Kara sighed. When she had first informed Jamie she was pregnant with Maeve, he’d told her he didn’t really like children and never intended to have any of his own. At the time, she’d assumed he was simply overwhelmed or scared by the situation, but now, watching him interact with Maeve, she realized perhaps he had been telling her the truth.
After delivering his drink, Kara called Maeve over to join them on the couch and soon the little girl was showing Jamie a few of his old toys that his parents had saved and passed on to her.
After glancing at what Maeve was handing him, Jamie laughed and put it down beside the others on the table in front of them. “Honestly, I don’t remember ever playing with any of these,” he said. “But I’m glad my folks found a new home for them.”
“Maeve likes them,” Kara replied, shrugging.
Jamie nodded and moved some toys off the couch before turning his back on Maeve to address Kara. He cleared his throat. “Kara, I just came over to let you know that I’ve decided to leave the city and move back to Larkin Bay.”
“Oh, I heard you might be. What made you decide to do that?”
“Well, for several reasons. My family is all here, and I think I’ve found a good job that I can do remotely. Also, you and Maeve are here and with all that’s happening with her health right now, I think she’s going to need both of us to care for her.”
Kara looked at him and frowned. Four years ago, when Jamie had taken his job in the city, he’d said he was doing it to escape Larkin Bay. At the time, he’d angrily told her he couldn’t stand the idea of being stuck here and had even accused her of getting pregnant on purpose so that he would be trapped—ruining his life forever. Since then, the few times they had talked, he’d taken great pains to let her know how great he was doing away from Larkin Bay. So his showing up now and telling her he wanted to be closer to them and help care for their daughter was not only surprising but also out of character for him.
“Ok,” replied Kara slowly. “Um, well, I guess that’s great, Jamie. Welcome back, I suppose.”
Emotion flashed across Jamie’s face so quickly that Kara couldn’t tell if it was sorrow, surprise, or anger he was feeling.
She shrugged. Either way, it wasn’t her concern. His moving back to Larkin Bay would change nothing for her; she had moved on from caring about him years ago. She didn’t love him anymore and probably never really had. She had long ago decided that her high school memories of him and their time together were best left in the past.
Kara was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed what Jamie said next. “I was hoping you’d be a little more excited that I was moving back here.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, I’d like to see more of Maeve, and I’d like to see more of you too. I’d like us to see a lot of each other. In fact, I’d like us to be a family.”
“What?” said Kara, her eyes widening as she pulled back from him. “You want us to be a family? You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m serious, very serious,” replied Jamie. Then sliding closer to her and leaning forward, he pressed his lips against hers.
Chapter Seventeen
As Scott walked along Larkin Bay’s beautiful wooden boardwalk, he zipped up his hoodie. The calendar might say it was late spring, but the breeze off the lake was still cool, and he was feeling the chill tonight.
Candy was at his side and had been slowly cuddling closer to him as they walked together. Now one side of her body was pressed firmly up against him, slowing his steps. He looked down but didn’t put his arm around her, and so, after a few minutes, she shifted away.
“Well, I’ve been thinking about you, and I missed you, so when Max told me you were here, I booked a flight and came for a visit,” Candy replied in response to Scott’s question as to why she was there and how she had found him. She batted her eyelashes and giggled as she leaned toward him again.
Walking on the uneven boards in her unpractical but pretty high-heeled shoes that showcased her shapely legs looked to be difficult. Scott shrugged and slowed his pace a bit, realizing that Candy would probably twist an ankle trying to keep up with him if he didn’t. As he looked over at her, he couldn’t help but compare her overly made-up features to Kara’s simple, clear-skinned beauty.
Kara.
Scott’s heart sank. It must’ve been hard on her to have to spend the last few days at the clinic as the staff there taught her how to keep Maeve’s blood sugar levels under control. But Mark had assured Scott that both his niece and sister were doing fine.
Scott had sent a giant stuffed bear and Mylar balloon over to the hospital for Maeve. He hoped they had made her smile. When he had tried to visit in person, he’d been told that they weren’t allowing visitors who were not direct relations into the hospital ward. His texts to Kara had also gone unanswered. Sighing, he looked at his phone and saw no new messages since the last time he’d checked.
“Scottie?”
He looked guiltily over at Candy and saw she was looking up at him questioningly. He realized he hadn’t heard a single thing she had been saying for the last few minutes.
Scrubbing a hand over his face he forced himself to focus on her. “I’m sorry, Candy, what were you saying?” he apologized. “I’m a little distracted tonight.”
Candy smiled up at him brightly before taking his hand in hers. Squeezing it softly, she swung their linked hands between them as they continued walking.
“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “I’m happy as long as I’m here with you. We can be quiet together.”
“Sure,” he replied, shaking his hand free, but he forced himself to smile back at her as they continued along the boardwalk.
“Excuse me?” said Kara, using both hands to push Jamie away. “You want what?” she sputtered.
Leaning back into the pillows Kara had arranged earlier, Jamie chuckled at her reaction.
Hearing the anger in her mother’s voice, Maeve whimpered from where she had returned to reading on the floor and scrambled to her feet.
“It’s okay, Maeve-pie,” Kara murmured to the little girl. “Nothing is wrong; Mommy was just surprised by what Jamie did—that’s all.”
“What Daddy did,” corrected Jamie. “If you’re ‘Mommy,’ shouldn’t she be calling me Daddy? I am her father, after all.”
“I suppose,” Kara said, nodding slowly as she stood and moved toward Maeve. “If that’s what you want. But you’ve never shown much interest in what she’s called you before, so I’ve just always used your name.”
Jamie frowned.
“But, of course, if you want to be called Daddy by her, that’s fine.”
Jamie came over and touched Maeve on the chin. The little girl stepped back and held her arms in the air so her mother would pick her up.
