Page 53 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“Come and visit me when you get home and bring a picture of Charlie.”

“I will. See you soon.” I hung up and shoved my phone back in my jeans, determined not to answer it again until I was back at the motel tonight. The rest of the evening, I was spending with Charlie.

She’d get my undivided attention until bedtime because come tomorrow, I’d be gone.

And I didn’t know when I’d be back.

“Mommy, I caught a fish.” Charlie was kneeling on a stool, leaning across the bar.

“You did? Way to go.” Thea put her palms on Charlie’s cheeks, then kissed her nose. “How big was it?”

Charlie sat back and held out her hands, spreading them apart about a foot. “This big.”

I chuckled from behind her and held up my own hands, showing Thea the fish had only been about five inches.

Thea smiled and played along with Charlie. “Wow. That’s huge!”

“That’s what she said.” Jackson laughed at his own joke as he joined us from down the bar.

“You’re awful,” Thea scolded, trying not to laugh.

He shrugged and high-fived Charlie. “Good job, Chuck. What are you guys doing here?”

“Dinner,” I answered.

“That’s right.” Jackson gave me a smug grin. “A good-bye dinner. You’re leaving tomorrow.”

Asshole.

“Jackson, hush,” Thea hissed, swatting him in the gut before nodding to Charlie.

Her warning was pointless. My daughter didn’t miss much.

Charlie spun on her stool and stared at me with wide eyes. “You’re leaving tomorrow?”

My heart sank at the shock on her face. Thea and I had decided not to tell Charlie the exact day I was leaving. Thea had said it would just make Charlie pull away. She’d be more worried about the calendar than enjoying our time together.

So we’d kept my departure date vague all week.

But tonight, we’d agreed to tell Charlie I had to go. Our plan was to get a pizza, then tell her I was going back to New York in the morning.

Gently.

But then Uncle Jackson had ruined the plan by surprising her.

“Yes,” I told Charlie. “I have to leave tomorrow, but I’ll be back.”

Jackson scoffed, earning another smack from Thea.

I ignored them to focus completely on Charlie and the worry lines on her forehead. “Hey.” I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I’m coming back. But I have to go back to work for a while.”

She nodded and dropped her chin, studying her hands in her lap. An invisible cloud shrouded Charlie, breaking my heart into pieces.

I looked up at Thea, her hand pressed against her chest. Sorry, she mouthed.

“It’s okay.” This had to happen tonight, though I would have preferred to be the one to tell Charlie. “Let’s eat. We can talk more over pizza.”

Thirty minutes later, Thea had all but kicked Jackson out of the deserted bar and was sitting with Charlie and I at a tall table in the middle of the floor.