Page 89 of Forbidden Flame

There was no way she would have done this if I was the one teaching her. She would have whined and cried and said it was impossible. That she would never get it. I loved that he encouraged her to keep going.

I waited for the wobble, but it never came, she just kept going. I stood with my hands covering my mouth.

Cole looked over at me and gestured with his hands, like Are you getting this?

I should have been filming, taking pictures, anything to document the moment. I fumbled for my phone and clicked on video just in time to catch her riding. I couldn’t believe it.

Izzy didn’t fall. She stopped the bike with her feet on the ground and asked, “Did you see that? I was riding.”

She climbed off the bike, letting it drop. Cole lifted her up in the air and spun her around. “You did it.”

When he let her feet fall to the ground, he said, “You didn’t give up, and you did it.”

“Did you see me, Mommy?” Izzy asked.

I stepped off the porch. “I got it on video. Not the whole thing. Just the end.”

“I can ride now. Maybe Addy and Ember will want to ride with me.”

“I bet they will. We can ask them,” Cole said.

We watched the video a few times through, and then I hugged Izzy. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Cole’s a good teacher,” Izzy said as my gaze met Cole’s over her head.

I mouthed, “Thank you,” and he smiled.

“It was all you, Izzy.”

“Can I ride some more?” Izzy asked.

Cole picked the bike up for her and waited while she got on. This time, she pushed off without a wobble as she rode over the grass.

“She’s got this,” Cole said as he snagged my hand and pulled me toward the porch steps where we sat side by side.

“Thank you. You were so amazing with her.”

“She would have gotten it eventually.”

“It was quicker with you encouraging her every step of the way.” There was something about this man that gave Izzy the confidence to keep going. I never wanted her absentee father to hold her back. And I always thought it would be selfish for me to bring another man into her life. But now I wasn’t so sure.

Cole was good for her and me. I hoped we could find a way to make this work.

It felt right to be here with Cole and Izzy like this. Like we were a real family. I could see us eating dinner together, playing outside or a game inside, then getting ready for bed. Cole and I would stay up and talk, long after Izzy went to bed.

There was something about knowing he’d be there for us that made me feel content and happy. I wanted more than what we currently had. But it would come with time. I could see it so vividly.

Izzy rode until it got dark, and then we urged her to come in. I sent her upstairs for a shower, and Cole and I shared a few moments in the kitchen.

“Thank you for today. I was afraid she’d never learn how to ride. You have no idea how stressful it is to be a parent. All the other kids already know how to ride a bike. Is she reading enough, meeting enough new kids to make friends? The list is endless. The expectations insurmountable.” The thing was, I was in this alone. So I didn’t have another person to split the responsibilities with. I had to be the best at everything. I couldn’t rely on a partner. But Cole made me think I could.

“You would have taught her.”

“Maybe.” I wasn’t so sure.

When Izzy called down that she was ready to be tucked in, I headed upstairs. When I reached her bedroom, she was curled in bed with a book in her lap. “Can Cole read to me?”

I wasn’t sure if Cole would want to. “Let me ask.”

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