Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
GABE
As I help her down from my truck, Abbie waves her shopping list in the air. “Daddy, I did such a good job. Didn’t I do a good job?”
I chuckle. “You did. You’ll be acing those spelling tests before we know it.”
Now that Abbie is in grade one, she has gotten very serious about learning how to spell things. After school today, she insisted on copying the list I had made of groceries we need, and now she’s on a mission to find them all.
As soon as we enter Sunnyside Market, I spot Hallie. She’s a hard woman to ignore, but even then, I find myself looking for her in every room, even if I know she won’t be there.
She’s talking to someone I haven’t seen in years. Ethan doesn’t look much different than he did back in high school. Same shaggy blond hair and bulky build. He’s got one ankle crossed over the other as he leans against a shelf, laughing at whatever Hallie said.
A little bit of something that can only be described as envy sprouts, and I start toward them before I even realize what I’m doing.
“Daddy, we gotta go that way,” Abbie protests, pointing behind us.
“We will. But Hallie’s talking to an old friend, and I want to say hi,” I reply, steering her in their direction.
Hallie’s back is to us, so she doesn’t see us approach, but Ethan does. “Gabe,” he says with a grin. “What’s up?”
Hallie turns then, her gaze full of surprise. She always looks a little bewildered when I seek her out. As if she can’t quite believe I’m standing in front of her, asking for her attention. Little does she know, I’d do a whole hell of a lot for it.
“Hey,” I say to Ethan. “It’s been a while.”
He holds out a hand to shake, then slaps me on the back with the other. When I step back, his eyes drift down to my daughter, who isn’t shy about returning his curious stare.
“And who’s this?” he asks.
“Abigail Mae Bowman,” Abbie replies proudly. Her smile reveals the gap from the front tooth she lost two days ago.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ethan.” He smiles at her, then looks between me and Hallie. “You’ve got yourselves a cute kid.”
“Oh, no,” Hallie says, her cheeks instantly turning red, “it’s not like that. I mean, she’s not— I’m not?—”
“Abbie is my daughter,” I supply, rescuing her. “Hallie is a…friend.” The word tastes sour, the way it always does when I’m forced to use it.
Ethan’s brows raise. “Shit, eh? My bad. Everyone thought for sure you two would get together. Especially after you turned me down, Hallie.”
My teeth grind together at the reminder. Not that she said no, but that he even asked her out in the first place. He had every right to—Hallie and I were never together, despite how much I wanted us to be—but it annoys me all the same.
Hallie laughs awkwardly. “Sorry to disappoint.”
He shrugs, clearly not bothered about the past, then turns his attention to me. “What are you doing now? You still at the fire department?”
I nod, grateful for the subject change. “I am.”
“Heard your brother’s the chief now. Good for him. I never expected him to climb the ladder, but it makes sense.”
And we’re back to the teeth grinding. These conversations always come back around to Luke. I get it, he’s impressive. He’s the youngest chief Kip Island Fire Department has seen since its inception, but he’s not a god.
“Yup.” I force a polite smile, and Hallie sends me a concerned look. “What are you up to now?”
“I work for the coast guard out of Tobermory,” he says. “We do a few different things, but a lot of search and rescue.”
This genuinely piques my interest. “We’ve coordinated with you guys on some rescues over the years. You do good work.”
As annoyed as I may be, I can respect what Ethan does. Lake Huron is a beast, and with as many cottagers as there are in the summer, I’m not surprised at the need for search and rescue crews. They’ve always intrigued me.
“You ever think about doing something like that?” he asks. “We can always use solid people like you on our crews.”
I shake my head. “I haven’t given it much thought.”
Ethan quickly checks his watch. “Listen, I’ve unfortunately gotta run. It was great seeing you both. If you ever are looking to try something new, Bowman, you know where to find me.”
He says goodbye to Abbie, and then he heads toward the cash.
Abbie tugs on my hand. “Daddy, can we go now? You were talking forever , and I’m hungry!”
“Yeah, let’s go. We just have to grab a basket.”
“You can put your stuff in my cart,” Hallie offers, patting the handle. “If you want.”
“Sure. And to pay you back, I’ll be driving you home.”
She shakes her head, like I knew she would. “That’s not necessary.”
“It’s very necessary.”
Impatient, Abbie drops my hand and marches off, consulting her list. Hallie and I follow after her.
“Just because I’m living in your house doesn’t mean you’re responsible for me,” Hallie says as we turn down the aisle with the canned goods.
I grab the vegetables we need before Abbie can, flashbacks of our last shopping trip together assaulting me. We don’t need to give Gordon a reason to instate that ban on children he muttered about.
“I don’t think I’m responsible for you. But we’re going to the same place, Foster. Why wouldn’t I drive you?”
She looks down at where her hands grip the cart handle. “I don’t want to burden you.”
“It’s not a burden if I’m offering.” I smirk. “Demanding, really.”
Her lips quirk upwards. “You have grown rather bossy.”
“ So bossy!” Abbie agrees.
Hallie outright laughs. I shake my head, but I can’t hide my own amusement. It quickly dies, though, when I pin Hallie with a stern look. “You have never been, nor will you ever be, a burden to me.” I raise a brow. “Got it?”
She nods sheepishly. “Got it.”
“Good. Now that that’s settled,” I say, gently nudging her out of the way so I can take over pushing her cart, “let’s finish this list and get out of here.”
Hallie purses her lips, but she doesn’t object. Instead, she moves to my daughter’s side, helping her check the items off. I can’t help but notice that Hallie’s pile of items is lacking, so I end up adding a few things to my pile that I know she likes.
