Page 99 of Taming I Do
Jasper set a pineapple milkshake next to it, and Helmut took the stool on my other side. I stared at the meal. A sandwich and a milkshake. Nothing special. Yet my eyes teared up and I fought the urge to cry.
“What’s wrong?” Helmut asked. “You don’t like it?”
“I haven’t tried it.”
“Then why do you look like someone died?”
“I’m happy.” I looked between him and Jasper. “I’m not used to people making something just because I might like it.”
Jasper frowned. “People must do things for you all the time.”
“They do things for Miss Lovin’ Texas. Or because Stella tells them to. This is different.”
Helmut rested one hand on the counter, his palm up.
I slipped mine into it.
“You should have had this every day,” he said. “Someone asking what you wanted. Someone making sure you got it.”
“I had a good life.”
He gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m not saying you didn’t.”
“I know. But maybe there are a few things I missed.”
“We’ve got time to catch up.”
Jasper covered our joined hands with his. For a moment, the three of us stayed that way. Helmut’s rough palm beneath mine. Jasper’s warm hand on top. A father I’d only just found and a man I hadn’t known I’d been searching for until I arrived in Ido.
My whole life, family had meant Stella and me against the world. Maybe family could mean something else. Like a badly cut grilled cheese sandwich and a pineapple milkshake. And two men I cared about arguing over how much milk belonged in a blender.
I pulled my hand free before I started crying and took a bite. Melted cheese, tomato, and avocado blended together perfectly.
“It’s delicious.”
Helmut’s shoulders relaxed. “Really?”
“Really.”
Jasper reached for the other half.
Helmut slapped his hand away. “That’s hers.”
“You made two.”
“The other one’s mine.”
“What am I supposed to eat?”
“There’s fifty pounds of ground beef in the refrigerator.”
“I thought we were learning together.”
“We are. She’s my daughter. You’re just hanging around.”
Jasper’s gaze slid toward me. “For now.”
My heart stumbled.
