Riptide (Renegades 6)

“Frankie.” Sophia’s bubbly voice floated through the condo as she looked for her turtle. “Where are you?”

Tessa took another steadying breath and faced Zach. “I’m sorry about Abby,” she told Zach in a low voice. “She’s been with us from the beginning. This is a huge…struggle…for everyone.”

Zach nodded but didn’t speak. Sophia rushed out of one bedroom, stopped on a dime, held up her index finger, and said, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll find him.” And zipped into the other room.

Zach looked at Tessa, eyes a little wide, and they laughed at the same time, diffusing some of the tension and creating what felt like a new bond between them.

“Yes,” Tessa said. “She’s always like this. She’s an extrovert, so meeting new people is like a sugar rush. But, beware, she crashes just as hard.”

“There you are, you silly little turtle.” Sophia came running back into the living room with her turtle clutched in her small hands, hovering overhead. “Found him.” She stopped suddenly in front of Zach, who had braced for a hit. “Frankie, this is Mommy’s friend Zach. Zach, this is Frankie. I got him at a museum.” She plopped down in front of the Lego house. “And this is Frankie’s house.”

Zach’s free hand stroked a restless pattern down the thigh of his jeans. His eyes darted between Sophia and the Lego house.

“Can you talk?” Sophia asked, drawing Zach’s gaze.

“Sophia…” Tessa exhaled and closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead.

“Is he shy, Mommy?” she asked Tessa. “Like Daniel?”

“Daniel is one of her friends at school,” she explained to Zach, then told Sophia, “No, honey, he’s not shy.” She walked into the living room and took a seat on the sofa. “He’s not talking because you haven’t given him a chance. Remember when we talked about being a good friend? You need to talk and listen.”

Sophia lifted both hands out to the side, tilted her head, and asked, “How can I listen if he doesn’t talk?”

Tessa couldn’t help but chuckle. She reached out and ruffled her hair. “You’re so silly.”

Sophia rolled on the floor, all drama. When she landed on her back, she looked up at Zach. “Can I open my presents now?”

“Sophia,” Tessa scolded.

“It’s okay,” Zach finally said with a little laugh and a shake of his head. He sat beside Tessa on the sofa, set the presents on the coffee table, and heaved a sigh. “I’m…I can’t quite get my head around this.”

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Sophia hopped up and rushed to the sofa. She climbed over Tessa, wedged herself between her and Zach, and sat there like a puppy awaiting a treat.

Zach stared at her, his eyes scanning her face millimeter by millimeter while emotions flashed through the deep-blue irises until they glimmered with wetness.

Tessa’s heart folded. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through. Hell, she didn’t even understand what she was going through.

“Are you sad?” Sophia’s question dragged both Tessa and Zach back into the moment.

Zach huffed a laugh and dropped his gaze. “Maybe a little.” He offered the presents to Sophia. “Here you go. I hope you like them.” He cast a shy glance at Tessa before letting his gaze drop away. “The wife of a friend helped me.” Then a little grin hinted on his lips. “If it was left up to me, I’d have brought her a dartboard and a tool kit.”

That made Tessa laugh.

“Is it okay, Mommy?” Sophia asked over her shoulder.

Tessa nodded, and while Sophia put her presents on the coffee table and started opening one, Tessa imagined Zach shopping for a little girl he didn’t know. Her heart clenched while her stomach flipped. She reached over and gave Zach’s knee a reassuring squeeze.

He never took his eyes off Sophia, but he covered Tessa’s hand with his own and squeezed it back. “I can’t believe how beautiful she is.”

The emotion in his soft voice created a flood of mixed feelings inside Tessa—love, fear, frustration, affection. And she knew by the way Zach was looking at his daughter now that everything had changed. Tessa’s vision of the future crumbled.

She forced herself to pull her hand from Zach’s even though it was exactly where she wanted it to stay.

“Mommy, look.” Sophia held up a stuffed horse figure with shiny wings. “A unicorn.”

The “you” in unicorn pierced Tessa’s ears. She was used to it, but Zach winced a little.