Page 48 of Unexpectedly Falling
“Did you treat her right?”
“Yes.”
“Give her any false ideas about what your time together meant?” I shake my head. “And she understood and accepted the terms of your encounter the same way you did?”
“Yes,” I say even though he makes it sound so clinical. “She set the rules and I was happy to go along with them after a long week.”
“What part are you feeling guilty for then?”
“I can’t tell our daughter anything about her.”
Exhaling slowly, Hal runs his thumb over his gold wedding band. “I don’t think Remi is gonna wanna know about her mama’s high school GPA or if she won her second grade spelling bee, Jensen.”
“She might,” I grumble, earning a hefty side-eye and a bleat from the goat.
“She’s gonna want to know that her mama had a nice smile like hers and that she had pretty eyes and she made you laugh—that even though the time you had with her was short, you’d never regret it because it gave you the most precious baby girl.”
“But—”
“She’s gonna know, son. Remi will grow up knowing that you would have crawled from here to Nashville to get to her if you’d known her mama was pregnant. And when Remi is mad at her mama for not finding you sooner, you’ll tell her that her mama had her reasons and we can rejoice in her bein’ Remi’s guardian angel.”
My thumb and forefinger push into my eyelids as I try to hold off the tears that want to break free at his words. The overly simple explanation somehow opens the floodgates on everything I’ve worried myself sick about for weeks.
His palm rests on my shoulder and he squeezes, not letting go as I slow my breathing and tilt my face toward the sun. The warmth of the rays seeps into my skin, settling me in a way a hug might after a hard day.
“It’s so hard,” I start, bringing my gaze down to meet his, “to reconcile being ashamed for barely knowing a woman I made a child with and being so overjoyed that child is mine.” I swallow hard and wait for the judgment I know won’t come.
Hal’s smile is soft and slow, each movement highlighting more of the lines around his mouth and eyes.
“Learn what you can—what you can handle—about Remi’s mama while Nessa is here and then learn with your daughter as she gets older. Be open and honest with her and love the hell out of her.” He taps the envelope. “Pick out something nice like Nan would have liked and put the rest away for when you need it or when y’all just want a little extra spending money.”
“Thanks, Grandad,” I say as Ellison pulls up in Montana’s truck.
“Thanks for not arguing with me.” He nods toward the envelope as the passenger-side window lowers and Ellison narrows her eyes at us.
“Figured you’ll get enough of that in a second,” I murmur under my breath, and Hal’s lips twitch ever so slightly.
“Are you tryin’ to get me in trouble, old man?” Ellison barks from the truck.
“Hiya, Dolly,” he says affectionately before chuckling. “You can’t get mad every time I go somewhere without you.”
“Hell yes, I can!” she says, opening the door and rounding the hood to stand in front of us with her hands on her hips. “Well?”
Her gaze bounces between us, and I can’t help but smirk at the woman who has one of my best friends tied up in more than just knots.
“I had to talk to Jensen,” Hal says conversationally.
“I’m way more fun than him,” she hisses, and I should be offended but she’s definitely right, so I just shrug. On most days, I’m getting called to trouble thebothof them got into.
“No one can replace you, Dolly.”
“Damn right,” she says, reaching down to scratch the goat’s head. It leans into her touch and she grins. “Jensen, can you help puttin’ Patches in the truck?”
I look down at my still mostly pristine uniform as I try like hell to figure a way out of this without looking like an asshole. Although I don’t think lifting livestock is in the same chivalry category as opening doors.
“I mean…”
She squats down and lifts the not fully grown goat with ease and smirks. “Well, I guess Bea, Cal, and I will just have to swing by and see Nessa while you’re at work.” Her eyes gleam with mischief. “Pretty sure she likes us already.” I can already feel my heart beating faster at the unspoken fuckery that will be.
