Page 28 of Their Forever Daddy

The picture in her hand was one of the few they’d managed to get of the two of them together. It had taken a few tries, but Jesse, who’d always been a bit taller, had managed to hold the camera up and snap the photo. Her lips were pressed to Edie’s cheek, and Edie was positively beaming at the camera.

Their hair had been longer then and clung to their faces in soaking wet clumps thanks to the late afternoon swim they’d taken. It was the first time they’d done more than just kiss, and she could still remember how Jesse tasted, and how she’d thought she would never get enough of her. They’d made love, slow and easy that afternoon, exploring the wonder of each others’ bodies with the summer sun warming their skin.

As she stared, the picture began to blur, and she wiped angrily at the tears slipping down her cheeks before shoving the photograph back beneath her clothes.

Memories. Nothing more than memories that had no place in the present day.

Slamming the drawer shut, she popped back up to her feet and made a detour to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. As she pressed her face into a towel to dry her skin, she allowed herself a few deep, shuddering breaths to get what was left of her composure back under control.

Even if Grant was right and Jesse still harbored some hidden feelings after all these years, it didn’t have to mean anything. Didn’t have to change anything.

Couldn’t change anything, she reminded herself as she returned the towel to its hook. Because Jesse was getting married. To someone else. Just like Edie had once upon a time. It was good for both of them to move on, to put what they’d once been to each other behind them once and for all.

Fuck, she missed Ken. If he were still alive, she wouldn’t be facing this alone. Wouldn’t have to be the one figuring everything out. Wouldn’t have to be so strong all the fucking time.

That was what she missed the most. Those moments where she could let someone else be strong for her, just for a little while. Just long enough for her to feel like herself again.

Which she decidedly was not feeling as she forced herself to walk back down the stairs to the kitchen. The very empty kitchen she realized with a start.

Good. Maybe Jesse had finally gotten the hint and gone back to Hollywood.

But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she heard footsteps on the front steps. Followed by the low rumble of Grant’s voice and the higher pitch of Jesse’s, both too muffled by the door for Edie to hear what they were actually saying.

Were they planning to stay? Were they just coming back in to grab Jesse’s things? What the hell were they talking about out there?

Annoyed with herself for even caring, Edie flipped on the burner beneath her old cast iron pan and grabbed the bowl holding the pancake batter to give it a few more good stirs while the pan heated up. One way or another, she was having goddamn pancakes.

The front door opened, and a moment later Grant and Jesse were back in the kitchen. She glanced up, then did a double take when she spotted the duffel bag slung over Grant’s shoulder.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Pausing in the entryway to the kitchen, Grant cocked an eyebrow. “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind an extra guest for a couple days.”

Fucking hell. She did mind, a whole hell of a lot, but for some reason she couldn’t actually bring herself to say it out loud. “First room on the left at the top of the stairs,” she said before deliberately turning her back on them.

Silence, then heavy footsteps on the steps leading up to the second floor. Too heavy to be Jesse, so that must have been Grant taking himself upstairs, making himself at home.

What a fucking mess.

“Edie.” Jesse’s soft voice came from right behind her, and Edie tensed but didn’t stop stirring her batter. “Talk to me. Please.”

“If y’all are staying for dinner, you should go ahead and set the table.”

Another of those strained silences before Jesse sighed. “Yes, Ma’am.”

How could her chest feel hollow and also like there was a boulder sitting inside it at the same time? There’d been a time she would have given anything to hear those words again. Hell, just to hear Jesse’s voice again. But she’d gotten over that longing years ago.

Liar.

Ugh.

Grant’s footsteps on the stairs broke the silence again, and Edie watched from the corner of her eye as Jesse’s face brightened the moment he stepped into the kitchen. The boulder in her chest grew heavier as Jesse tilted her head back, inviting Grant to kiss her. And heavier still as Grant obliged, pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers. Even from across the kitchen Edie could tell it was as much claiming as it was comfort.

Something buzzed, and Grant pulled away just enough to retrieve his phone from his pocket. “It’s Mitch,” he said, shooting a meaningful look in Jesse’s direction.

Jesse groaned. “You called Mitch?”

“I called everyone, little outlaw.” Hitting a button, Grant held the phone between them. “Hey, Mitch.”

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