One to Love (One to Hold 4)

Wavering between an eye roll and a growl, I shook my head. “Looks are one thing, but I’ve talked with him a few times.”

She pressed her lips together, but her eyes still danced. “Judging by the look you exchanged, it must’ve been quite a conversation.”

I thought about last week, and how we’d discussed her husband and surviving the pain of loss. She was someone I could trust. I thought about how to ask my question as scientifically as possible.

“In your experience,” I started, “do you think men usually like children?”

Her face lined as she considered it. “Children in general or their own?”

I hadn’t really thought about it that way. “Umm... in general?”

“I’m not sure I understand why you’re asking me this. What was your experience with your friend Patrick?”

Reflecting on how that played out, I wasn’t sure it was a fair comparison. “He sort of freaked out.” I remembered Patrick shooting his and my whiskeys the night I told him. “Of course, it had been months since I’d seen him. And he was pretty serious with another woman at the time.”

“Hmm.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “That was his reaction to his own child?”

Now who was the clever one? She’d figured out my question before I’d even asked it. “I guess I see your point. It depends on the man?”

“And the situation and his experience with fatherhood, his own father. So many factors come into play with men and children.” We were slowly walking toward the juice bar. “What is consistent is the way most all men melt the first time they hold their own baby in their arms. It’s a game-changer.”

Game changer... As usual, she’d changed my outlook as she walked out the door.

* * *

The rest of the day, my chat with Mrs. Clarkson was on my mind. Mariska had begged for details about Slayde, but I told her the truth. Nothing happened. Then I left and drove myself to the pier where Patrick and I had sat after we told my parents about Lane. It was a special place to me.

The sun was setting over the water, and the sky was turning shades of blue, pink, and orange. It was beautiful, and I needed to bring my canvass down here more often and paint. Just because I took the semester off college didn’t mean I’d given up on my art.

Standing, I dusted my black jeans and turned only to stop dead in my tracks. Slayde waited at the end of the pier. His expression was a mixture of surprise and curiosity, and I decided I wasn’t angry with him. I wanted to go to him.

“Are you following me?” I teased as I got closer to where he stood.

His chin dropped, and with a slight grin, he cut those stomach-clenching eyes up at me. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Taking a few steps closer, I stopped when I was right in front of him. “You can’t because I asked you first.”

Where my show of bravado was coming from, I had no idea. I was doing good to breathe normally this close to him. It was the first time I’d seen him outside the gym—when he wasn’t saving my life—and he was so relaxed and casual. Still guarded, but almost happy. And oh, so sexy.

Straightening, he pushed his fists into the pockets of his jeans. “I live right over there.” He nodded toward a run-down apartment complex. “It’s a shitty place, but this is my living room. Every night I walk on the beach.”

Winking one eye, I smiled. “Are you saying this time I interrupted your routine?”

“I guess you did.” He exhaled a laugh, and he was so handsome with the fading orange light brightening his face. All signs of the troubled guy I’d seen this morning were gone.

“Since I let you box with me, will you let me walk with you?” I’d kicked off my shoes, and we had already taken a few steps together in the soft sand.

He shrugged. “It’s a free country.”

Laughing, I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not a very encouraging answer.”

Small waves broke along the shoreline as we walked, occasionally covering our bare feet. It was like ice, and I squealed. Slayde laughed, and it was the greatest sound. I caught his arm and traded positions with him, and for a while we only walked, watching the water. It was thrilling, and at the same time so easy being with him.

“What brought you to Bayville of all places?” I asked, stealing a glance at his profile. He was stunning in the twilight with the light breeze blowing his dark hair across his forehead. “There are plenty of better options.”

He looked out at the sky and exhaled. “I was looking for a place that was simple. I wanted to be close to the water. I rolled the dice, I guess.” He looked at me then, his blue eyes forcing me to blink away. “Why are you here?”

“I grew up here. Left as fast as I could.” I took a deep breath. “Then when I got pregnant, it seemed like the thing to do. Come home, be near my parents, regroup.”