I’d wanted to be a dad.
Emma and I talked about having kids after we got married.
And then— I leave my UTV where it is and just start running. Delta races beside me as we crest the hill and take off toward the nearest pasture. My boots hit the ground with a heavy thud, my jeans slick to my skin within minutes, thanks to the sweat forming along my skin.
But I keep pushing.
Change happens during moments of discomfort. So maybe, if I’m lucky, I can exhaust myself so much that I’ll become the version of me I could have been if the world hadn’t detonated around me.
Chapter 10
Emma
After what I have to admit was probably the tastiest meal I’ve ever had, I finish my glass of water. Gio had it brought in for me from the kitchen by a woman in a black dress and white apron. Though she didn’t say a single word to anyone, she anticipated their needs in a way that I always thought only happened in movies.
Apparently, you just need a seemingly endless amount of money.
“So you’re a teacher then?” Felicity asks.
I nod. “Kindergarten.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Very much so. I love my students as if they were my own children.”
“But you have no children of your own?” Gio questions. “Never been married?”
“No. Just never met the right guy, I guess.” I take another drink of water, the glass already freshened by one of the wait staff.
“So no husband, but what about the boyfriend?” Gio asks. “He seemed—angry.”
“Dylan’s not my boyfriend,” I reply quickly. “We dated a bit in high school, but that was it.”
“Yet it was him you called,” Gio presses.
“I—”
“Darling, let the girl breathe. She hasn’t been a part of our family for even a full day, and you’re grilling her over boys as though she’s in her teens instead of her mid-thirties,” Felicity scolds with a smile and a click of her tongue.
Gio seems unfazed at first, but then he leans back and wipes his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Yes, well, I suppose I’m trying to make up for lost time.”
The doors open, and a man wearing a black suit walks into the room. He has a tattoo that climbs up his neck, and his eyes are shielded behind dark glasses even though it’s well past sundown outside.
My stomach twists as he leans in and whispers something to Gio.
“Aah, okay. Thank you.” The man turns to leave, and even though I can’t see his eyes, I get the faintest impression that he’s sizing me up as he leaves the room. “Emmaline, I’m afraid that my pilot has grounded the plane for the evening due to storms.”
“Storms?” I turn to look at the open balcony doors. There’s a soft breeze coming in off the ocean, but the weather seems clear.
“Not here,” he replies. “Over Texas. It seems there’s a strong system moving in, and he says it’s not safe to fly at the present moment.”
Another dose of nerves dances through my system. “You said I could go home tonight. Are there no other flights?”
“Not at this hour. We use a helicopter to take us from where we are now to the private airport we use for travel. Unfortunately, the nearest commercial airport is three hours away, and they’ll likely have the same issue.”
His words make sense, but that does nothing to silence the shrieking alarms in my mind.
Pretend, Emma, I remind myself. Pretending is something I became good at over the years. I pretend that seeing Dylan every day doesn’t gut me.
