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“You have this single-dad thing down”

“It’s all an act,” I tell her as we make our way out to my truck “It’s more of a ‘fake it until you make it’ kind of situation”

“I don’t see that at all”

“No? I’ht”

“Stop”

I load Milo into the truck and pull the blanket back fro droopy My boy can’t resist a ride, puts him to sleep every time “Really,” I say once I’ if I’h care of him I don’t want to mess him up, you know?”

“First of all, that’s absurd Do you love him?”

“Of course I do What kind of question is that?”

“Sorry, it wasn’t meant to sound bad What Ithat you do The way you hold him, the way you talk to him, the way you take care of him No one is perfect, Colton But at the end of the day, if you’ve done your best and you can say without a shadow of a doubt that he knows you love hi colors as a father” My chest inflates fro at this mostly on my own, and it’s nice to know that so and that I lovein me

“I hope you’re right It’s not just being a single father, but it’s raduated and enlisted That’s been my life Short visits home, then back into the barracks, or the field I feel so… out of place That’s really the best way that I can explain it”

“I can iine that would be hard for you”

I nod “Yeah, my brothers, those not by blood, but by duty, they wereand standing tall without me Sorry, I don’t mean to drop all of this on you”

“You have to talk to soer”

“I’d hardly call us strangers” She’s consu but a stranger to me at this point

“We’re ers than friends, maybe acquaintances”

Glancing over, I see she’s staring out the passenger-sideShe looks sad, lost in her own thoughts I reach over and placemy eyes back to the road “We should fix that” Sure, it’s selfish oftells me she needs it just as much, if not more than I do