“I’ll do my best.”
“I love you, Teddy,” she murmured against my chest. “I’ll be proud to introduce you to them. I love this baby and this life we’re making. I want my parents to be a part of it.”
“Me too, Kace,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “More than anything, I want that for you.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
We flew to San Diego the following afternoon, rented a car, and drove out to Mission Hills where the Dawsons lived.
“That one,” she said, releasing the death grip on my hand to point to a blue two-story with white trim. A green Subaru was parked in the drive.
“Déjà vu,” Kacey murmured. “This is what Jonah and I did when we came here. We staked out the place from our rental car, watched them leave the house to go out.”
“You didn’t stop them?”
She shook her head, her eyes on the house. “They looked too happy. I didn’t want to ruin it. We stayed in the car, and they drove away.”
“They never met him,” I said.
She shook her head, smiling sadly. “I regretted that,” she said. “Now I think it makes sense. I think maybe Jonah and I didn’t get of the car that day because he and I…we had a beautiful little pocket of time, a handful of months. And that’s all. But you, Teddy. You’re the man I’m going to introduce to my parents. You’re my forever. That’s why we’re going to get out of the car today.”
I held her gaze a moment, then surged across the seat to hold her face and kiss her.
“I love how brave you are,” I whispered against her lips.
“Brave? Look at this.” She held up her shaking hands.
“Whenever you’re ready. You tell me when.”
I felt her body expand and contract in a deep sigh. “It’s now or never.”
We exited the car, but she got no further than shutting her door.
“God,” she whispered. “What if they don’t accept me?”
My heart cracked a little at that. “Then it’s their loss, baby. Okay?”
She nodded and mustered a smile. We walked to the front door, Kacey holding tight to my hand. She reached out for the doorbell, squinched her eyes shut, and pushed. From inside, the bell rang, and she inched closer to me.
Footsteps, a lock turning, and then a woman in her mid-sixties opened the door. Brown hair, streaked with gray, touched her shoulders and cut across her forehead. Her lips held a polite answering-the-front-door smile for the space of one heartbeat before recognition dawned in her gray eyes.
And her smile fell off like a mask, leaving naked shock and even a twinge of fear. Not joy. Not surprise. Not love.
Damn you,I thought, my heart cracking again. Kacey’s hand went slack in mine, and I watched my brave girl force a smile through the pain.
“Hi, Mom.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-FOUR
I counted the seconds between my “Hi, Mom,” and my mother’s reply. I got to eight before she blinked as if coming out of a trance. Her hand clutched the buttons on her cardigan. I wanted both of her hands to reach for me and hold me like she did when I was a kid and my dad wasn’t around to see. I wanted to fly at her and hug her and breathe her in.
“Cassie,” she whispered. For a split second, her eyes filled, and a shocked smile tugged at her lips. My hopes soared, and then she gave herself a little shake, composing herself. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I…?” I repeated dumbly, the hope draining out of me.
