Chapter 387

Madison

I twisted Ethan’s dinosaur shirt, trying to get his squirming arms through the sleeves.

“Can we get dessert?” He bounced on one foot while I wrestled with the fabric. “A big one? Like this big?” His arms spread as wide as they could reach, nearly smacking me in the face.

“We’ll see.” I pulled the shirt down and reached for his shoes. “Right foot first, buddy.”

“But I want a big dessert. With ice cream. And chocolate. And more ice cream on top of that ice cream.”

“That’s a lot of ice cream.”

“I know!” His eyes sparkled with the kind of pure enthusiasm only a four-year-old could muster. “Can we get pizza too? With pepperoni? And can I have soda?”

“No soda. Nice try.”

“But Mom!”

“Nope.” I tied his shoes and stood, smoothing his hair. “Go ask Grandma if she wants to come with us.”

He raced from the room, his footsteps thundering down the hallway with all the grace of a tiny elephant.

I grabbed my purse and