The Hurricane (15 page)

“That’s perfect,” I said as I hit the bag gently, and waited for her to go next. We took turns hitting the bag for a few minutes without speaking.

“Ryker?” Brooklyn asked after she hit the bag again.

“Yeah?”

“Will you go with momma to take me to my first day of school?” she asked, putting her tiny hands over my fists that were still guarded in front of my face. I didn’t know what to say.

I looked over at Natalie, who quickly wiped a tear that fell from her eye, and then crossed her arms, staring at us, not giving me any indication of what she wanted. I didn’t want to step on her toes, or push my way further into their lives if she wasn’t ready.

“Um . . . I think that would be up to your mom,” I said quietly, unable to look at her, instead staring at her tiny hands still gripping my fists.

“What if it’s ok with momma, would you go?” she asked, quietly, her voice so sincere, waiting for my answer. This question felt like so much more than just a school drop off. My heart was pounding, and I felt that I was about to break out in a sweat. I glanced back at Natalie who continued to stare, biting her bottom lip; she was waiting for my answer, too.

“I would love to,” I answered honestly, and dropped my fists, dropped my guard, and hoped that Natalie would, too.

Be Brave

“Are you nervous?” I asked Brooklyn as I put the soft pink bow in her hair, running the brush through her ponytail.

“Are
you
nervous, momma?” she asked, putting her hands over each of my cheeks. My little girl could read me like a book. I had convinced myself I wouldn’t cry, but I was lying. I was a mess. Kindergarten. She just learned to walk. And talk. Now she was starting school. God, she would be off to college in the blink of an eye. My vision started to blur as tears filled my eyes. Damn it.

“You’re just getting so big,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her little body.

“It’s ok momma, I’ll always be your baby. Remember?” she said, patting my back, comforting me. Maybe I should just scoop her up, cuddle on the couch and watch a movie. Kindergarten isn’t that important, right? We can just try again next year. Ugh.

Suck it up, Natalie.

“You will always be my baby!” I said, smiling and standing to my feet.

“We better get a move on,” I said, grabbing her new backpack and lunch box. They were matching, hot pink and black chevron print. But the backpack included a little mustang trinket attached to the zipper, compliments of my dad. They fit her perfectly.

“Wait!” She stood with her hands raised in front of her, her eyes wide.

“What’s wrong, Brookie?”

“Where’s Ryker? He’s coming with us, right? He said he was coming.”

“Honey, he’s meeting us at the school, we both have to get to work after we drop you off, remember?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah,” she said with a sigh of relief. She had become so attached to Ryker so fast. It all made me a little nervous. What if something happened with Ryker? What if we didn’t work out? God, I hoped that didn’t happen. But shit happens to relationships all the time. What if he decided being with a woman with a kid wasn’t for him? I didn’t think that was the case, he seemed to really like Brooklyn. All these years, it had been just the two of us. I never even gave much thought to a relationship and all the things that went along with it, especially being a mom.

As we pulled into the crowded school parking lot, I glanced over at Brooklyn. She was scanning the parking lot. Was she looking at the kids or the school? No, I knew better, she was looking for Ryker’s truck.

“There he is, momma,” she said, and stuck her little finger against the window.

As I looked in the direction she was pointing, I saw him leaning against his truck, arms crossed. He was wearing those sexy ass jeans, with the hole in the knee and a fitted white t-shirt. He had a baseball cap and his aviators on. God, he was beautiful. I had to pry my eyes away from him to pull into a parking spot. I heard Brooklyn’s seat belt unclasp before I even put the car in park.

Ryker met Brooklyn at her door before I had the chance to get out.

“Hey there! You ready for today?” he asked, opening the door for her and grabbing her things once she hopped out.

“I think so,” she said with a smile as she looked around, the August sun beaming down on her.

“Mornin,’” he said as I walked beside him. He kissed my forehead and rubbed the palm of his hand against the small of my back.

“Mornin,’” I said, unable to hide my smile.

“Sorry, I’m dressed this way, I have to get straight to work,” he said as he glanced down at his clothes.

“You look just fine,” I said as I wiggled my brows, causing a little chuckle to escape his throat, and then shaking his head.

“Let’s do this,” Brooklyn said as she squeezed between us, taking both of our hands in hers, leading us towards the front doors.

