Page 14 of From This Moment (After We Fall 4)
“No, I meant how do you know that about me?”
He met my eyes. “You used to sing along to the music at the diner while you worked.”
“Did I?” I laughed, a little self-conscious. “Sorry. You were probably trying to study.”
He looked out the window again. “Don’t be. I liked it. You had such a pretty voice. I never forgot it.”
Something warm hummed beneath my skin at the compliment. Something I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Something just for me.
It was a nice feeling, and I held onto it, worried that any minute, Grief and Guilt would rear up and snatch it from me. But it lingered as we wandered into the yard to collect Abby. The sun was setting behind the trees, throwing dappled light onto the lawn and giving the air a golden quality so pretty I wondered if I was imagining it.
Abby jumped off the swing when she saw us. “Uncle Wes, will you carry me on your shoulders?”
Oh, God. The contentment I’d felt a moment ago vanished in an instant. My world was full of shadows again. “Abby, no.”
“It’s fine. I’d like to, actually.” Wes picked her up and swung her onto his shoulders, and she laughed gleefully. “Point me in the right direction, okay?”
“Like I’m the princess and you’re my ship!” she squealed. “Go that way!”
Abby pointed toward the street, and I followed them silently around the house to the sidewalk. Abby chattered the entire way into town, playing the princess game, and Wes played along, doing her bidding. I stayed quiet, arms crossed over my chest, worried about what was coming. I knew it. I knew this would be confusing for her.
At the ice cream place, it went exactly as I’d feared. When Wes ordered mint chocolate chip, Abby balked and tugged on his arm. “No, you have to have Moose Tracks in a waffle cone. And Mommy will have pistachio in a cup, and I will have Birthday Cake in a sugar cone.”
“Abby,” I scolded. “Let Uncle Wes order what he likes.”
“No, it’s okay.” He patted her head. “I love Moose Tracks. I was having trouble deciding. Thanks, princess.”
She grinned, satisfied.
My stomach was upset, but I ordered the pistachio ice cream anyway and protested when Wes insisted on paying. “You don’t have to,” I told him, pulling a twenty from my pocket. “You already brought gifts for her.”
“I want to.” He gently gripped my forearm, and we locked eyes. “Let me.”
He’s too close. He’s touching me. “Okay,” I said, mostly so he’d let go of my arm. “Thank you.”
We walked back slowly, and I ate a few spoonfuls of ice cream without tasting it. Had this been a mistake? Was Abby going to confuse Wes with Drew from now on? Would they somehow merge in her mind? Did she plan on acting out every memory she had of Drew with his brother in order to feel like she had her daddy back again? I watched her slurp happily on her oversized scoop of Birthday Cake, skipping along between Wes and me. She certainly didn’t look traumatized. Maybe I was overthinking things.
Although she ate it too quickly for it to drip down the front of her dress, ice cream was all over Abby’s mouth and in her hair by the time we got home.
“You’re a mess,” I told her. “I should turn the hose on you.”
“Yes!” She clapped her hands.
“How about a bath instead?” I asked, glancing up at the house. “And then we can—oh, our porch light is out.”
“Do you have a bulb?” Wes asked. “I’ll change it for you.”
“You don’t have to. I can reach it with the stepladder.”
“It’s no big deal, really. It will take me two minutes.”
I hesitated. On one hand, I didn’t want Wes to feel he had to step into the role of handyman around here. I was perfectly capable of changing the porch lightbulb. On the other, I’d likely put it on my endless list of things that needed to get done around the house and check it off sometime next year.
“Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom.” Abby hopped from one foot to the other.
“Go on,” said Wes, nodding toward the house. “I can wait.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
