Page 71 of The Challenge

Then I looked out the window and spotted them. I could hear Effie’s muffled giggles through the glass. They were stuffing hay into a scarecrow. It dawned on me that last week at dinner, Chloe had promised Effie they could make one for Halloween. Now that I knew my daughter hadn’t flown the coop, I relaxed and poured myself a cup of coffee, bringing it over to the window. As I sipped, I felt almost euphoric as I watched them make the scarecrow. They’d stolen a flannel shirt and a pair of my jeans for the task. How had I not noticed them in my room? I couldn’t even be mad about it.

I opened the door and stepped outside, the cold fall air perking me up even more. “How long have you two been at this?”

“Since eight.” Chloe looked over. “I promised her today was the day, so she got me up early, but I made sure she ate breakfast before we started.”

“How come you didn’t wake me up?”

“We didn’t need you, Daddy.”

“We decided—right, Effie?—that your dad could sleep in for once.” Chloe winked. “So we were quiet.”

If there was one thing I knew, it had certainly not been my daughter’s idea to let me sleep. Effie liked nothing more than waking me up on weekends. Chloe had granted me the gift of a good night’s sleep. You couldn’t put a price on that. I basked in the warm feeling of knowing she was looking out for me. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had truly cared about my well-being.

Things between Chloe and me had been more tense than ever since my dumb lick-the-cereal bowl comment a week ago. She’d gone to bed that night and never again mentioned what I’d said, nor what I’d done to her in that closet days before. I couldn’t blame her if she was confused. I’d confused my damn self.

I looked over at their scarecrow project again. “I see you scored him some nice clothes.”

“Unfortunately, no. We had to use yours,” Chloe chided as she reached for more hay.

I glared playfully at them. “You saying my clothes aren’t nice?”

“Actually, it’s not all your clothing he’s wearing. He’s got a nice pair of yellow underwear that fit him perfectly.”

I nearly spit out my coffee when I noticed the infamous yellow sweat rag sticking out the top of the jeans. “Glad to see you found a use for those.”

“He doesn’t mind a little sweat.” Chloe winked. After a moment, she added, “So what’s the plan for today? What time do we have to be at your uncle’s?”

“The party starts at four, but we can arrive anytime, really. It doesn’t end until late.”

She looked between Effie and me. “Okay, well, I can be ready at four, if you guys can.”

I raised my coffee mug to her. “You have a costume?”

“I do.” She grinned.

“What is it?”

“You’ll find out.” Chloe smirked.

“Oh boy.”

“And what are you going to be?” she asked as she stuffed more hay into the scarecrow.

“A cowboy!” Effie answered before I had a chance to.

“Nice.”

I shrugged. “All it requires is putting a hat on my head. My kind of costume.”

“I didn’t take you for such a simpleton, Ricci. This is the same guy who dressed as a cereal killer for that party that your buddy threw back in the day. I remember thinking how clever that was.”

“Oh yeah. The cereal box over my head, the fake blood, and the knife. I was pretty proud of myself.”

“As you should’ve been.”

The irony of the cereal reference wasn’t lost on me. I wondered if what I’d said about eating Chex had crossed her mind just now like it had mine.

I winked. “Actually, I was thinking of going as a stray dog, but decided against it.”