As we made our way inside, the halls were overcrowded and filled with laughter, and a few cries. I looked down at Brooklyn, who suddenly looked a little nervous. I patted her hand that was holding mine as we found her classroom. The looks didn’t go unnoticed, though. I saw a dad in his slacks and button up shirt eying Ryker as he walked past us. It was a look of judgment. Asshole. We also passed a mom who almost ran into a wall, because she couldn’t stop staring at Ryker. Her look wasn’t judgment. It was lust. Skank.

Once we walked inside Ms. Burchfield’s class, we went over to Brooklyn’s desk, which had her name on it, which she colored on Meet the Teacher Night. The room was already full of kids and parents, trying to get everyone settled.

I looked down at Brooklyn who was looking in all directions, trying to take it all in, her eyes wide and resembling a deer in the headlights. Oh no, she was about to cry, I could see it. Ok, Natalie, it’s time to be strong for your baby, don’t cry.

“You ok, sweetie?” I knelt down to meet her eyes.

“I think I want to go home,” she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Honey, you’re going to have so much fun.” I tried to reassure her, but the truth was I would be just fine with taking her home. She didn’t answer, but her bottom lip started to quiver. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

“You’re going to make so many new friends, and Ms. Burchfield is so nice. It will be fun, I promise,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her, but then pulled away, knowing I would cry if I held her for too long. I glanced up at Ryker, who was watching intently, his arms crossed. To an outsider, he looked so intimidating, but his eyes were full of worry and that’s all I saw.

“What if they don’t like me?” Brooklyn whispered as she looked around the room.

That’s it, I was about to lose it. And, as if right on cue, Ryker got down on his knee.

“Are you kidding? You’re the coolest kid I’ve ever met. Of course they’re going to like you,” he said as he wiped the single tear from her cheek that managed to escape. “I just need you to do one thing for me,” Ryker said as he moved his head a little lower, so Brooklyn would look at him.

“What’s that?” Brooklyn said, letting out a shaky breath.

“I need you to be very, very brave,” he said as he held up his fist.

“Ok,” Brooklyn said quietly, and gave him a fist bump. “Fight without fear,” she whispered.

“Right,” Ryker said, and then leaned closer to her ear. “But, just don’t punch anyone today, ok?”

Brooklyn let out a loud giggle, and a smile spread across her face. Then she threw her arms around Ryker’s neck, squeezing him hard, laughing at the same time.

“I’m brave,” she said when she pulled away, and looked over at me.

“That’s my girl,” Ryker said, and my heart melted just a little more.

“You’re so brave,” I said quietly, using every bit of composure I had to keep from turning into a blubbering mess right in the middle of this classroom.

“I’m ok now, momma,” Brooklyn said as she sat at her desk.

I reached down and gave her a tight hug, kissing her head at least five times.

“I love you, honey, have a good day.”

“I love you, too, momma, you have a good day, too,” she said with a smile.

“See ya later, Ryker,” she said, holding out her fist, which he bumped immediately.

A little girl, who was alone, came to sit at the desk next to Brooklyn. She seemed shy and nervous.

“Hi, I’m Katie,” she said to Brooklyn with a tiny smile.

“I’m Brooklyn.”

“Is that your mommy and daddy?” she said as she looked in our direction, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, walking into her first day of kindergarten alone.

“That’s my momma,” Brooklyn beamed as she pointed in my direction.

“And that’s my Ryker,” she said with a smile, and they both started to giggle, and then started looking through the tiny basket of supplies on each of their desks.

She glanced at us once more and gave us a quick wave before turning back to her new friend. Ryker took me by the hand as we walked out the door, both of us turning around for one last glance before she was out of our sight.

We walked in silence through the crowd until we got to our vehicles. Ryker wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

“You did good,” he whispered against my forehead, and kissed it again.

“That was hard,” I said, trying not to cry.

“She’s going to be fine, she’s brave,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked. He didn’t even know how amazing he was.

“For being you,” I said, squeezing him tight but pulling away, remembering we were in a school parking lot.

“That’s all I know how to be,” he smiled.

“Well, it’s pretty perfect.”

“I don’t know about that.” He laughed, scratching his beard.

“You wanna come over for dinner tonight? I know Brooklyn will want to tell you all about her day.”

“No place I’d rather be,” he said, and kissed my lips quickly before opening my door for me.

Safety First

I saw her running out the front door, her little bare feet hitting the sidewalk before I even pulled into the driveway. She was bouncing up and down, watching my bike roll in.