Page 118 of That Girl
The connection she and I share lasted through heartache, lies, and years of separation. It’s unbreakable. The bond only seems to get stronger as each day passes.
Connor shouts for Aurora and we chuckle.
I sigh. “Connor’s virtue has never been patience. Go on. I need to go cover the food and I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
I lift her so her feet are dangling off the ground. She grabs a hold of my shoulders, giggling. I kiss her cupid-bow lips. “Stay the night. I want you in my bed.”
Aurora tips her head down and brushes her nose against mine. “My overnight bag is in one of the saddlebags of my motorcycle.” I raise a brow, and she winks at me. “Like you said Mr. Hallstead. You and me. We’re happening.”
Hell, yes, we are.
Chapter 58
This evening has been perfect. Absolutely perfect. And JD can definitely cook. He even made a from-scratch banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafer cookies. Forget football. The man should open up a restaurant. How he was able to prepare and cook everything in the hours between leaving my house and when I arrived here is astounding.
Once we finished eating, I convinced Connor to be my kitchen clean-up assistant. I set a stool next to the sink and he helped rinse the dishes off while I loaded them into the dishwasher. Hip hop music started pouring out of overhead speakers in the ceiling, and I looked over to see JD waggling a remote in his hand.
“Not the only one who has one of these now,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
“Can it make a waterfall come from the ceiling?”
Of course, Connor had a million questions about what I was talking about.
The three of us boogied and shook our way to a clean kitchen. We let Connor choose a board game, which turned out to be four rounds of Candyland. Eventually, his boundless energy waned and after two bedtime stories, he fell fast asleep.
JD and I are currently relaxing on his couch when I notice the framed pictures on the fireplace mantle. JD has several of Connor, or Connor and him, but those are not the ones that catch my attention. Next to those are photos of me and JD from high school, and several of me and Connor at the lake and on Austin’s boat.
“JD, does Connor know that Candace is his mom?”
He grabs my feet and places them in his lap, looking over at me. “I’ve always been open with him about her. Since he never met her, nor has he met her parents because they’re deceased, he doesn’t ask too many questions about her or them. I know that will probably change when he gets older.”
“Have you thought about making him a scrapbook of her? Maybe something tangible that he can have when he gets older?”
“Where would I look? I didn’t really know her that well, and other than sonogram pictures or pictures of Connor when he was born, I don’t have much with her in them.”
“Have you asked Prescott if he has any pictures of her?”
He hesitates.
I add, “Shelby should have some old cheerleader pictures with Candace in them. Old yearbooks, perhaps? Do you remember who any of her friends were?”
“You must think horribly of me for not doing this stuff by now.”
“You’ve been busy raising a son by yourself while playing in a very competitive sport. No, JD, I don’t blame you. I could help you if you want.”
“You’d do that?”
I poke him in his chest with my toe. “Of course I would.”
He wiggles my pinky toe, making me giggle. “Thank you.”
I want to tell him that every child deserves to know where they come from. That just reminds me about the DNA test results which still haven’t come in. I’m not going to think about that right now. I’m going to have to tell him what I did. But not tonight. Tonight, I need to focus on solidifying this reconnection between us. Both of our secrets and our confessions can wait.
“This is nice,” I say to JD who is now rubbing the soles of my feet. He digs in my arch with his thumb and the pressure point seems to be connected to the rest of my body because I collapse backward onto the sofa cushions with a long moan.
JD’s deep chuckle has me grinning. “I’m going to hear that sound a lot more tonight, sweetheart.”
