Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy #1)(31)
Five-year-olds didn’t overanalyze everything. Just because Addison and Gabe might spend some time together, it didn’t mean Stella would automatically assume Gabe was moving in or anything. Stella didn’t really remember her dad being around. She had vague memories of some of the things they’d done together—the zoo, a Christmas with a stuffed teddy bear bigger than Stella, things like that—but she didn’t really remember him. And she’d never asked about not having a dad or if she would ever have one. She’d also never mentioned wanting siblings. Addison had always been surprised by that, considering Stella went to day care and saw other kids with families. But she’d also been relieved and not about to bring it up if Stella wasn’t asking.
So yeah, maybe Addison could meet the illustrious Cooper and satisfy that curiosity. And she could let Gabe meet Stella, since he seemed to think that was very important. And then they could just . . . kiss some more. Because she really freaking missed the kissing. It was strange, actually. She missed all of it—the sex, the laughter, the beignets. But if she had to pick one thing to do again, even if it was just once, it would be the kissing.
As her thoughts wandered, she and Stella paged through photos and information about airboats and swamp tours. They got to a page for the Boys of the Bayou tour company, and Stella was sold. The company took groups of all sizes out onto the bayou to see alligators and all the other wildlife and plants that made it a unique and captivating place. They had daytime tours, a sunset tour, a booze cruise, and even special packages for bachelor and bachelorette parties. And, most important to Stella, they had photos of people holding baby alligators, and tour guides feeding adult alligators in the swamp itself.
Stella might not care how they breathed, but she was all about holding a baby gator and watching one eat a huge chunk of raw chicken in person.
“Can we go? Please? Please?” Stella asked, getting up on her knees and facing Addison with a look that Addison was sure meant “I’m going to die if I don’t meet an alligator.”
Stella was gorgeous. Her big blue eyes like her dad’s, her dark hair like Addison’s, the curls that came from who knew where in the family tree, and the sweet smile all combined into a beautiful picture. But it was the light that seemed to come from within her, the enthusiasm for life, and the fearless spirit, that really made her dazzling.
On impulse, Addison hugged her close. “I think we can,” she said. “It sounds like fun.” She had to admit this was not her kind of thing. She didn’t camp and hike and boat. She liked to walk outdoors if the ground under her was paved and she could stop every so often and shop. Or eat. Or both. But for Stella, she’d do anything.
“You’re the best mom ever!” Stella declared, giving her a big kiss on the cheek before vaulting off the couch and running back over to her art supplies. “I’m going to draw airboats and alligators!”
Addison grinned. She did love Stella’s exuberance and try-anything attitude. There were so many things Addison had done that she never would have otherwise because of Stella’s enthusiasm and Addison’s desire to give her daughter wonderful experiences. They’d run through the sprinklers in the park just because the sprinklers had been on and it sounded fun. Another day, they’d found a lost puppy and had taken it to a shelter, then ended up volunteering at the shelter once a month, playing with the animals. Once, walking by a fire station, Stella had asked if she could sit in one of the trucks. Addison had gone in and asked, and five minutes later, Stella was on a tour of the station, had a plastic firefighter hat, and had, indeed, sat in a fire truck. And Addison had sat in that fire truck as well. And enjoyed every second.
And Stella was only five. Addison was equally excited and dreading the things Stella would talk her into in the years to come.
And, as she watched Stella color in a not-too-bad-for-a-five-year-old alligator, despite her best effort not to, Addison wondered if Cooper liked to draw and if he had a puppy and if he’d ever sat in a fire truck.
“Stella was terrible about going to bed and staying there,” Addison said.
It was her third meeting with the group, and she’d quickly gotten comfortable talking and sharing. No one judged, and everyone had struggles with parenting. It was two hours that Addison very much looked forward to already. She’d booked a babysitter—much to Elena’s chagrin—for Thursday nights for the next two months. And it was only 50 percent about getting to see Gabe. Okay, 60 percent. It was hard seeing him and not wishing they could go to Café du Monde . . . or back to the apartment over the bar. But she did love the moments when he’d come up behind her and say something sexy that no one else could hear, and the looks he gave her from where he always sat directly across the circle from her.
“So I came up with a system,” she went on. “I put a clear glass jar in her room by her bed. After I’d tucked her in and we had bedtime stories done and drinks of water and everything else done, I’d put five pennies in the jar. Every time she came out of her room, she had to bring me a penny. At the end of the week, she could spend the pennies she had left on candy and gum and stickers and little toys at the pharmacy on the corner. So, the fewer times she got out of bed, the more money she had at the end of the week.”
Caleb gave her a huge grin. “That is a fantastic idea. I really think Shay would go for that.”
Addison smiled back. “No problem.”