Page 100 of The Last Goodbye

Margo’s eyes widened, and I realized what I’d said.

My girls.

I’d dated a woman for several years, and I’d never once referred to her as “my girl.”

Never felt that way, either.

I glanced at Briar, who was just watching me with a goofy smile on her face.

“I’ll be back shortly.” Margo wriggled her eyebrows and walked away.

“You like pancakes, Briar?” Clover asked from where she sat between us.

“I really do,” she said.

“Me, too. I ’specially like when Uncle B takes me out, ’cause he’s a good cooker and likes the yummy foods.” Her light brown ringlets bounced on her shoulders, and she glanced up at me with those little cherub cheeks and bright green eyes. “Right, Uncle B?”

“Yes, ma’am. I know all the yummy foods.”

“’Member when my tummy was sick, and you made all my foods for me for all the days?”

I chuckled and tweaked the top of her nose. Margo set our drinks down and hurried off to greet some customers who’d just walked in. “You had a nasty little bug last Christmas, and you weren’t eating for your daddy. But you were willing to eat Uncle B’s soup and rice, weren’t you?”

“Yeppers.” She smiled. “Briar, do you have a little girl like me?”

Briar set her juice down after taking a sip. “Nope. No kiddos for me.”

“Do you want kiddos?” Clover pressed, mimicking Briar with her word choice, because she had no filter at four and a half years old.

“Yes.” Briar surprised me by answering quickly and without hesitation. “I definitely want to be a mama someday.”

Clover’s eyes widened, juice dribbling down her chin. I reached for the napkin and dabbed at her face. “Briar!” she gasped. “You wants to be a mama, and I don’t gots no mama.”

My chest ached at Clover’s words, because the topic of her not having a mother in her life was coming up more often the older she got.

A wide smile spread across Briar’s face, and she nodded. “Yes. But you’ve got an amazing dad, don’t you? And all these amazing uncles who adore you.”

“Yeppers. I’m a lucky girly. That’s what my daddy says.” She clapped her hands together when Margo set the plates down in front of us, and we thanked her.

I reached for the fork and knife and cut up a section of pancakes, and I looked up to see Briar watching me. Clover, on the other hand, had jumped topics and was now asking a whole set of new questions.

“How come you don’t live here?” she asked as she took a huge bite of her pancakes.

“Well, I live in New York City now, but I did grow up in a small town outside Chicago, so I’ve lived in small towns before and a big city the last few years.”

“You likes the little towns better or the big towns better?” Clover asked as I handed her the glass of juice and helped her take a sip.

“Hmmm…I think I like both for different reasons.” Briar thought it over. “It’s been an adventure living in the city the last few years, but I think a big part of me will always be a small-town girl. Even if I’m the worst line dancer.”

I liked how honestly she answered Clover. The way she listened to her questions and was patient and took the time to answer every single one.

“I don’t thinks you’re the worstest at anything.” Clover looked up at her with syrup on her face and a big smile. “I think you’re the bestest at all the things.”

“Hey, I thought I was the bestest at all the things!”

She fell back in a fit of giggles. “You are the bestest, too. Are you going to take me swimming today, Uncle B?”

“Sure. I’ve got a bathing suit for you back on the boat. It’s warm out today, so we can go for a swim and even take the canoe out if you want, and I’ll paddle you around.”