A Stone in the Sea(27)

That’s what I wanted for her. For this amazing child to grow up every single day knowing I loved her with every piece of me, that I wanted nothing from her other than to see her become a loving, kind, strong woman. That she chase her dreams, whatever they were. That she learn to respect and demand it in return.

To learn all the things my parents never instilled in me.

My grandmother had left me this place with a letter telling me to find love and to bring it here.

Kallie grinned up at me, a row of tiny, perfect white teeth exposed. With her whole hand, she pushed back the heavy locks of tight curls that had fallen in her face, smearing chunks of dough into her hair.

And there she was.

The love of my life.

So much hair that sometimes I worried she might topple over. So much spunk that she had me laughing every day. So much belief that she made me view the world in a different light.

So much love that she somehow sustained me, and I turned around and poured it right back into her.

But today?

Today had reminded me that my grandmother had meant more of that request. She’d wanted me to find someone to cherish me as much as my grandfather had cherished her.

The crazy thing was, I’d never felt anything was missing from my life.

Not until the day I met Sebastian Stone.

“Okay, we’d better get this mixed up so we can get these cookies in the oven before Auntie April gets home from class. You know she’s gonna want one.”

“Yay, Auntie April!”

April wasn’t really her aunt, but she was my best friend. She had been for years, since she’d stood across the street from my grandmother’s house when I was seven years old, looking scared and unsure of her new home that her parents had dragged her to from across the country.

My grandma had nudged me in the back. Go on, girl. I know you want to talk to her and I can see by the scared look on her face that she needs you to talk to her.

Fleeing back here when I found out I was pregnant with Kallie, April had moved in and she’d never left. Instead of paying rent, she watched my daughter for me while I worked nights—considering she was the only one I trusted with Kallie—while she finished her master’s. It worked perfectly and I thanked God for her every single day.

Kallie picked up the big wooden spoon, and I wrapped my hands around hers, dropping a kiss to her forehead when she peeked up at me, the two of us blending the thick mixture together. We balled them up, set them on the sheet, and I put them in the oven.

“There, all done,” I said when I shut the oven door and dialed the timer.

Kallie threw her arms out and wiggled on the counter. “All done!”

“Be careful, Butterfly,” I said as I swooped her up into my arms, holding her over the sink while I washed off her hands.

I set her on her feet, and she took off, bouncing around the huge country kitchen.

A soft, satisfied sigh left me as I looked around my favorite room in the house. The appliances had been updated. The chunky granite that was white with silver flecks that made up the countertops was something to die for, accentuating the whitewashed cupboards perfectly. Still, it remained a cohesive mesh of new and old after the restoration. I’d insisted it keep in line with the sanctity of this old home, making it as beautiful today as the day it’d been built.

The side door rattled and April pushed it open.

“Auntie April!” Kallie squeaked, flapping her arms out to her sides. “Look, Imma butterfly.”

I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh out loud at the cuteness that continued to come out of my daughter’s mouth. April shot me a knowing grin, fighting her own amusement as she pulled Kallie up for a hug. “Yes. There’s my Butterfly,” April said, giving her a squeeze and nuzzling her nose into Kallie’s cheek. “I missed you today.”

Butterfly had been Kallie’s first word. Charlie had immediately begun calling her that, and it’d stuck. Of course there was no way she was going to shuck the nickname considering that’s what she normally demanded people call her.

April set Kallie back on her feet, and dropped her backpack to the floor near the door. She smiled at me. “Smells delicious in here.”

April was short and muscular. Strong. And the girl could run faster than anyone on our high school track team. She’d played softball throughout school, and now was studying to be a physical trainer, hoping to get picked up by one of the local teams.

“We get cookies!” Kallie peeped, running circles around us as she continued to dip and soar, her imagination far and fast ahead of her. She suddenly stopped and shoved five fingers toward April’s face. “I’m gonna be five…I’m gonna be five!”