Chapter 14 #3
But what if his smiles turn into anger, fury that I kept his child from him?
Even if his people did turn me away, what if they never told him?
I’ve seen him with Bella. A man who is willing to raise his orphaned niece wouldn’t have turned away his child.
Or he would have looked for her. Marcus has never once mentioned having a child.
I knot my hands anxiously. I don’t want to gamble with Mia, but if today was any indication, she likes having Marcus around. She feels safe with him, much like I’m starting to. I don’t want to rip her from her father’s side, even if the two don’t know about each other.
Before I can come to a decision, there’s a knock on the door. Opening it, I come face to face with two burly looking men.
“You must be Jessa,” one of them says.
I’m just staring at them. I know them. They’re soccer players, two of Marcus’s old teammates. They’re still on the team.
“I am. Can I help you?”
“Marcus told us to come hang out here.” The taller one leans on the frame. “I’m Cole. This clown’s Tomas.”
“Is there food?” Tomas is already walking past me, heading for the kitchen. “We ran here. I’m dying.”
Both of them are shirtless. I have no idea why.
“Why are you—?” I gesture at the general state of them.
“It’s a long story.” Cole strolls in like he lives here. Tomas disappears up the stairs before I can object.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to go up there,” I call after him.
“It’s fine,” he calls back and comes down a moment later with two of Marcus’s shirts, tossing one at Cole. They pull them on, already cracking open beers from the fridge, entirely at home.
“So.” Cole drops onto a stool and looks me over, amused. “You’re the girlfriend.”
“What? No, I’m not.” Heat climbs my face. “I’m not his girlfriend.”
Tomas grins around the neck of his bottle. “Is that so? Then why are you standing in his kitchen at nine in the morning?”
“Marc doesn’t bring women here.” Cole shakes his head slowly, enjoying himself. “Not ever. You’ve got to be something special.”
“You got something on him?” Tomas leans in, mock-conspiratorial. “You blackmailing him? Because I wouldn’t say no to a piece of that action.”
I stare at them. “I’m his niece’s friend’s mother.”
The two of them exchange a look, then Cole leans forward, grinning. “You married? You two having an affair?”
“Are you deaf?” I glare at him.
Cole immediately leans back, offended. “I’m all for love and let live. I don’t judge.”
“I’m not his girlfriend, and I’m not having an affair with him,” I snap.
“Okay.” Tomas gets in between us. “We now know what you’re not. I want to know if you can cook.”
I sigh. It’s easier than arguing, and the kitchen’s already destroyed. My hands want something to do. “Sure. Sit down.”
I’m three eggs in when Bella and Mia come padding down the stairs. Bella takes one look and rolls her eyes, familiar with the pair of them. Mia, though, stops dead, her mouth open.
“You’re on TV,” she breathes.
“We sure are, kid.” Cole grins. “You a fan?”
Mia nods so hard I worry for her neck. She wants to play, of course she does, bouncing on her toes at the edge of the kitchen despite the gray tiredness still under her eyes.
“No.” I don’t even turn from the stove. “You’re resting today. Doctor’s orders.”
“Aw, come on, Mom.” Tomas claps a hand to his chest. “There’s more than one way to play.” He crouches down to Mia’s level. “Ever played from up on someone’s shoulders?”
“Absolutely not.” But Mia’s face has already lit up. Bella’s caught the fever too, and both of them turn on me with the same pleading eyes.
“She won’t run a step,” Cole promises. “She’ll just sit up top and shriek. We do all the work. Scout’s honor.”
I should say no. I say no to almost everything; it’s how I keep us safe. But Mia’s looking at me with big eyes, and I’m so tired of being the one who takes the fun away.
“Fine.” I point the spatula at both men. “If she so much as gets jostled, I will end you. I’ve been to a shooting range.”
“She’s not kidding,” Bella supplies helpfully. “Her neighbor was a marksman.”
Out on the back lawn, the two of them boost the girls onto their shoulders, Mia up on Cole, Bella on Tomas.
They start knocking a ball back and forth between them, slow and careful.
The girls sway up top and scream with laughter.
Mia’s shriek carries all the way to the kitchen window, where I stand with a dish towel in my hands.
I catch myself smiling so widely it aches.
This is something I’ve never been able to give her.
A yard, grown men who’ll play the fool, and a morning with nowhere she has to be.
These moments, this carefree life, she’s never had this.
It’s always work for me, study for her. Ever since she met Bella and Marcus entered our lives, there’s been a happiness in her eyes I’ve never seen before.
My phone buzzes on the counter, and I glance down. It’s an email from a firm three states away, the second follow-up, the offer still open, the fresh start still sitting there for the taking.
I look back out the window at my daughter, thrown against the sky and laughing, and I catch my lower lip between my teeth.