into our cart. Nolan’s coffee pot is another one of his duct tape victims, and I’d love to replace it for him. It’s the least I can do to repay him for everything he’s done for me.
“Oh, here’s something! I found it! I found Z!” Stella bounces up and down, pointing at the brand name of one of those storage vacuum sealer devices.“Zennix.”
“You did it! I think that means you win a prize,” I say conspiratorially and then I grab something from a nearby display shelf. “What do you think of these cool, crazy, swirly straws?”
She gasps. “Really!? I can have them?”
“Of course, sweetie.” I wrap an arm around her.
We meet up with Nolan at the front cash registers where he’s just finished paying for the fridge.
I put the coffee maker and the straws on the conveyor belt. “I just have a couple things,” I mumble and I proceed to dig around in my purse for my bank card. But before the cashier can ring me up, Nolan is physically blocking the card reader with his big paw.
I look up at him and frown. “I was going to buy these—”
“No way. I’ll pay for it,” he says.
“Really. I don’t mind payin—”
“Inez. No.”
I open my mouth to argue some more. But he’s glaring at me from under the brim of his cap, shooting me a look I’d describe as smoldering.
Nolan leans in, lowering his voice at my ear. “You’re a stubborn girl, aren’t you, Machado? Put the card away. Before I bend you over this conveyor belt and give you that spanking I promised you.”
I try not to blush—I really do—but I feel prickling heat in my cheeks and my lips start twitching with a smile. “Gosh! You talk so much smack. Bet you can’t even back it up,” I say, keeping my voice low.
His eyebrow jumps at the challenge. He whispers back, “Oh, I can back it up. And you have no idea how much I want to.”
Tingles race through my body and I chew down on my lip to keep from groaning out loud. Nolan observes my reaction, a devilish smile lingering on his mouth.
While he’s swiping his debit card, I hand Stella the sack with her new straws.
The cashier sighs. “You guys are the cutest family. How old is your daughter?”
“Oh…” I’m totally caught off guard. She thinks that I’m Stella’s mom? That Nolan is my…? I don’t want to embarrass her. Or offend Stella.
So I just blurt out, “Oh, Stella is six.”
“Can I give her a sticker?” the older woman with the kind eyes asks. She’s already getting out her sticker pad for Stella to take her pick.
“Of course. Would you like to have one?” I ask Stella.
The little girl eagerly makes her choice.
“What do you say?” Nolan asks, eyes pointed at his daughter as he’s pulling the hood of her raincoat over her messy head.
“Thank you!” Stella squeals, grinning at the cashier as she takes her father’s hand.
Meanwhile, I’m over here fighting some painful blushing right now, replaying the idea that someone we don’t know thinks that the three of us look like a happy little family.
Me…part of a family.
Right before we step into the rain, Nolan pulls off his cap and settles it over my head. At the caring gesture, my stomach fills with butterflies. As we stroll out of the store and through the parking lot, I stare at the way he gently holds his daughter’s hand.
I don’t know what comes over me. I grin, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “You’re such a good man. And an even better father."
At first, he looks surprised, and I’m afraid I may have crossed the line. Shit—what am I doing? I’m the one who said we need to stay just friends.
But Nolan reaches out and takes my hand. Pulling me against his side, he brushes his lips over my forehead. “You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that.” We continue walking, his arm clutched around my waist. Like it belongs there.
A happy little family…I have to admit—this is starting to feel like one.
To me, at least.