Page 46 of What I Needed

“Where are you going?”

“Shit! River! You scared me. What are you doing here?” I asked with my hand over my heart.

“I live here.”

I smacked my lips. “Duh. Why are you home from practice already?”

“The storm last night caused a power outage in that area, so practice was canceled. I went to Jaxon’s house to lift weights, and now I’m home. Where are you going?”

“For a walk. Hey, do you know where my car and house keys are?”

I held up my keyring, which now only had the keys to his house and his SUV.

“Yeah. Can I walk with y’all, or is this just for the girls?”

“Where are my keys?”

“I took them off the ring in case you decided to drive that beat-up car or go back to your house without me. Are we walking or not?”

“I said I wouldn’t do either.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t believe you.”

I sighed as I thought about whether I wanted to argue with him. After a few seconds, I decided it wasn’t worth it.

“Let’s go.”

I turned and pushed the stroller out of the house and continued walking down the long driveway as he locked up. He caught up with us with his long strides and grabbed my arm.

“Hold up. I didn’t give a proper greeting.”

I assumed he was referring to greeting Riverlynn, so imagine my surprise when he grabbed the front of my neck and leaned down to kiss me. I was so taken aback, I didn’t have a chance to kiss him back before he released me.

While he greeted his daughter, I took a moment to process what he’d done, and I was still in my head when he continued walking down the driveway.

“Come on,” he urged, pulling me out of my daze.

I caught up with him, and we walked in silence for a few minutes after we made it to the sidewalk.

“So, do you take her out for walks often?”

“A few times a week, and today I wanted to use my weight vest, but I didn’t have my keys to get it from the trunk of my car."

“My bad, baby. I’ll get it for you when we get back.”

“Or you can just give me back my shit.”

“Nah. If you don’t like the SUV, I’ll buy you something else, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re never driving that car again.”

“Oh my God, River. My car isn’t even in that bad of condition.”

“Maybe not, but why would I let you drive that shit when I can provide you something better?”

Again, I chose not to argue, so I shook my head.

“What about my house keys?”

“If you promise not to go there without me, you can have them back.”