Stepdad

FORTY-NINE

Allie was overwhelmed with emotion when they pulled into the parking lot at the airport. She was overly excited to meet Casie but nervous at the same time, her hands shaking as her anxiety began kicking in. She was worried that Casie wouldn't like her, even though it was clear that she did.

"I already have a date planned out for me and Casie." Allie didn't want to overstep any boundaries and piss Casies mom off, but she wanted to get to know her and let Casie get to know her as well. She figured Casie might open up more with her dad not around listening.

"Oh yeah? You haven't even planned a date for us yet." Colson joked, nudging her with his elbow as they made their way into the airport to look for Casie. There was so many people in the lobby that he wasn't sure if it was even safe for his daughter to fly alone.

"You haven't planned a date for us either so I gave up on you and I'm gonna spend my time with the better Baker." Colson's jaw dropped as he stopped in the middle of the lobby to look over at her. He couldn't believe the audacity that she seemed to have.

"Daddy!" She heard a soft voice yell from a few feet away before Colson's torso was engulfed in a bear hug. Allie was sure she had never seen a girl as beautiful as Casie before. To Allie, Casie was the definition of perfect. Just like her daddy.

Casie finally let go of her father and turned to look at Allie with a bright smile, her eyes sparkling in the light. "Hi, Allie!" Casie squealed out before she was engulfed in the same bear bug that her father received. "I'm so glad mom changed her mind."

Allie was touched, her arms slipping around the young girls shoulders. Allie had always wanted a daughter, and now she had the best one, even if she wasn't married to her father and she wasn't biologically hers. She would treat her no differently.

"I'm glad she did too! I have been looking forward to meeting you since I heard about you." That was true, she had made it known countless times that she wanted to take Casie to do things boys just didn't care to do. Now she was getting her chance.

She felt Colson's hands land on her shoulders after her and Casie parted, Colson interrupting their moment. "Allie has a whole day planned for you both already so I'm going to let y'all do that while I go take Ryker on a date to Chuck-E-Cheese."

"Can we catch up with y'all after? I wanna play some games with Ryker." Casie pleaded, giving Colson the puppy dog eyes. Allie didn't mind, it would be some quality time for them all. They all deserved a good day to relax and have fun for once.

"Sure. I'll drop y'all off at the mall before I go pick Ryker up."

*****

Allie was sitting across from Casie at a table in the food court, deciding they should eat some lunch before they go shopping. Casie had a smile on her face but Allie could tell that something was bothering her. Every now and then she would check her phone and her smile would disappear.

Allie finished the fry she was holding before she decided to make sure she was okay. "Is something wrong?" She asked the girl, watching her eyes immediately lower to the food in front of her. Allie reached out to place her hand on Casies. "You can talk to me if you need to. Maybe I can help."

Casie thought about it for a minute before she let out a small sigh and got back on her phone to pull up the text conversation with her mother to show Allie. Allie was confused, staring at the phone with a dumbfounded expression. "She hasn't texted or called me since I left the house."

Allie blinked a few times, having a hard time believing what she just heard. How could a mother put her underage daughter on a plane alone and not check in on her? This world wasn't safe enough for that anymore. This made her extremely worried about Casies safety.

"Did she take you to the airport?" Allie had to know more about what was going on because if Casie wasn't being properly looked after, she was going to have to tell Colson. She wouldn't have a choice at that point. She would want to know if the situation was reversed.

She watched Casie shake her head with a heavy heart, Casie looking back down at her food again. "She was at work." Casie mumbled, avoiding eye contact with Allie. "I had to walk from my house to the airport to come here." Allies eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she heard that.

"You walked? Alone?" Allie was trying her best to keep her voice low so she wouldn't scare Casie but she was furious. Casie wasn't even old enough to have a permit, she shouldn't be walking the streets alone. She could have been abducted and nobody would know where she was. That would crush both Allie and Colson.

Casie nodded her head and looked down again, Allie having to let the situation go for the time being since this was supposed to be a fun day for them. She decided that she would just tell Colson later on. "You know what? Let's go get our hair done." Casie seemed to perk up when Allie mentioned that. Allie didn't know that Casie had been wanting this for a while.

On the way to the salon, Allie couldn't help but wonder if it was even her place to say something or if she should let Casie tell her father. She didn't want to upset Casie and lose her trust. Allie was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

If she told Colson, he would surely flip out on Casies mom and if it ever got out that Allie told Colson, she would probably never be able to see Casie again. She knew she had to do what's best for Casie but is it really best if it risks her not being able to come back? She would be left with just her mother.

A/N:

Short chapter because I just got off work and I'm about to go to bed. I hope you all had/are having a great day!