Page 35 of All Stars Fall
All the time.
“Who’s this?” He winked down at Penelope and then reached for her hand.
“DADDY!” Bella screamed.
Moment shattered, I turned in the direction of her voice and sprinted. One of the giant lizards had somehow managed to crawl over her lap and trap her.
The reptile handler was in the process of pulling the harmless creature away when I reached her side. The security guard tried helping her to her feet, which I assumed was the reason she began to scream “stranger danger nine-one-one.” Thanks, Penny.
I pulled her into my arms and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Are you okay, baby?”
“Yeah.” She sniffled as giant alligator tears ran down her puffy cheeks. “I gots scared and then Eric didn’t help me. Aren’t brothers supposed to help?”
Eric was pale next to Malcom, who looked like he was ready to puke.
The lizard had been huge; they were probably scared too.
“That’s why you have a daddy,” I answered in a hoarse voice. “So that when your brothers get scared too, I’m here. I’ll always be here, all right?”
“You keep me safe.” She sniffled again. “Right, Daddy?”
God, my heart was breaking in half.
How was I supposed to do this?
Navigate this life? Keep them safe? From everything? From things that weren’t supposed to hurt them—like their own mother?
“Of course he does,” came a familiar voice.
And then Bella was reaching for Penelope, and I was letting my little girl go into her arms as she rocked her back and forth. “That’s what family does, we protect one another, we love one another, and when scary things happen, it’s not because your daddy lets them happen or your brothers, sometimes they just… do, but that’s why it’s so important to be brave and strong, all right?”
Bella nodded then put her sticky hands on Penelope’s cheeks. “Are you brave and strong, Penny?”
I didn’t miss the tears in Penny’s eyes as she nodded and then slowly said, “I try very hard, but you know what makes me feel brave and strong?”
Bella shook her head.
“You.” They touched foreheads. “Because look! That lizard was like two of you! And you did the right thing. You yelled for your daddy. You only cried a little bit and now, now we can have cake, right?”
“Cake!” Bella squeezed her neck.
Penny let her down as all the kids started running toward the picnic table. It was only a few feet away from the fence to the backyard barbecue. All the kids gathered around the table singing, leaving me and Penny alone with the reptiles, a keeper, and a worried-looking security guard.
I wasn’t sure why I did it.
Maybe one day it would occur to me not to just act on impulse when it came to women.
But I grabbed her hand.
I squeezed it.
I didn’t let go.
And neither did she.
I wasn’t sure how long we stood like that, hand in hand, watching the kids eat cake like it was the most interesting thing on the planet.
But we did.
