Brandon fiddles with the edge of his towel. “Uncle Cole, can I ask you something, even though Mom told me not to?”
My spine straightens and I inhale a deep breath, bracing myself for the importance of this conversation. “Sure, kid. What’s up?”
Miles chews his thumbnail, watching his older brother with wide eyes.
“Why did your baby die?”
Tightness constricts my lungs, and I want to get up and walk away. Avoid this conversation. Retreat like I always do. But this is a child, and he’s asking to understand. I can’t push him away.
I clear my throat. “I don’t know. I ask myself that question every day. Sometimes things happen in life that we can’t explain. We can’t make sense of it.”
“But she was just a baby.” Miles’ freckled nose scrunches, pushing his black-rimmed glasses up. “Was she sick?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“That’s really sad.” Brandon hugs the towel tighter around his midsection. “Did you cry?”
I nod, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “Still do.”
“Callie was gonna have a baby once,” Miles says. “But now she doesn’t have one. Does that mean her baby died too?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow.” He leans back on his elbows, staring up at the twilight sky, undoubtedly trying to wrap his head around the tragic mysteries of life.
“I think you should be Callie’s boyfriend, Uncle Cole.”
I lift an eyebrow at Brandon. “Oh, yeah?”
He nods. “She’s a really nice person. And she doesn’t treat us like all the other adults treat us. She’s different.”
Miles holds up his index finger. “And she always smells really good.”
A chuckle bursts from my chest. “She does, doesn’t she?”
“I’m serious,” Brandon says. His dark eyebrows dip down. “You’re not so angry when you’re around her.”
I don’t think anybody could be angry around Callie.
“It’s more complicated than that, little man.” I reach over and ruffle his hair. “I’m sorry I haven’t been the best uncle. I’m working on it.”
“That’s okay, Uncle Cole.” Miles grins. “We still love you.”
Warmth surges in my chest, rolling over me like a warm blanket. “I love you too.”
Josie calls the boys inside, and they scramble to their feet.
Before he leaves, Brandon stands over me, gazing down with pensive eyes. “If you can work on being a better uncle, then you can work on being better with Callie too. I think you should try.”
He’s gone before I can respond, though I’m not sure I would’ve had anything to say to that.
The kid rendered me speechless.
Maybe he’s right.
Twenty-Seven
Callie
Cole hasn’t come to the diner for lunch all week.
So I’m surprised to see him waiting with his back against the glass outside the diner when I arrive on Friday morning.
I feel foolish for going to the pool house the night we kissed, as if I were desperate and threw myself at him. I’ve tried to blame it on the wine I drank or the talk I had with Josie beforehand, but I know that, deep down, part of me wanted something to happen with Cole.
I can’t deny it.
It’s more than his handsome face. It goes deeper than his sexy, muscular body. Paul has all that on the outside too, and it proved meaningless in the end.
My attraction to Cole is because of our connection. It’s in the way he sees who I truly am and doesn’t want to stifle me. He encourages and supports me. He’s helped me along my journey as I’ve come to the realization that I am capable and strong.
And as much as he hates to admit it, he’s given me hope. Hope that there’s life after loss. That I can find happiness after tragedy. That Paul hasn’t destroyed my heart and that I can learn to love again.
Whatever happens between me and Cole, I’ll always be grateful for him.
Now if only I could stop my brain from replaying the earth-shattering kiss every two seconds.
“It’s a little early for lunch.” I stop in front of him and slip my hands into my back pockets.
“This couldn’t wait until lunch. I’ve been thinking about what you said all week. You’re right. I’m scared. I’m scared of feeling this way about you. I shouldn’t want you, but I can’t stay away.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Why shouldn’t you want me? Why is it so wrong to feel happy?”
He squeezes his eyes closed as if he can shut out my words. “Because I don’t deserve it. I know I don’t.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? I’m a grown woman, Cole. And I’m scared too. I’ve been through hell. But I want to give this a chance. I want to enjoy what we have and see where it goes. We can live in the moment—together.”
He hums, touching his forehead to mine. “I want to try. You make me want to try.”
Then he presses his lips to mine.
My hands fist in his ratty, stained T-shirt, and I lift onto the balls of my feet to gain better access to his mouth. We kiss as if we haven’t seen each other in months, urgent and insistent.
Someone passes us on the sidewalk and clears their throat. Cole and I break apart, smiling, our cheeks tinged with pink.
I don’t say anything more because I don’t want to spoil the moment.
But whether he wants to admit it or not, Cole has found hope.
“Hello. Anybody home?”
My shoulders jerk at the sound of Gertie’s voice.
She clicks her tongue and pushes me aside, snatching the spatula from my hand. “You’re burning the eggs, sugar.”
I glance down at the griddle, and sure enough, the over-easy eggs are over-charred.
“I’m sorry, Gertie.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours that has you in a fog all week.”
I lean against the stainless-steel countertop and toss my hairnet into the garbage can. “I’m fine, Gertie. I’m just in my head a lot lately. Wondering if I’ll ever find love again. Wondering when it’s okay to start dating.”
“And does this wondering have anything to do with why Cole hasn’t been here these past few days?”
I close my eyes and roll my lips together before blurting out the words, “I kissed Cole last Saturday.”
Her eyes go wide, and she clutches her chest.
“I know, I know. I’m just as shocked as you are. But—” My words are cut off when I realize that Gertie isn’t holding herself in surprise.
She’s gripping herself in pain.
I rush toward her as she slumps forward. “Gertie, oh my God. What’s wrong? What’s happening?”
She lets out constricted gasps of pain, and it’s then that I realize she’s touching the left side of her chest.
“Help!” I yell as loud as I can, hoping one of the waiters hears me from the dining room.
I lower Gertie to the floor, propping her against the oven door as I dig my hand into my apron for my cell.