Page 37 of Sherry and Sunflowers
"It's nice for me too. And…" What the hell, he was going to say it. "It's just one more way of me trying to let you know that you really don't have to do it all by yourself anymore."
They'd reached the gas station, and she pulled in without a word. If she wasn't going to answer, he wasn't going to push it.
"I'll only be a minute. Do you need anything?"
"I'm good, thanks."
Her smile seemed to answer what he'd just said. Maybe that was wishful thinking, but he didn't think so.
He hurried around the store, relieved when he found the first thing he was looking for in the fridges at the back, and able to pick up the second from the display at the cash register. Back outside, he panicked for a moment, then went to the back of the Suburban and opened the tailgate, stashing his purchases in there. He cursed under his breath, knowing that the sound of the tailgate closing again must have woken Zia.
He was right. When he climbed into the passenger seat, she smiled at him, bleary-eyed.
"Are you okay, Prince Daddy? Where have you been?"
"Sorry, Z. I just bought a few things and I was putting them in the back."
"That's okay. I thought we were home."
Home.The word played in his head all the way back to the estate. He could wish and hope all he wanted, but they had a long road to travel between where they were and the point where she and Alara might make their home with him.
When they arrived at his dad's place, he went to grab the bags from the back while Alara went to let Zia out. Before she reached the door, Zia pushed it open and slid down. Coming straight to Reaves, she peered inside the back of the Suburban and immediately zoned in on the bag he'd picked up at the gas station.
"What's in there?" she asked, wide-eyed.
He let out a short laugh. There was no hiding anything from the kid.
"Z," Alara said sternly as she came to join them. "It might not be anything…"
Zia shot him a sassy smile. "But it is, isn't it, Prince Daddy? It's something for me."
He chuckled. "You got me. It is." He glanced at Alara, who raised her eyebrows. "It's grape juice. I got you guys a twelve-pack. I felt bad, I meant to do it after the last time we had it at Ollie's place. You both enjoyed it so much."
"Yay!" Zia did a little dance on the spot. "Thank you so much. I love grape juice. I think Grandpa Grape will like grape juice, too. Can I take it to him?"
Alara let out a short laugh. "It's a bit heavy for you to carry."
Zia didn't let that stop her. She popped two of the boxes out of the pack and held them up. "I can take one for him and one for me. You guys can catch up."
With that, she started up the steps to the front door. She'd only gone up a couple before she turned back. "Is that okay, Mom?"
"That's okay. As long as Grandpa Grape thinks so. Don't disturb him if he's busy, okay?"
"I won't. He won't be too busy for me."
Reaves chuckled as they watched her go.
"Thanks, Reaves. That was sweet of you."
"It was something I wanted to do." He held the bag up. "There's something else too."
She raised her eyebrows. "I can give it to her when we go in, if—" She stopped. "Are you coming in, or do you need to leave?"
"I'll come in. But these are for you." He reached into the bag and held up a roll of giant Rolos.
Her hand came up to cover her mouth. "Reaves," she breathed.
He reached out to touch her arm. "I finally discovered something that you enjoy. More than that, you let me share it with you." He met her gaze and held it. "I want to keep sharing with you, Alara." He presented her with the Rolos. "You let me in. I want to be part of it." His smile faded. "And even if you don't want me…" He shrugged. "Now you have more Rolos."
