Jamie is still sleeping right beside me, and I look down at my son, watching his chest move up and down. He really is the light of my life, and my heart fills with love. How did I get a boy as wonderful as this? He starts to wiggle around, and his little hands stretch over his head as he yawns. He rubs his eyes to adjust to the light, and then looks up at me with a million questions on the tip of his tongue.
“Good morning, baby.” I move his hair out of his face. He raises his arms towards me, so I take him in my arms. Jamie is always so floppy when he’s sleepy, so his limbs are everywhere.
“What are we going to do today?” he mumbles.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “We can do a few lessons and then go outside? Would you like that?” While a skip day is nice, I can’t let Jamie take a whole week off just because my dad isn’t here. I like to think I’m a responsible parent.
“Yes,” he mumbles.
This floppy little boy takes a couple more minutes to fully wake up, but that’s okay. Just watching him brings me so much joy.
When he does get up, I help him through his morning and, soon, we’ve gotten through everything we need to. He excels at today’s lessons, just like he always does. Sometimes, I think I’m raising a little genius. He’s smart, like his dad, and my heart bursts with gratitude and pride.
We go outside, and Jamie is excited, twirling around in the sunshine while doing his own thing. I stand and watch him, trying to lose myself in the moment. My mind is consistently racing. This week is supposed to be a week for relaxing, but I can’t seem to let go.
Something’s off and it’s hard to put my finger on it. We’ve been outside for about twenty minutes, and it feels weird, but I can’t figure out why. There’s nothing clearly out of place. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, the leaves on the trees shake with a bit of wind. Wrapping my arms around my body, I try my best to ignore the odd feeling.
Fortunately, my son doesn’t sense the tension in the air. Jamie keeps running around, showing me all the cool tricks he’s been working on. But I can’t get my mind off it, whatever it is. There’s some rustling behind me, and I snap around, but there’s no one there. It’s probably the wind or maybe a squirrel. Since it’s so insignificant, I go back to watching my son. Now he’s doing a series of cartwheels, his smile getting bigger with each additional one. He whoops with laughter, squealing and laughing as he plays.
I shiver. It doesn’t matter but I swear to God I keep hearing something. A shiver runs down my back, and I peer over my shoulder again. Nope, there’s no one. Am I hallucinating?
Suddenly, a shadow comes over my form and I look up, shading my eyes from the bright light. Did a cloud suddenly appear, blocking the sun’s rays?
No, it’s not a cloud because it’s a man. What in the world? We’re pretty far out from any other estate, and visitors are unexpected. My mouth opens to scream when we make eye contact and my heart. Literally. Stops.
We stare at each other without moving. I can’t be seeing what I’m seeing. It’s impossible. I mean … there’s no way. Maybe I am hallucinating because why? Why now, after so many years?
“Haley,” he says in a smooth voice.
I bring my hands to my mouth to smother any sound. Tears are pricking my eyes, but I don’t know how to feel. He can’t be here, he can’t! I mean, it’s exactly what I wanted, but… why? How can this be happening? I can’t breathe, and I can’t think. My fingers clutch at my sides because my stomach is doing flip after flip. It’s from excitement, fear, and the myriad of emotions coursing through my veins. It’s too much
“Haley, Jesus Christ!” Jace starts towards me, putting his hand out. Before he can make contact, I jerk away and out of his grasp.
“Don’t touch me!” I snap.
It comes out a lot louder than I expect. Jace freezes and then moves away slightly. He’s huge, and absolutely gorgeous, exactly the way I remember. Maybe there are a few more lines around his mouth and eyes, but he’s still strikingly handsome. His hair, though shorter, is a deep, inky black, and god, those blue eyes. They fix me to the spot.
“Haley,” he says again carefully, holding one hand out. “Are you okay?”
I stammer a bit.
“I-I’m sorry, but this is a huge surprise. Please don’t touch me.”
“Okay, okay,” he puts his hands up in surrender. “I understand this is a surprise.” A surprise? That’s one way to put it. This is more than a surprise. This is a gosh darn bombshell!