And for a minute, I let myself think about how this scene looks from the outside. A family doing their weekly shopping. My hands tighten on the cart handle. It’s a damn good scene.
Too bad it’s not real.
After a while, Hallie falls back to my side. “Did something happen between you and Ethan? You seemed a little…irritated back there.”
I sigh. “It’s nothing. He brought up Luke, and I’m just…sick of all my conversations with people revolving around my brother.” And I hate the fact that he liked you back in high school . “I’ve always been compared to him, but working in his shadow has somehow made it worse.”
“And you want to shine on your own,” she says.
“I don’t need to shine .” I shake my head. “I’m not looking for glory or anything. It’d be nice to be seen as me first, instead of Luke’s brother first. That’s all.”
“Are you gonna say yes?” she asks. “To Ethan’s offer?”
“You think I should?”
Hallie shrugs. “You kind of lit up when he mentioned search and rescue. And…I don’t know, you’ve never seemed that enthusiastic about being a firefighter.” She glances at me, a blush rising in her cheeks. “But what do I know? I’ve been gone a long time.”
“And you still know me better than anyone else.” She blushes harder. Even after all this time, that pink colour remains my favourite. “I’m not sure. Leaving the department…”
Hallie sets her hand on top of mine. “It’s hard when you’re a legacy,” she says. “But you owe it to yourself to consider all the opportunities you’re given, not just the ones you think Luke or your dad want you to take.”
How do you admit that maybe you made a mistake? That the path you’re on isn’t the one you want to be walking? I don’t necessarily regret following in my dad’s and brother’s footsteps, but if I were given the choice to do it all over again, I’m not sure that I would.
“I’ll think about it,” I finally say.
She smiles. “Whatever you end up deciding, I support. Not that you need my approval or?—”
“Hallie.” She looks up at me expectantly. “Thank you. I might not need it, but your opinion matters to me.”
We turn out of the aisle, and Abbie starts leading us toward the cash. Hallie’s phone pings, and she digs it out of her purse. I watch the expression on her face as she reads the screen. It’s a mixture of excitement and nerves.
“Good news?” I ask.
She looks up to find me watching her. “It’s Kevin. He invited me—well, I guess us —to dinner at his house on Saturday.” She chews on her lower lip. “Are you still alright with… you know ?”
We both glance at Abbie, but she’s too busy looking through the Halloween candy on display to listen to our conversation.
Hallie and I agreed to keep the engagement talk to a minimum around her.
Especially after I set Abbie straight—that just because Hallie is living with us, it doesn’t mean we’re getting married like her mom and Chris—I don’t want to confuse her.
“Yeah,” I reply. “Saturday works for me.”
To be truthful, I’m not in any rush to meet the guy that’s supposed to be her dad.
I know his experience with cancer gave him a different outlook on life and made him realize the errors of his ways, so he claims, but him skipping out in the first place is unforgivable to me.
Doesn’t matter what I think, though. This is about Hallie.
And for whatever reason, she wants to give Kevin a chance. If she needs me to pretend in order to feel more comfortable, then of course I will.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
I shrug. “That’s what I’m here for.”
Her eyes sparkle in amusement. “You mean to tell me you have prior experience with fake betrothals?”
“No.” I shake my head with a grin. “You’re getting the Hallie Foster Special.”
She ducks her head at that, trying to hide her flustered expression.
At the register, Hallie loads her groceries onto the belt first. Abbie grabs the plastic divider and slaps it down, then starts adding the items I hand her.
When I glance up, I find Gordon watching us from near the front doors. I fight a scowl.
“I swear, he’s only gotten grumpier since I’ve been gone,” Hallie says, eyeing the store manager. “I wonder why he’s so miserable.”
“Maybe he’s sad,” Abbie offers. “Sometimes people are mean because they don’t know how to say they’re sad.”
You never truly know if you’re doing a good job as a parent, but moments like these remind me that Larissa and I must be doing something right. The fact that she can empathize with someone like Gordon makes me proud.
I wrap an arm around Abbie’s shoulders, hugging her to my side. “You’re absolutely right.”
Maybe this is my sign to cut Hallie’s father some slack, too. He’s obviously trying to set things right, and while that will never erase the pain Hallie was caused before, she deserves a good relationship with at least one of her parents. If Amanda can’t be that for her, maybe Kevin can.
We make idle chitchat with the cashier as he rings up our purchases. Then we load them back in the cart and head for the doors.
As we pass by the manager, Abbie waves. “Have a good night, Mr. Gordon!”
The grouchy look on his face transforms into one of shock. I bite back a smile. That’s right . Try banning my kid from the store now . I dare you .
“Did you see that?” Hallie asks once we’re outside. She pushes the cart so I can hold Abbie’s hand in the parking lot. “You totally threw him off.”
Abbie beams, swinging our joined hands. “Maybe now he’ll be happy more.”
I don’t think Gordon will be changing his entire outlook on life after one interaction with my six-year-old, but it’s a start.
“You never know how being kind might turn someone’s day around,” Hallie says. “And it makes you feel good, too.”
“I like feeling good,” Abbie says with a nod.
When we get to my truck, I start loading the groceries in, and Hallie helps Abbie into her seat.
My daughter takes the opportunity to regale Hallie with the story of the made-up game she and some friends played at recess this morning.
And Hallie listens to it all with a smile, asking questions when it’s appropriate.
My old feelings for Hallie don’t need any help resurfacing, but if they did, watching the way she interacts with Abbie would be enough. She doesn’t treat her like an annoying kid who’s just hanging around; she treats her like a full-fledged person who’s curious about the world.
Hallie loves my daughter, and I love her.