Page 50 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“Wow,” I said, ducking down to shuffle inside. “Cool fort.”

“Thanks.” Charlie was standing barefoot in the middle of the dirt floor, ready to show me her sanctuary. “You can sit there.” She pointed to an old stump against one wall.

I sat, crouching forward a bit to keep my head from brushing against the tarp ceiling. On the wall opposite the door, a small square window had been cut to overlook the lake.

“What’s all that stuff?” I pointed to a small bookshelf leaning against one wall. She had tin lunchboxes stacked neatly on the top shelf, and on the bottom were two green plastic totes.

“My supplies.” She went to the shelves and began setting down the lunch boxes, opening them one at a time to tell me what was inside. “I’ve got forks and spoons in this one and a cup. This one has my shovel and a couple strong sticks. This one usually has my snacks but it’s empty now because Mommy needs to go to the grocery store. And this one has ropes and my favorite rocks.”

There wasn’t one single toy.

I loved that about Charlie. She was different from any child I’d ever met.

“That’s an awesome collection of supplies.” I pointed to the tubs. “What’s in those?”

“My books and coloring stuff.” She pushed the lunchboxes aside to drag out a tote. “I have to keep them in there so they don’t get wet.”

“Do you like to read?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, taking off a lid. Then she dug through the books until she found the one she’d been searching for and handed it over.

The cover was of a tadpole transforming to a frog.

“You really like frogs, don’t you?”

“They’re my favorite besides dogs and cats and birds.” She grabbed the wooden kid-sized chair next to the bookshelf and brought it over to sit by my side. Then she took the book from my hand and started going through it page by page.

My daughter was reading me a book.

I spent the next hour learning all about frogs and tadpoles and then about cats and dogs from her other books. I could have sat on that stump for hours, if not for the fading light.

Finally, when the pages were getting hard to see, Thea called us inside.

Charlie and I packed up her things, making sure lids were on securely, and then walked toward the house, collecting her strewn clothes as we went.

“Thanks for showing me your fort tonight,” I told Charlie, snagging a cleat from the ground.

“I have another one at camp. It’s not as good because I had to make it myself without Mommy or Uncle Jackson’s help. But it’s still cool. Want to come see it?”

I smiled, ignoring the burn of jealousy that Uncle Jackson had helped her build her fort. “I’d love to see it.”

And I’d help her make it even better. I didn’t know shit about constructing outdoor forts, but how hard could it be? I graduated at the top of my undergraduate class from Columbia and was a distinguished graduate from law school. I could figure out a fort.

“See what?” Thea asked as we approached the porch.

Charlie stopped next to Thea on the bottom step. “My fort at camp.”

“If it’s okay with you.” I hadn’t even thought to ask Thea for her permission first.

I wasn’t used to asking permission, for anything. I gave orders, people followed them. I came and went as I pleased in New York.

But here, I was out of my element. Here, Thea was in charge. And it was strange how that didn’t bother me.

Much.

“It’s fine by me.” Thea smiled. “You don’t need to ask. See her whenever you’d like.”

Damn, that was nice to hear. It meant she trusted me with Charlie and she knew how hard I was trying.