Page 40 of Call it Fate

Zach talked about my energy, but he was the one I didn’t know how to keep up with. After an afternoon of sledding, he was once again outside helping Lexi and Iain build a snow fort. I was glad they had this time to play in the snow because the forecast showed the weather was warming up.

They were all red-nosed and had snow all over their coats and hats, but they were all laughing. A huge part of me wanted to go out and romp with them, to pretend we were a real family, but we weren’t. It had been easy to fall for the illusion earlier, out on the hills, the four of us laughing and playing as if we were all one big, happy family. It was a future I wished for, but I didn’t see a pathway to get there.

I believed Zach when he said he didn’t want to hurt us, but even under the best of circumstances, his surprise arrival had already changed our lives. Already, I saw how Iain was drawn to him. I was glad for that. I loved that. But how would he feel when it came to leaving and spending the night, a week—a holiday—away from me to be with his dad?

I was thinking through all the scenarios of Iain having his dad in his life when the front door opened. Reid stomped the snow from his boots in the entryway and joined me at the dining room window where we could see them in the side yard building a snow army next to the fort they’d already built.

“He seems to be having lots of fun,” Reid commented.

“Mmm. Iain’s always loved the snow,” I replied, watching as Iain hit Zach with a snowball. Lexi joined Iain’s side, and the battle was on. Zach laughed and hid behind the fort walls, popping up occasionally to lob his own snowballs back at them. I could tell Zach was being careful not to throw too hard and to aim for their legs. I didn’t know how much experience he had with kids, but he seemed comfortable.

“I wasn’t talking about Iain.” Zach sat at one of the tables and stretched his long legs out, crossing his feet at the ankles. He took off his sheriff’s department cap and twirled it around on a finger. “He’s Iain’s dad, isn’t he?” It was more of a statement than a question.

I looked over my shoulder to see him staring intently at me. Reid and I had been through too much together to lie now. I nodded.

“You’ve never really talked about him. Are you okay? Need me to run a background check or something?” He chuckled. “I can make sure he gets a ticket every chance I get.”

I turned away from the window with one of the first genuine smiles I’d felt since my world had turned upside down. “Let me see how things go,” I said, joining him at the table. I pulled over the plate of cookies I’d held back for the snow players and passed it to Reid.

He ate one in two bites and grabbed another one. “Seriously, are you okay?”

I sighed. “I’m confused, I guess. We’ve only worked out half the puzzle. He didn’t know about Iain. Obviously, he’s hurting. He wants to get to know Iain, and I feel like I have to let him.”

“You don’t have to do anything, Em. You have sole custody.”

I looked at Reid with tired eyes. “I don’t want to fight him. When I knew him, he was the most amazing guy I’d ever met. It was instant between us, you know? Then everything happened, and there was so much misunderstanding. For years, I thought I must have been mistaken about the kind of man he was, but now…” I spread my hands in a helpless gesture. “It was mostly my fault.”

Reid stared out the window. “He wants you back, too, you know.”

I coughed around the cookie in my mouth. “Huh?”

He grinned back at me. “Oh, yeah. He definitely thought something was going on between me and you, and he didn’t like it.”

“You must be mistaken.” I said the words, but my heart fluttered.

“Trust me, I recognized that look.” Reid stood and smacked his hat on his leg. “He’s a good guy, Em.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You already had him checked out, didn’t you?”

“I was just doing my civil service to keep my community safe,” he said and winked at me. “Not so much as a traffic ticket. Great grades, graduated with honors at the top of his class, both in undergrad and vet school. Lots of volunteer work. He helped establish a Vets for Vets program which matches animals to wounded veterans, and he even has a journal article published, something about some kind of new treatment for animals.”

His expression grew more serious. “I don’t know everything that happened back then, and I don’t need to. But I know I’ve never seen you blush at the mention of another man. I say, trust your instincts.”

A flourish of activity sounded at the back door in the kitchen as Zach and the kids stomped and laughed their way inside. All of their faces were red but smiling.

The joy on Iain and Zach’s faces was a direct shot to my heart. I always did my best to make sure Iain had fun, but so often, the inn kept me too busy to join him on days like this. Seeing him having so much fun made me happy.

And Zach—hearing him laugh with abandon was a flash from the past before everything grew so impossibly complicated. I didn’t bother rushing to help them, happy to just absorb the moment.

“Dad! You missed it. We had so much fun today,” Lexi called out to her dad.

“Hey, cupcake. It looks like it. Sorry to break up the fun, but it’s time to go. Thank Miss Emalee for letting you stay with her, and thank Mr. Zach for playing outside with you.” He glanced at Zach. “Seriously, man, I owe you. Now I can go home and kick my feet up and stay warm inside.”

Lexi hugged me, and then to my surprise—and even more to his—hugged Zach. “Thanks for taking us sledding. My dad doesn’t like to play in the snow.” She wrinkled her nose up at her dad. “You’re cooler than him.”

“Hey!” Reid thumped his hand over his heart. “I have to spend most of my day outside. I hate the cold. If you’re able to sucker someone else into playing outside, I’m not gonna stand in the way.” He tapped his finger on his head. “It’s all part of my plan.” He winked at Zach.

Zach grinned, then held up his hand for a fist bump with Lexi. “I had fun, too.”

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