Chapter 21 #2
Damn, being a single mom was hard at times, but especially on days like this, where all the women she’d spent the day with were going home to their husbands and partners to pick up the slack when you were tired, ill, or just plain hungover. “Kelsey, time to go, chickie.”
“But Mommy…”
“Ember and Jules are going home, too.” Thinking on your feet was hard to do when you were this dang tired. “How about you help me decide what we’re having for dinner?”
“Okay.” Kelsey pouted, but started putting away the colors and paper she’d been drawing with.
Ten minutes later, Glenna was regretting all her life choices as she stood in front of the open fridge, staring at its meager contents with a familiar sense of resignation. “You want grilled cheese again?”
“Umm.” Kelsey peered into the fridge.
I should have asked Serena for some takeout menus.
Glenna grabbed the cheese, preparing to persuade Kelsey to give in to the inevitable choice, when someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it.” Kelsey raced across the room and opened the door. “Hi, Uncle Zorro.”
“Hi, kiddo. I might have ordered too many pizzas.” He carried three pizza boxes inside. “Do you think you can help me out and eat some?”
“Pizza!” Kelsey squealed, bouncing on her toes.
Glenna’s mouth watered instantly, and her stomach rumbled its approval. Beneath his arm, a crumpled bag of mixed salads dangled precariously, threatening to spill its contents at any moment.
Tyrone flashed that smile of his that made her stomach do that weird fluttery thing. “Hope you’re hungry.”
Logically, she knew the fluttery thing was probably the remnants of the alcohol and hunger, but she wasn’t quite ready to delve into what it did mean.
For now, she could breathe a silent sigh of relief as the stresses of meal prep evaporated like mist. “You saved us from another grilled cheese disaster.”
“Consider it my good deed for the day.” Tyrone deposited the boxes onto the kitchen counter with practiced ease.
“Is one for me?” Kelsey scrambled onto a chair.
“Just for you.” Tyrone ruffled Kelsey’s hair, a gesture so natural it made Glenna’s heart tighten with a mix of gratitude and something more complex she didn’t have the energy to decipher right now. “What’s your favorite kind?”
Kelsey scanned the boxes, tapping her lips thoughtfully. “Cheese. Lots of it.”
“Good choice.” Tyrone flipped open the top box to reveal a glistening melted mozzarella pizza.
Glenna couldn’t help but smile as she watched them. She enjoyed Tyrone’s easy camaraderie with Kelsey, the comforting familiarity he brought despite their recent entanglement, and the undeniable sense of family that was slowly weaving itself into the fabric of their lives.
“Mind if I join in?” Tyrone’s voice cut through her reverie, his gaze steady and open.
“Of course not,” Glenna replied, moving to grab paper plates and utensils as Kelsey giggled, reaching for the largest slice she could find.
Glenna’s fingers brushed against Tyrone’s when she handed him a plate, the brief contact sending a ripple of awareness through her.
She met his eyes, searching for any sign of awkwardness or regret.
Instead, she found a shared understanding that stretched beyond words.
“So, what’s the occasion?” She asked, breaking the moment as she watched Kelsey attempt to fold the oversized pizza slice in half with her small hands.
“No occasion.” Tyrone settled on one of the chairs with an easy grace. “I figured you might need to go to the store, so I brought pizza.”
“In other words, you saw my empty fridge last night and decided to feed us.”
“That, too.”
Kelsey nodded vigorously, her mouth too full to speak, tomato sauce dripping down her chin. She reached for a napkin, but Tyrone beat her to it and deftly lifted a fresh one from the counter and handed it to her.
Dinner unfolded in a mess of cheese strings and laughter, and Glenna found herself relaxing.
Do not get used to this.
It can’t and won’t last forever.
By the time the last remnants of daylight faded, the kitchen had become a place that was comfortable and relaxed. Somehow, having Tyrone in their midst was both right and wrong in so many ways. Right, because he was here, and wrong because Dwight wasn’t.
But also right because if Dwight had been with them, Tyrone wouldn’t be.
It didn’t make what was building between herself and Tyrone wrong; it was just different.
If she was ever asked, Glenna had no idea if she’d be able to find the words to explain it.
It was a jumbled mix of emotional stuff that figuring out would take more energy than she’d probably ever possess.
She’d lived a life with a Special Forces Operator.
She’d been through the highs and lows and sleepless nights of being the significant other of a Marine Raider on back-to-back deployments and navigated the fear of never knowing when her man walked out the door, if he’d return in one piece or even at all.
The worst had happened to Kelsey and her when Dwight hadn’t come home.
She and her daughter had been lost in the fallout.
Did she have the strength to live in this world again, but this time knowing Tyrone worked as a mercenary with a heck of a lot less government backup than Dwight ever had?
This could be her life again. It could be her daughter’s life again.
Would Tyrone’s people have her back if, God forbid, they lost him, too?
Could her heart take another loss that could potentially destroy their world?
She didn’t know. But looking at Tyrone and Kelsey, watching the relationship deepen between the hardened operator and her daughter, she was tempted…
oh so, so tempted to throw caution to the wind and see where the relationship building between herself and Tyrone would take her.
She had to forcibly drag herself out of her pondering when Kelsey, worn out from pizza and excitement, slumped against her side, her eyelids fluttering like moth wings.
“Time for bed, little chickie.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead.
Kelsey whined, but didn’t fight when she scooped her up. Kelsey was half-asleep by the time they reached her room, clinging to her neck with the loose grip of a child on the edge of dreams. Glenna tucked her in, pulling the covers snug under her chin.
“All set?”
Kelsey nodded, yawning wide. “Will you stay till I’m asleep?”
“Always.”
It didn’t take long as Kelsey’s breathing evened out within minutes, her small fingers slackening around the edge of her blanket. Glenna lingered just a little longer, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. She almost still couldn’t believe that she’d gotten her back.
The Four X’s Group did that.
Tyrone did that.
She eased the bedroom door shut behind her, and cocked her head to listen to the sounds of cardboard being torn up coming from the kitchen.
He didn’t leave.
He turned when she stepped into the living area, his gaze flicking from her face to the hallway and back again.
“Out cold?”
“Like a rock,” she said, rubbing at the tension coiled in the back of her neck.
Tyrone’s expression softened, just a fraction. “You look tired.”