Author: Claire Adams
Category: Young Adult
Go to read content：https://readnovelfree.com/p/30247_117
“Can I have Cocoa Pops?”
“No,” I said firmly.
“Daddy eats them for breakfast,” she pointed out.
“Alice,” I sighed.
“But he does,” she said.
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She and her father were best friends. They had been since the moment Alice was born. Sometimes, I was almost jealous of their bond. Even as a baby, Zack would pick her up, and she would stop crying immediately, even though I had been trying to calm her down for hours. When she was sick, she ran to Zack first. When she had a story to tell, she waited till her father got home before she shared a word with me.
If I hadn’t been so in love with Zack myself, I might have felt a little insecure. But as it stood, I recognized what an amazing and patient father he was, and I was nothing but glad that Alice had someone like him in her life. I thought about my own lonely childhood, and I felt such relief to know that my child would escape that kind of isolation. She would never have to grow up craving the love and attention of a father figure. She would grow up surrounded by people who loved her… her parents, her uncle, and all her surrogate uncles who lived over the hill in the big house.
It was an odd setup, but to Alice, it was nothing but normal. She was even proud of the fact that her father was president of a biker gang, as she called it.
“Here’s some carrot sticks,” I said, placing a plate in front of her.
“Urgh… I don’t want that,” Alice said, turning up her nose at the snack I’d just given her.
“Alice, it’s good for you.”
“I want cookies.”
“Well you can’t have cookies,” I said. “You had two cookies yesterday.”
“That was yesterday.”
Sometimes I had to remind myself that she was only three… well, three and three quarters. She would be four in a matter of months, and I could hardly believe it. I was about to argue further with my almost-four-year-old when we heard the sound of a motorbike riding up to the house.
“Daddy’s home!” Alice all but screamed, as she jumped off her chair and ran to the front door.
Shaking my head, I followed behind her and saw Zack get off his Harley and turn to Alice just as she jumped into his arms. He spun her around and then placed her gently on the ground before kissing her forehead. They put their heads together… and whispered their little secrets to one another. I watched from afar, not wanting to intrude.
Then Zack took Alice’s hand, and they walked towards the house together. “Hey, you,” I said, leaning in to kiss him as he walked through the door.
“Hey, beautiful,” he replied.
“Daddy,” Alice interrupted. “I want a cookie… I’m hungry.”
Zack turned to me. “Did she eat all her veggies?”
“She did not,” I said, and Alice hung her head down.
“I don’t like veggies,” she said in a small voice.
“Alice… we’ve talked about this,” Zack said. “Will you be a good girl and just eat whatever snack your Mom has given you, please?”
“Ok,” Alice nodded without so much as a pout.
Zack gave her a wink, and Alice flew off to the kitchen to do as her father said. I turned to him and shook my head in amazement. “That’s really annoying, you know.”
Zack laughed. “At least something works.”
“Because she loves you more than me.”
“Not true,” Zack assured me as he pulled me to his chest and hugged me close. “She’s just a daddy’s girl.”
“I feel left out,” I said, pretending to pout.