Chapter 10
ten
Jackson
I round the corner of the ice cream parlor on Main Street and exhale a pent-up breath.
The press conference was grueling. It seemed that every sports reporter had picked up on the rivalry between Granite Ice and Noah’s new team.
I hate that they are making our former teammate into an enemy.
Thankfully, most of the questions weren’t for me, but I’m still glad it’s over.
Now I need to grab Rigsby, and I can finally be done with this day.
As much as I love spending time with my nephew—and I’m glad I helped my sister—I’m not going to lie and say this day hasn’t been stressful.
“Uncle Jack!” I’d know Rigsby’s voice anywhere. I turn and find them sitting at a long table by the front window. All three have ice cream sundaes the size of salad bowls in front of them, every color topping mashed like an abstract mosaic.
There’s an empty seat next to Rigsby, and I slide in, first making eye contact with Rigsby, then quickly leveling my gaze with Kaci. It’s random, and completely unexpected but my heart skips a beat. I fight the urge to suck back a deep breath, and manage a casual, “How did it go?”
“Funerals are boring,” Rigsby’s tone is like a foghorn, stressing the first syllable on boring. He doesn’t elaborate, shoveling another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.
“I would assume it wasn’t entertaining as that’s not the point.” I notice chocolate syrup smeared on Rigsby’s cheek. Grabbing a napkin from the pile in front of me, I proceed to wipe it. Apparently, I’m turning into my mother.
“It went mostly okay,” Kaci says while slightly tilting her head toward Bella—who now that I look at her, has a vacant expression on while her eyes glue to her ice cream.
It’s not the typical excited way a child should look at ice cream.
Her slack jaw and slumped posture are the most telling signs of this conversation.
“What happened?” I direct my question at Kaci with a softened voice.
“Everything was fine.” She drops her hand around Bella’s shoulder and gives her a squeeze.
“They were amazingly well-behaved. I had to go to the cemetery, where Bella tripped, and her favorite bear flew right into the open grave.” She arches her hand to illustrate how it flew and adds, “Nobody was around to help me. I wasn’t going to crawl down there.
I’m going to see if I can get ahold of someone who manages the cemetery before they close it up, but there wasn’t anyone at the city office to answer my calls today. I’ll try again in the morning.”
I visualize the bear flying into the grave. On any other day it might be funny. However, to a child who lost her favorite toy, I understand why she’s devastated. “That’s awful. I’m sorry that happened.”
Bella dips her head lower over her ice cream, which is starting to resemble something closer to soup. As if this horrible day needs a metaphorical cherry on top, Rigsby's elbow slips off the table, and his hand jerks to the left, swooshing his sundae to slide toward me.
I’m about to wear it.
I’m lightning-fast and stop it with both hands, preventing it from tipping off the table, but not from spilling over the side of the bowl.
“Whoa.” I slowly slide the bowl back to safety. “Be careful, buddy.”
“Sorry.” His lips pull down in an apologetic wince.
“Nice save.” Kaci hands some paper napkins to me.
Our fingers brush together for a mere moment, but the skin-on-skin contact sends an electric zap to my heart.
I do a double take back at her. I’ve never had this reaction to anyone, and it’s so odd.
My skin warms just being next to her, as if it’s attuned to her presence.
Fumbling with my napkin, I succeed in wadding it into a giant sticky ball. My hands are sticky, and this paper napkin only makes it worse. I stand, peeling the napkin off my fingers, and excuse myself. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go wash my hands.”
I toss the napkin into the trash on the way to the bathroom, and the young woman working behind the counter catches my attention and asks. “Can I get you an ice cream?”
“Nah.” I shake my head, doing my best not to touch anything. I don’t want to get anything sticky. “I’m only here to meet those guys but thank you.”
“Ah, yes.” Her gaze shifts back to Kaci and the kids sitting up front. “You have such a beautiful wife and kids. You’re a very lucky man.”
“She’s, uh, not…” I pause, choking up and trying again, “That’s not my…uh.” I curl my fingers into a fist and pound on my chest, trying to break the pressure, but it’s strange how I can’t speak.
Where did this sudden burst of emotion come from?
There’s no reason to explain to this woman that Kaci isn’t my wife. She doesn’t know either of us, and it doesn’t matter—but I should at least be able to get the words out.
“Oh, here.” She reaches under the counter and grabs a few packets of wet napkins and slides them across the counter to me. “Take these for your kids.”
“Thank you.” I manage to smile while the words “they aren’t my kids” cling to the tip of my tongue.
Those words are broken.
And I don’t know why.
Or maybe I do know why.
Maybe it’s because deep down, I sort of wish they were my kids.
I’ve always seen myself as a family guy.
Although, I’ve never put a timeline on that sort of thing as I always assumed it would fall into place when it was meant to happen.
After today and spending a whole day in the chaos of parenthood, I’ve been given a taste of what that life could be, and my heart feels a little bit hollow.
I’ve been shown what I’m missing out on.
Sure, it’s a lot more stress, but it’s also a lot more fun.
Not to mention, I wasn’t bored or lonely once today as I didn’t have time for either of those emotions.
I’m stuck with all my words clogging my throat while she returns to her work.
Maybe I don’t need to explain to her, but something is happening inside my chest that I need to figure out for myself.
I retrieve the wet napkins and force my legs to walk back to the table.
My vision morphs into a weird haze, hyper-focused on Kaci, and a single word rings round my head.
Wife.
That’s so crazy that the lady thought Kaci was my wife and these are my kids. I’m just babysitting. A forced chuckle leaks out of my brain. Kaci turns to me, meeting my gaze, and a tsunami crashes over, blanketing all my thoughts, leaving only her image embedded in them.
