Chapter 8
“It’s good to have you home.”
Wade, standing at the window overlooking The Peaks grounds, pivoted to his mother, her voice and jasmine scent reaching him before she did.
Regina passed over a water glass and sipped from hers. “You’re going to see Bella today, right?”
“We’re meeting up soon.” He’d promised Claire, promised himself. Still, he was stalling, dragging out the time to delay the inevitable.
One side of her mouth quirked. “You never rush into new attachments.”
He saluted with his glass. “Part of being adopted, even after years of my parents and siblings showering me with love.”
Her eyes narrowed.
Apparently, his flippancy didn’t mislead her. No, not his mother who always saw more than he and his siblings planned to reveal.
He gulped down his water. “Okay, the big deal in this situation?”
“Bella reminds you of Albert’s absence.”
Yep, she nailed it.
His phone buzzed a text.
Claire: We’re headed to Stone Park. Bella’s been restless. Meet us there instead?
He hit the smiley-face emoji. “I’d better get going, Mom.” Postponing seeing Bella wouldn’t change anything except heap up regret over not keeping his word. “I’m already running late.”
With her glass, she gestured him off.
Soon, he navigated the tree-lined streets.
The September breeze whistling through his half-open window carried a crisp pine mixed with the faint sweetness of fall.
While Pleasant View wasn’t his birthplace, it was the first place he’d felt he truly belonged after Kyle and Regina had taken him in.
They moved to Pleasant View just shy of a year after his adoption.
He drove past the recently built senior living center, its sleek, rustic-modern facade blending well with the town’s enduring historical buildings.
He stopped at the light. The low rumble of his Chevy vibrated through his palms on the steering wheel.
He’d bought his first vehicle used, and while it had several trips to the shop, he preferred driving it whenever he was home.
The faint scent of worn leather seats mingled with a hint of motor oil.
One of the smells of home—in his town. The light turned green.
He turned onto Deer Lane, avoiding Main where familiar faces might sidetrack him.
He pulled up to the park. Cool air swept over him when he stepped out, wafting the earthy scent of dry grass. Orange and amber peppered the trees. In another week or two, the whole park would be ablaze, the kind of autumn colors that beckoned tourists for photos and fall getaways.
Children’s happy squeals rang out. Kids darted between the slides and swings.
The sights and sounds drew him back to his childhood—him and his siblings jumping into piles of leaves.
His brother Eric had donated to this very park, creating a haven where families could gather.
Soon enough, the town would be hosting the annual Leaf Day and Fall Fest for kids to run wild through the piles of fallen leaves with hot-cider stands dotting the park.
Eric had a knack for making childhood memories timeless.
Wade passed the bench the community dedicated to his brother.
His gaze flitted to the colorful play set ahead, and the weight of each step slowed his progress.
His flannel suddenly felt too warm, clinging to him as his stomach twisted.
Seeing Bella would be grounding yet heartbreaking, joy mixed with the grief of losing Albert.
A family with a border collie trotted from the opposite direction, and he paused to crouch and pat the dog, the fur rippling under his fingers. He grinned at the two teenagers, then their mom who clutched a toddler on her hip. “How are you guys today?”
“Xander?” The teen girl snatched a tiny notebook from her flashy shoulder bag.
“Wade Stone from Peak Protectors,” said her brother.
“That’s me.” Wade chuckled.
The woman nudged her daughter forward. “Go on, honey. We’ve probably watched Peak Protectors twenty times.”
“Dad and I have watched Fast Lane to Love and Love in the Rearview like three times,” the boy added.
Wade smirked. “That’s cool—just don’t drive like in the movies.”
The boy gave him a fist bump. Then Wade scribbled his name in the girl’s notebook and returned it.
Her cheeks flushed. “Thanks. You’re from Pleasant View?”
“That’s right.” He then thanked the family for being fans.
“Your brother Nate is a NASCAR racer, right?” the boy asked.
Then followed questions about whether Wade went to Pleasant View High and if he mountain biked, snowboarded, and skied in real life like in the character he’d portrayed in the mountain sports drama.
“And did you and Blair get married?” the girl asked.
Wade chuckled. “Yes to all your questions. Except for Blair.” Xander’s love interest.
The girl tossed her head back, and the mom tugged her daughter’s shoulder, then mouthed a thank you to Wade.
