Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
SAVANNA
“You’re not burning it, are you?” I tease Dalton as he stands at the stove, in nothing but his boxers, working his chef magic. I sit propped up on the counter across from him, studying his grilled cheese-making technique.
He snorts, pointing at himself with the spatula. “Me? Burn a grilled cheese? You're joking, right?”
A smile beams from my face as I watch this playful side of him. “Hmm. If you say so...” I shrug.
“Oh. I say so, baby,” Dalton confirms, leaning into me for a kiss.
I kiss him back forcefully, still dumbstruck that he’s standing here in front of me.
In my kitchen.
Back in Tybee.
Dalton smiles against my lips before pulling away to flip the bread sizzling in the pan. After spending most of the afternoon wrapped up in one another, we finally make it down to the kitchen, trashing the grilled cheese that was left in the pan earlier and starting over.
Leaning back, I rest my hands on the counter, watching Dalton move around my small kitchen with a dish rag slung over his bare shoulder. My eyes follow him as he glides around the space, opening cabinets, rummaging through my drawers for utensils.
Like he lives here.
My hands get clammy against the tile at the thought.
What would that look like?
Will Dalton stay once he knows the truth?
He slides a finished grilled cheese onto a plate, cutting it into a perfect half-triangle. Walking over to me, he opens my crossed legs, making himself right at home between my thighs.
“Try it,” he demands, holding the sandwich to my lips.
I sink my teeth into the toasted bread, and a loud crunch fills the space between us. “So good,” I moan, closing my eyes.
When I open them, I see Dalton’s eyes flicker with heat.
I let out a giggle as he shakes his head. “You’re going to be the fucking death of me, you know that?”
My heart stops mid-chew, stomach tightening.
He slides his thumb against my lips, wiping away a crumb that’s gathered in the corner of my mouth. He brings his thumb up to his mouth, licking it off his finger. “See?” he says in a husky voice. “I told you I wouldn’t burn it.”
Dalton watches me intently, like he’s never been so fascinated.
“What?” I ask, bringing the sandwich to my mouth for another bite.
He chuckles, scratching his jawline. “It’s just that I love being here with you, in your kitchen, making you food….” He trails off slowly. “It’s just something I want to do all the time.”
My body stills.
I set the sandwich down on the plate, no longer hungry.
“Yeah…it’s been fun,” I sigh heavily. Hailey’s words from earlier linger in the back of my mind.
If he bolts, he bolts.
Dalton turns back to the stove, starting his own sandwich. He butters the bread and cuts a slice of cheese, and the pan sizzles as soon as he drops it in.
“I wanted to ask...” Dalton hesitates. “What have you told Drew about her father? I mean, when she asks about it? Hudson mentioned they’ve never met.”
He glances back at me over his shoulder, his eyebrow lifting, waiting for a response.
Is now the time to tell him about Drew?
I take a deep breath. “Well...I mean, I kinda just explained to her that sometimes dads don’t stay with their babies when they’re born, and she’s kinda just accepted that,” I admit, staring down at my feet, cheeks flaming with heat.
Guilt consumes me that I’ve let her believe that.
“I see,” he mutters, turning his attention back to the stove. “I mean, it’s none of my business, but he’s never tried reaching out?”
Dalton registers my silence and glances back at me.
I shake my head, averting my eyes.
Making a humming noise, he plates his sandwich, turning off the stove.
I clear my throat. “How come you never came back after basic, like you promised?” I ask quietly, my head dipping low, unsure if he even heard me.
Dalton’s body tenses, his throat swallowing hard. I watch his lips press into a thin line, turning his head to look out the kitchen window.
“I couldn’t come back here after I found out you were pregnant. I was fucking gutted,” he says, turning to look at me, sadness creeping into his face.
The air leaves my lungs. “Who told you I was pregnant?” My voice comes out shaky.
His body goes rigid, gripping the counter. “Hudson.” He blows out a breath. “Fuck, I can remember it like it was yesterday,” he confesses, head hanging low.
My body stiffens.
Hudson was away at college when I found out. I tried to keep the pregnancy a secret, for Dalton to be the first person to know. For us to figure it out together. But by then, I was already three months along.
When my parents became suspicious of me being sick every day, I had to tell them. I gave them a half-truth—that I was pregnant, but I didn’t know who the father was.
“What did he say?” My voice comes out low, holding my breath for his response.
Dalton glances up from his hands. “That you were pregnant. That you met some guy at a party and were with him,” he says, voice cracking.
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek. “You called Hudson? He told you I was pregnant and that I was with the father of my child?” I repeat the words back to him, making sure I heard him right.