What is happening?
I take one of the wet napkins and clean off the ice cream while my ears ring with the word wife sounding louder and louder in my head.
I’m losing it.
I’m about to smack the side of my head to try to reset my hearing because this is totally crazy, but I don't want to look insane.
“Great idea.” Kaci cuts off my ear ringing, extending her hand for one of the wet napkins.
I hand her one, open the remaining packet, and hand it to Rigsby, directing him to clean his hands, while my heart beats like a bass drum, warning me.
Warning me about what?
I have this alarm going off in my chest, but I don’t know why.
My heart thrums against my chest, as if announcing, “That’s your wife—you’re wasting your shot."
I mentally argue back.
What shot?
Since I apparently now have this weird split personality thing going on, my brain responds with a rebuttal that makes my blood run cold.
“How did you miss this before? It’s a ready-made family. If she leaves now, this day will be one of those random memories we both tuck away about the worst day ever.”
Okay, so what? I argue back.
On cue, my brain rattles back, “What if you were brought together for another purpose? A purpose that’s slowly slipping away.”
What is going on?
I barely know this woman, and you are trying to tell me she could be my wife? This is absurd.
Sweat pours from my palms as panic seeds in my chest. I feel like I need to stall—to say something, anything—to give me a few more minutes until I can figure out what’s going on.
“Uh, do you guys have any plans for this evening?” I ask casually, using the last clean spot on the wet napkin to wipe the edge of the table in front of Rigsby.
“Not really.” The sigh she emits is mixed with relief and exhaustion. “Just the usual. Dinner and homework for me. I assume the kids don’t have homework because of the field trip. So, maybe watch some TV. What about you? Do you have practice?”
“Uh, no. We only practice once a day. I’m usually in bed early, but Rigsby’s dad’s going to grab him later, so he can meet the new baby. We have some time though. If you’re up for one more stop, I have an idea that Bella will love.”
“You want to go somewhere else?” Her hand slides over her hair, smoothing it down.
Oh, man, she’s a gift to humanity. How did I not notice that before?
Maybe because she’s no longer scowling. She suddenly has this new way of looking at me with a soulful expression, complete with a pouty lip. “Is it far?” she asks.
“Not far at all.” I hang onto her gaze, as if challenging her to look more deeply into my eyes.
A switch has flipped in my brain. It’s my mission to convince this woman that we’re perfect together.
I’m not exactly sure how that’s going to happen, especially when we spent most of the day fighting—but whatever I do, it needs to happen soon.
I will not be a fallen soldier in the friend zone, or worse yet, just a forgotten acquaintance.
Back that up. Friend zone is much worse. That’s where you hang out and must listen to all the jerks she is dating.
Nope. That will not happen.
I snap my gaze at the kids. We don’t even ask them if they want to go. Rigsby is already sliding off his chair, and Bella’s eyes lock on me with curiosity as she pipes up, “What is it?”
“It’s something you’re going to enjoy the most.” I extend my hand out, gesturing for her to go ahead, and we all meander to the door. “Okay, kids,” I call a little louder, so they follow my directions. “Zip up your coats. We’re taking a left, and then we walk two blocks.”
The kids bolt ahead, leaving Kaci and me to hang back. For the first time all day, we are alone. Sort of. “So,” I let out a long sigh. “The woman in there thought you were my wife.”
It’s a test.
I want to see what her reaction is to those words. I give her a side-eye and my best flirty smile while the top of her ears turn pink.
Not red hot like she’s mad.
More like she’s blushing.
Could she be attracted to me as I am to her?
And she’s blinking.
Like a lot.
I lose count of how many times. Too much blinking. Blinking feels bad. Until her lips slightly part, and I fix my gaze on the corners of her perfectly formed lips, waiting for a giggle or some hint of how she feels, but nothing comes out.
I smile bigger. My ego inflates a smidge since she didn’t outright laugh at the idea. Our steps fall into sync, and I stuff my hands in my jacket pockets as a cool breeze sweeps around us, carrying her scent to me. Fresh floral essence, like a winter haven.
I’ve never been shy, and since I feel like we’re on some sort of time limit, I don’t hesitate to tell her, “Has anyone ever told you that you smell amazing?”
Her lips part as she releases a sharp hiss followed by a shallow chuckle. “Not recently.”
The kids stop at the corner, and I raise my voice, projecting it forward. “Stop and wait for us before you cross.” Then I laugh light-heartedly, peering at Kaci. “This parenting thing is not for the weak.”
“You can say that again.” Her eyes stay locked on Bella up ahead. We finally catch up with the kids, and I point to the toy store on the corner. “Right in here, kids.”
“Build-A-Bear.” Kaci’s expression twists with questions, and she whispers under her breath, “I don’t think we should go in. These bears are all like forty dollars, and it’s not in my budget, not after having to fix my car today—”
“My treat.” I open the door as far as it goes and usher everyone inside. “Bella gets a new bear, and Rigsby, get whatever animal you want.”
The kids push past us, both fitting through the doorway at the same time, and they head to explore their options. Kaci hangs back with a hesitant expression. “You don’t have to buy her one of these.”
“Your daughter just lost her most prized stuffed animal.” It’s clear she’s not convinced because she’s not moving forward.
I drop my hand on her lower back and give a gentle press, trying to reassure her and coax her along.
Not going to lie. A whoosh zips through my gut when I touch her. “Let me do this for her.”
She finally joins Bella and Rigsby, and I stand back, taking it all in.
My heart inflates, never feeling this full before. I know these aren’t my kids, and Kaci is far from my wife, but I can’t help but think this is what random days with a family would feel like, and I’m soaking it all up.