“Does he like to play?”
“I’m sure he does.” He’d love to play with his daughter.
“He’s a good man?”
“A very good one. I promise. Come on, let’s go see him.”
Livie held her hand as they walked to the kitchen, and when they reached it and found Cooper standing at the stove, she hidbehind Kendall’s leg. “Livie, can you say good morning to our friend?” A little head shook against her leg.
“Someone’s shy this morning.” He peeked around Kendall. “Guess Livie doesn’t want any pancakes with chocolate chips in them.”
“I want pancakes,” Livie said, peeking back at him.
Kendall poured herself a cup of coffee. “You’re cooking us breakfast?” A man had never made her breakfast, not even her father, who loved her to the moon and back.
“Is that okay? I found the pancake mix and a bag of chocolate chips, so I thought it might be something she liked.”
“Her favorite breakfast. I only make pancakes on the weekend or special days.”
“Well, today’s a special day, so pancakes it is.” He squatted in front of Livie, who was still peeking around Kendall’s leg at him. “Good morning, Livie. I wonder how many pancakes you can eat. Just one?”
Livie shook her head and held up four fingers.
“That’s how many I can eat, too.”
“Really?” Livie said.
Cooper grinned. “Yes, really.”
“She can eat two.”
“On a normal day sure, but this is a special day, right, Livie?”
Livie nodded.
He smiled at his daughter. “Then four it is.” He stood, leaned close to her and said, “I’ll make her small ones.”
“Okay.” He smelled like minty soap and something spicy, and she wanted to press her nose against his neck and breathe him in.
“What do you want to drink, Livie?” he asked.
Livie mumbled something. Before Kendall could tell him she wanted orange juice, he said to Livie, “Can you tell me thatagain, just a little louder? You see, I’m way up here.” He held up a hand near the top of his head. “That’s a long way up, isn’t it?”
Livie nodded, and Kendall marveled at the fascination in her…theirdaughter’s eyes. It was a big difference from yesterday’s fear of all men.
“So, tell me again what you want to drink so I can hear you, okay?”
“Orange juice.”
“Now that’s funny, because I want orange juice, too.”
Livie’s eyes widened. “You do?”
“Yep.” He pointed at himself and then her. “Same, same.”
“Same, same,” she parroted as she pointed at herself and then him.
“That’s right.”