With a final wave to the family, he rolled down his sleeves and continued on. The murmurs of passersby floated on the breeze, and he returned their beaming smiles with casual waves, recognizing the glimmers of familiarity in their eyes.
He didn’t know all the town’s residents yet he still got requests to sign an autograph. Regardless, he was still just “one of the Stone boys.” Like the locals always referred to Wade and his brothers. Just like his sisters were the Stone girls.
Wade walked to the edge of the playground. A mother and daughter giggled together on the spinny toy. Another child shrieked with laughter as she slid down the red slide. Farther down, a boy clung to his dad’s hand. Where was Claire?
There.
She sat on a park bench across from the play set for younger children.
Her shoulders hunched, and a deep frown etched across her face.
Bella squirmed in her lap, her tiny fists flailing as her cries pierced the air, a stark contrast to the other kids’ cheerful squeals.
Claire’s lips moved in murmurs, but the baby’s scrunched, tear-streaked face only seemed to twist tighter.
Wade’s chest tightened, and something writhed deep in his gut.
Claire looked up, her gaze meeting his, and his pulse quickened.
Whatever his heart was doing had nothing to do with romantic feelings.
He was here for the baby, and her cries called out as a reminder.
He hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on what Albert’s absence would mean for Bella.
Seeing her now, this small, vulnerable child in the hands of the only family she had left, had his chest gripping tight.
“She’s… not herself today.” Claire shifted the baby with gentle, rhythmic bounces. “Didn’t sleep well, which is… well, pretty much every night.”
Her tired, tender gaze and love for the child sent compassion through him. He lowered himself onto the bench beside them, unable to resist reaching out. “May I?”
She handed Bella over.
As he gathered her tiny little self into his arms, Bella’s sobs didn’t lessen. Then she pressed her face into his shoulder, restless. Her small breaths hitched.
Tender affection claimed him beneath her warm weight, her head tucked against his neck, her soft cheek wet on his skin. He took a shuddering breath, the ache in his chest almost unbearable. He rubbed her back and murmured over the lump in his throat. “I’m here now, sweet girl.”
Her breathing began to steady, her cries tapering into whimpers, then silence.
He closed his eyes, reining in the tingle behind them, overwhelmed by the sheer trust the baby expressed.
Her fingers clung to his collar, her little hand grasping onto him as if he were a lifeline.
The small rhythm of her heartbeat somehow felt in sync with his own.
This wasn’t like holding a costar’s baby on set.
This was real. Bella was Albert’s child, Wade’s child now.
“I recently read that babies can remember smells.” Claire’s awed voice floated from beside him. Her gaze further settled him. “You calmed her down.”
“I don’t know how you do this all the time.”
Could it be that Bella recognized Wade’s scent from when he’d held her like three months ago? Surely, she hadn’t mistaken him for her daddy.
“She’s been crying on and off for a half hour.” Claire folded her arms across her yellow sweater and slumped against the bench. Though exhaustion drug down her features, her light-brown skin remained vibrant, flawless. “She… cries a lot lately. I wish I knew what to do.”
“You’re doing more than enough.” He adjusted Bella’s hoodie to cover her ears and thumbed her wispy hair behind her ears. He then kissed the top of her head, her eyes seeming heavy. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here sooner.”
Maybe he directed the apology to Bella, maybe to Claire, but he kept his focus on the baby. Her small fingers still clutched his collar like she didn’t want to let go.
“You’re here now.” Claire’s reassurance made him never want to walk away, but this was all too soon. How could he handle this parenting task when filming started next week?
They sat in silence, the children’s happy shrieks fading into a background hum. Bella’s little head rested against his shoulder, her breaths steady. He swallowed hard. Best he didn’t make promises he might not keep, though.
“Thanks for meeting me today.”
“I’m glad you wanted to meet her.”
His lips parted, almost saying it was her idea, but he nodded instead.
“So… are you ready for the”—she raised her hands, adding air quotes, her eyes alight and her lips twitching upward—“‘wedding’?”
The thought still felt surreal. “You already had a fitting?”
“Yeah.” She ducked her head. Her grin sheepish, she tucked springy curls back from her cheeks. “Irina insisted I go in on Saturday, the day after we spoke. They want me to come back today for the final adjustments.”
Wade couldn’t help but smile at the image of Claire trying on dresses, no doubt looking stunning. “I know this isn’t the kind of wedding you’d anticipated.”
“It’s… a wedding, nonetheless.”