Dalton rushes out a breath, glancing to meet my eyes. “Yeah, that about sums it up.” I watch as his knuckles turn white, gripping the counter. Lightening the mood, he chuckles, shaking his head. “I remember him being so wasted that he had to rush off the phone with me to play beer pong.”
My eyes widen, fingernails scraping the tile counter. The last six years of my life suddenly click together like a fucking puzzle. I wanted to know why Dalton didn’t come back, didn’t reach out to me.
And now I know.
He called Hudson first.
Dalton stands up, rolling his shoulders back, coming to stand between my legs again.
He tips my chin, laying a soft kiss on my lips.
“But hey, enough of the past. Even though I was a fucking mess when I found out, you have Drew now. And I wouldn’t want you to trade that for anything. She’s really a great kid, Savanna.”
I can feel moisture beading in the corner of my eyes. “Dalton...” I start, ready to tell him the truth, when a ringing interrupts me.
He glances down at his phone on the counter beside us. His face pulls tight. “Shit. I need to get this,” he says, picking it up. He takes a few steps backward before swiping it open.
“Hello?”
He pauses.
“Yes, sir. This is Dalton Hayes,” he says, glancing at me, then quickly looking away.
“Yes, sir. I got the email.” He clears his throat, running his free hand up and down the back of his neck. “I understand that I still haven’t confirmed the appointment time yet.”
Quirking a brow, I tilt my head, curious who’s on the other end of the line.
Dalton avoids my eyes, staring blankly out the kitchen window into my backyard.
“Yes, sir, I’m aware it’s time-sensitive.” He pauses, giving me a quick glance. “I’ll respond within the week. Thank you, sir. Bye.” Dalton hangs up, turning toward me.
“Something important?” I ask, studying his creased forehead.
He rubs his jaw, a heavy sigh falling from his chest. “Yeah. Something important.”
“Like what?”
His voice comes out strangled, eyes searching mine from across the kitchen. “Like my upcoming reenlistment appointment that I haven’t confirmed with my command yet.”
“Reenlistment?” My voice comes out shallow, heart rate picking up.
Dalton nods, blowing out a breath. “Yeah, another four years.”
“Another four years?” I repeat under my breath, chest pulling tight. “You can be out now?” I ask, my eyes now glued to my feet that are dangling off the counter.
I peek up when I hear Dalton’s voice.
His face sags. “Yeah, I can,” he rasps.
“Are you going to?” I ask, biting the corner of my cheek. The sudden realization that Dalton can be out now causes my stomach to flip.
After six years, Dalton can be here.
With us.
He draws in a sharp breath. “I don’t know, Savanna. The Marines weren’t even something I was contemplating giving up until a week and a half ago...” He pauses, lifting his shoulder in a half-shrug. “Until I came back here and saw you again.”
He stalks toward me and grabs my face with his palms. “You make me want things, Savanna.” His eyes search mine. “Things I could only dream about.”
My breath comes out in a rush as my eyes bore into his.
He steps back from me, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “But fuck, I don’t even know what I would do if I got out.” I watch him pace the length of my kitchen. “I didn’t even go to college, for fuck’s sake. The Marines are all I know.”
My heart sinks, watching him unravel. Fear grips my chest that I need to tell Dalton the truth about Drew sooner rather than later.
“It’s okay,” I say, cautiously, reaching out for his hand.
He stops pacing, fear etched into his features as he looks at me. “I don’t want to go back,” he chokes, before pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. “Maybe you and Drew could come out to California with me?”
My body recoils, eyes turning into saucers. “California?” I shriek.
Dalton steps back, panic flashing in his eyes. “Shit. I don’t know what I was thinking. I couldn’t ask you to do that...”
“Dalton, our lives are here.”
He nods, swallowing hard. “Yeah, you’re right...your life is here on the island.”
“Hey,” I say, my voice softening. “You still have a week here.”
Dalton chuckles lightly, unconvinced by my optimism. He comes to stand in front of me again, resting his forehead against mine. “Yeah, a fucking week.”
“Let’s make the best of it, then.” I tease, nipping his bottom lip, searching for a distraction to the alarm ringing in my head.
Dalton chuckles, shaking his head. “The best of it, huh?”
In one swift move, he tosses me over his shoulder, stalking toward the stairs. “Alright then. This is me making the best of it, baby!”
I squirm against him, letting out a squeal. My mind replays everything that’s happened in the last few minutes.
The reason he didn’t come back for me.
The revelation he could get out of the Marines. Or not.
The color I saw drain from his face when he said he didn’t know what he’d do if he did leave the Marines.
And now the truth just got harder to confess.
He has until the end of the week to make his choice.
I just don’t know if, after the truth, that choice will still be me.