Page 59 of Love Songs

Before today, my chances of any future with Dallas were an abstract pipe dream, given how opposite our lives were. Yes, my feelings for him were growing bigger and deeper, and I wanted to find a way to be with him, but a part of me, deep down, doubted that could happen. I was fully rooted in Caldwell Crossing. My entire world was here, and no matter how involved my heart was getting with Dallas, the idea of leaving it all behind for a life of travel and celebrity gave me hives.

And Dallas? His life was constant motion and screaming fans and public scrutiny—everything small town living wasn’t. The two just didn’t mesh.

But now . . . Did Dallas buying this house mean he’d be moving to Caldwell Crossing permanently, and the abstract suddenly became real?

“Can we go inside?” Jaylin asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Absolutely,” Dallas beamed.

“But don’t go up the stairs,” I added, shuddering at the idea of Jaylin falling through the rotten stair tread and getting hurt. “They’re unsafe.”

Jaylin’s gaze shot from me to her a dad a couple times, then she nodded and held her hand out, making a gimme motion.

Chuckling, Dallas handed a key to Jaylin, who rushed up onto the sagging porch to open the door.

He turned to me with concern swirling in the depths of his eyes. His mouth dipped into a slight frown.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you moving here?” I blurted.

His expression blanked, and his body stiffened. I didn’t like that look, didn’t like that I put it there, but I had to know. I held my breath as he stared at me, as though unsure what I was asking. I was unsure too.

“Yes,” he said cautiously. “When Jaylin’s summer break begins and the house is renovated. And I thought . . .” he trailed off. He swallowed audibly, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and looked up at the house.

“Thought what?” I breathed when he didn’t continue.

“I thought,” he repeated, turning back to me. “I think there’s something happening between us, and that maybe, if you feel the same, we could see where it goes?”

My spirits lifted at the idea of him being nearby, of seeing him anytime I wanted, and my dream future took on a new shape, becoming clearer than it had before. This time, instead of fixing up and living in this home with a faceless partner, Dallas’s face shone brightly at me as we sat on the back patio overlooking the lake. Instead of only two big dogs making up our little family, I now saw Jaylin playing in the water with those dogs, and a horse looking on from the newly re-fenced paddock.

I nodded, words I wanted to speak all clogged up in my throat. I reached for his hand.

“Let’s go check out your new house.”

“DON’T WORRY, DADDY,”Jaylin said as we parked the rental car at the curb in front of Conor’s parent’s home.

After checking out my new house yesterday, we’d gone for lunch together and Conor had invited us to his family’s Memorial Day barbecue. He’d been quiet as we ate our burgers and eventually shared that it had been a dream of his to buy the Ferguson house for years. I was even more certain now that this was meant to be— Jaylin, Caldwell Crossing, Conor. That I could not only give Jaylin a real home and the perfect place to grow up, but that I could honor Conor’s dream, too . . . Happiness swelled in my chest, almost too big to contain. I couldn’t wait to start this next chapter in my life.

But first, I had parents to meet. Just the thought made my palms clammy.

“What do I have to worry about?”

Aside from everything.

I flashed a reassuring smile at Jaylin while my nerves jangled.

The only parents I’d ever met were Kirk’s, but I’d known them almost my whole life. They didn’t count the same way as meeting the parents of someone I cared for romantically.

“You look nervous,” Jaylin said. Understanding in her eyes. “But don’t worry. They’ll all love you, too.”

I reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “How is it you’re so wise?”

And what does she mean by ‘they’ll love metoo’?

“I was born smart like that,” she chirped with a shrug and an amused grin, then leaned over and kissed my cheek before hopping out of the car.

She waited for me at the front bumper while I grabbed the bottle of wine we’d brought for Conor’s parents, then she took my hand free hand. I marveled at how the reassurance of a fourteen-year-old made me feel better, and at how meeting Conor’s family meant more to me than I could’ve imagined. It was important to me that they approved of me and Jaylin. But I knew they would love her. I glanced over at her. I didn’t know how anybody couldn’t. Call me biased, but not loving Jaylin was impossible.

---