When We Touch

“What’s the matter Coco bean?”

A quick examination shows the tag is chafing her tender skin, and Ember takes it off. “Run like the mermaid babies!” she cries, and Coco does another dance, running into the surf in only her bikini bottoms.

Watching the interaction start to finish, I’m so solidly in love. “She’s adorable. I want to paint you with her. Mermaid mother and child.”

“I’d love that.” Ember tosses the offending top aside and leans against my chest again. “She’d love it, too. She really likes you, and that makes me happy.”

My hands slide up and down her arms. She never finished telling me about Coco’s father, and I decide in this moment I don’t need to know about him.

Still, I can’t understand one thing. “I don’t know how he could give her up. I don’t know how he could give you up.”

She squints one eye at me, and does a little smile. “Are you sorry he did?”

“Hell, no. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” Catching her face, I kiss her solidly, pushing her lips apart with mine and sliding my tongue against hers. I do it again, once more just to be sure she’s feeling it.

I let her go, and when our eyes meet, the heat is palpable. “Hmm…” she says, a sly smile on her lips.

“What’s that about?” I ask, sliding my thumb over the faint cleft in her chin.

“I’ve always loved being here with my daughter…” As her voice trails off, she starts to giggle, eyes twinkling.

The little girl squeals, and we both look over to see her in her pink inflatable ring, riding in and out on the surf.

“She’s having a great time,” I say quietly.

“She’ll sleep well tonight.”

I hear the suggestion in her tone, and I know it’s time. I have to tell her the truth. “I have to leave Oceanside.” Her expression changes to confusion, and my hands tighten on her sides. “I left some unfinished business. I’ve got to go back and finish it.”

Ember is so strong, but in that moment, I see a flicker of fear in her eyes. “How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. “I hope only a few days, but it might take me a week.”

She sits up, moving away from me, and the cool breeze underlines the fact she’s no longer in my arms. Her chin drops, and long hair ripples across her face.

“Are you crying?” I place my hand on her calf.

A little sniff, and she touches the back of her hand to her eye. “I just had the most painful feeling… like I could lose you again, that you won’t come back. That you’ll disappear.”

My arms surround her so fast, she exhales a little noise. “Look at me.” She’s on my lap, and her dark eyes flicker up to mine as she obeys me. “I will come back.” My voice is stern. “I am coming back, and after that, I won’t leave here again. Unless I take you with me.”

She drops her head to my chest, and I tuck it under my chin. My heart thuds painfully in my chest, and I understand her panic when I say I’m leaving. It’s a whisper in the back of my mind. Too many echoes of the past are bound up in those words.

“We won’t say goodbye,” I speak against her silky hair, kissing her head, inhaling lavender and sugar. “We’ll never say goodbye again.”

Her head moves in a nod, and her hand is flat against my chest. Pushing gently, she leans back, and while her eyes are glistening, I see resolve in them. Things are not the same as last time.

“We’re not children anymore.”

“We also have modern tech.” I give her a wink, and she does a little half-smile. “I’ll text you constantly, and when my thumbs fall off, I’ll call you.”

“I have to wait for your thumbs to fall off?” A dark eyebrow arches.

“I’ll call you every minute of every day. Every time I think of you, your phone will ring.”

“Okay,” she laughs. “Now you’re being ridiculous. I have to work.”

That makes me smile. “Only if you promise not to worry otherwise.”