Page 6 of Fierce-Colson

“Can I take the rest of the coffee out of the pot or do you want it? Maybe we can get a one-cup maker.”

“Let’s see if you can get through one mug of that first before we buy another gadget to have in the kitchen.”

It felt like every time he turned around he was buying something new.

Not that money was an issue, but he wasn’t used to buying so much shit.

Long gone were the days where he didn’t have to watch everything he said, did, or bought in his life.

They finished cleaning up breakfast, she grabbed her bag, then hopped into his car and he brought her to school.

The minute she was out the door and walking in, he noticed her slow down until another girl came closer, then her shoulders straightened and she walked in with more pep in her step.

Maybe she was just shy.

Middle school was a hard time for any kid. Not that he ever thought school was hard.

Shit, he got along with everyone.

Once he cleared the parking lot, he went to buy another coffee to get on with his day, then made his way to his office.

“Oh shit, you bought coffee. What, did your pot break? You never come in with it unless you’re in a mood and ran out?” Megan asked. His old partner just loved to bust his ass.

That would teach him to not dump it in his travel mug after he bought it. But the one he used yesterday was in the dishwasher that he forgot to turn on last night and the one he would have used today, he gave to Bella.

“Got another person in the house who decided they wanted to be an adult and try coffee.”

“Oh, God,” Megan said. “I remember those days. I can’t believe that sweet girl could handle more than one sip of the sludge you drink.”

He laughed. “It was my entertainment this morning watching her face. By the time she was done, it was half milk, half coffee. To me, it’s better than a soda I know she drinks in the morning.”

He had to pick his battles, and after everything they’d gone through, that just couldn’t be another one.

“I said that too,” Megan said. “Until the twins started wanting Starbucks every day on the way to school.”

“There is no way you’d allow that,” he said, shaking his head.

“Nope. Not even once a week. If they want coffee, they can drink it at home and it’s not good enough for them. Otherwise, they use their own money.”

“I’d prefer not to get her on that kick. She added ice to it and took my other mug with her to school. If she can get through the whole cup, I said we’d talk about a one-cup coffee maker.”

Megan shook her head. “You’ll go through five in the morning alone.”

“It’d be for her, not me. Those pod things aren’t strong enough.”

“You know, Colson. Who would have thought you’d be such a good girl dad?”

“Not me,” he said.

At least not while being single.

Nor being one to a half-sibling and not even his own kid.

But life had handed him one more obstacle to climb and he did it the way he did everything else.

Went with the flow and forced it to work because there was no way he could let it fail.

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