Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
I would do this for them.
No question.
We posed for more pictures after the girls cleared the seagulls off the beach, then it was time to head inside to make dinner.
Val bathed the girls while I handled that, then we sat and ate together on the patio so the girls could watch the waves.
“Daddy, you’re quiet,” Caroline said, poking my hand with her fork.
I was being quiet. Mainly, I was listening to everything the girls were saying, but I was also stuck inside my head.
I stroked Caroline’s cheeks, reassuring her, “It’s been a long day, baby girl. Daddy’s tired.”
“Not me!” she shrieked.
“Not me either!” Fiona copied.
Val and I shared a laugh when the girls both yawned around their next bites.
“Let’s put them to bed,” Val whispered.
She was sitting beside me in a lawn chair, Caroline passed out in her arms.
I was cradling a sleeping Fiona. I had no idea when she’d fallen asleep, but I got to my feet and followed Val inside to put the girls to bed. I kissed and tucked them in while Val waited at the door. When I stepped out into the hallway, she placed her hand on my chest and smiled up at me.
Her hair was lighter and curled from the ocean, and her face was suntanned. She looked like she did when we first met.
“Can we sit outside and talk?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
I followed her out onto the patio and went to move around her so I could take a seat, but Val grabbed my face, preventing that, and tried to kiss me.
Body stiff, I pulled back so she couldn’t. It was a reflex. Instinctual. It didn’t matter how badly I wanted this life for my girls…
I couldn’t do this.
Not without Shayla.
“Oh, uh…” Val sank onto her heels and quickly dropped her hands. “Sorry,” she whispered, her face flushing with embarrassment. “Sorry…God, I just totally went for it, didn’t I? That sucked.”
My mouth twitched. “You wanna sit?” I asked.
">“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Val plopped down in a lawn chair and I took the seat beside her. She looked over at me and winced. “You’re not here because of me, are you?” she guessed.
I shook my head.
“I’m not mad,” she quickly shared. “Disappointed, maybe.” We both smiled. “But you’re here for the girls, and that means a lot to me, Sean. It means a lot to them.”
“I’m sorry it ain’t that way for me anymore,” I said.
She reached out and squeezed my hand. “Don’t be.”
“I want to give them everything.” My leg began to bounce. “I want them havin’ the life they deserve, but—”
“They have a great life the way it is now, with you back in it,” Val interrupted.
I nodded, appreciating her for saying that to me.
“Maybe we make better friends,” she suggested. “We’ve been getting along better these past couple months than we ever did.”
She was right about that.
“I was a dick to you back then. I should’ve been better.”
“You weren’t healed yet. I understand that now.” She released my hand. “And I’m happy. I’m happy for you and our girls. It’s really okay. I promise.”
>Sitting forward, I turned my seat so I was facing Val. It was time she knew. “I’ve been seein’ Shayla.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What? Are you serious?”
I nodded.
“Oh, my God…” Her voice was hushed and hurried. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God!” She covered her face with her hands.
“Val.”
“I’m not mad. I’m not,” she said, letting her hands fall away and gaping at me. “An idiot, yes. I am definitely that.” Val began to laugh.
I stared at her, confused as fuck.
“Shay helped me decide to give you another chance,” Val revealed. “Back when she first did my hair, she talked you up—telling me how good you were doing at your job, and the house—she told me you were really fixing it up nice for the girls. I didn’t believe it until she told me. I thought you were lying.”
Given our history, I understood why Val would think that, so I didn’t react. But hearing what Shayla had done got a reaction. Heat spread out from the center of my chest and filled my limbs.
“I didn’t think anything of it,” Val continued. “She said you guys were work friends.”
“Back then, that’s all we were.”
“Even if it wasn’t, I don’t think I would’ve picked up on her motive. She was genuine. She is genuine. What she said, that wasn’t for her.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. That was Shayla.
“You selling the trailer, was that her?” Val asked.
I nodded.
“And the therapy?”
“She thinks it’ll help.”
Val sat back. “She got to you.”
I stared at her for a breath, then shook my head, not understanding.
“For as long as I’ve known you, Sean, I’ve been trying to get you to understand how worthy you are of a good life, and Shayla did that. I never could.”
My lips pressed together tightly.