Angie’s brow furrowed. “Oh, yeah! Where is she? Do you not get to see her all the time?”

“No, sunshine. She died when she was two.”

Angie’s smile dropped and she leaned forward, her little body still as she gazed up at him. “I am so sorry, Benji.”

Tapping the hand she had placed on him, he nodded. “Thanks, sunshine. But the reason why I’m giving you this money is because I never got to send her, Leary, to college. So I want to make sure that a little girl who is as awesome as she was gets to go to school.”

Angie sat for a long moment, staring at him, and then she smiled. “I’m going to make you proud, Benji. I promise. For you and for your daughter.”

Reaching out, he ruffled her hair. “Anyone ever say you’re wise beyond your years?”

She nodded, exhaling a breath. “A few. I get that a lot. My grandma says it’s ’cause I’m so smart.”

Laughing, he turned in his seat. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but he felt good.

And, above all, he was starting to love life again.

“All right, Hart, let’s go.”

“Sounds good, Paxton.”

When the doorbell rang, Benji rolled his eyes.

Surely, Lucy didn’t just ring the doorbell.

“Someone’s here!” Angie yelled from where she was playing NHL 15 in the living room. Shaking his head because he was pretty sure it was Lucy, he pulled the potpie from the oven and placed it on the counter, taking off his oven mitts before heading to the front door. Looking at Angie as he passed, he made a face. She was standing in his gamer chair, balancing as she played.

“Girl, sit down before you fall and bust your face,” he said and she dropped down, grinning up at him as he reached for the door. Opening it, he found Lucy standing on the front porch, her hands tucked in her pockets.

“Really?” he asked and she shrugged.

“I didn’t want to just walk in.”

“You should have,” he said as she walked past him, but she didn’t get far before he took a handful of her ass. Looking back at him, she gave him a little kitten grin before Angie jumped out of the chair and went for her.

“Hey, honey, did you have a good day at school?”

“Yeah! Me and Benji played hockey all afternoon, but he made me study for, like, seven hours. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get a hundred tomorrow.”

Lucy smiled, moving Angie’s hair out of her face before looking over at Benji. “That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, he said I can hang my test on the fridge if I do. But only if it’s a hundred. Have you seen his fridge? It’s huge, and did you know he cooks? Like, really cooks, Mom, like chops veggies instead of getting bags of frozen ones.”

He smiled. “That was a big deal, apparently.”

Lucy grinned. “I’m not much of a cook. Grandma always did all the cooking, huh?”

Angie nodded. “My grandma is the best cook ever. You should so come to dinner one night at her house.”

“If I get an invite, I’m there. I love food.”

“Me too!” Angie gushed, wrapping her arms around Lucy. “Mommy does too, huh, Mom?”

“I do,” she said, kissing the top of her head. “I smell something yummy.”

“Yes! Benji made potpie. Can you believe it? It’s your favorite,” Angie sang, hopping around before heading toward the kitchen.

Looking back at Benji, she smiled. “She’s happy.”

“Yeah, we’ve had a great afternoon.”

She grimaced a little when Angie screamed her name. “Sorry if she’s been a little wacky. Her meds usually wear off by six.”

“She’s been great,” he reassured her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “I can’t kiss you, can I?”

She glanced to the kitchen as Angie yelled, “Mom! Come look!”

She looked back and he smiled. “Come on. I slayed that pie for you,” he said, taking her jacket for her as she smiled a thanks. “Did you get everything finished?” he asked as he hung her jacket in the coat closet.

“Yeah, what a mess,” she complained, shaking her head before they made their way into the kitchen. She explained how her distributor had sent the wrong items and told her they weren’t going to fix it, but when she threatened to take her business somewhere else, they sang a different tune and found someone in town to deliver for her. “Thankfully, we got it done and everything is beautiful. I also get free Mexican anytime I want it.”

“I love cheese dip!” Angie cheered from the counter as Lucy came to a stop at it.

“Wow, this looks amazing,” she gushed and Benji smiled proudly. “Looks almost too good to eat!”

“That’s what I said,” Angie giggled and Benji nodded.

“She did.”

Lucy laughed, her face bright as she cuddled Angie to her side. “Like mother, like daughter, huh?”

“Yup!” Angie agreed as she took the plates Benji had laid out. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Looking over at Benji, Lucy didn’t move as Angie started to set the table. “It does look really good. Thank you for having us over.”

“Anytime. I hope this can become a regular thing for us,” he said and she grinned as Angie shrieked.

“Oh my God, please, Mom. I had so much fun today.”

Lucy smiled as she took the forks and knives, heading to the table. “We’ll see, okay? Benji is busy.”