Page 51 of Offside Angel

Zane lets out a choked kind of laugh and I reach over and grab his knee. He instantly folds his fingers around mine, taking my hand instead. “I know he’s doing well. I can see it. I guess I just expected to be the only one.”

“Then I’m happy to prove you wrong,” Dr. Turner says. “Anyone who spends any time with Aiden must be able to see how happy he is in your home. You’re doing a great job with him, Zane.” She shifts her focus to me. “Aiden speaks highly of you, too, Mira.”

My heart squeezes.

I was Aiden’s “hiccup” last month. The reason his progress dipped at all is because I left him. I have no idea how to make sense of the joy and the fear mingling inside of me at that realization. Do I get credit for helping to solve a problem I created?

Nothing about Zane seems conflicted. He is beaming as he thanks Dr. Turner and then leads me out of her office with a hand on my lower back.

“Well?” I breathe as we walk down the hallway towards the waiting room. I have half a mind to glance up at the ceiling. Any baby grands suspended up there by thin, fraying ropes?

“Well.” Zane turns to me. “What are you thinking?”

I’m not sure if he’s asking me for my one truth of the day or not, but I give it to him anyway. “I’m thinking I’m glad I didn’t mess Aiden up.”

“You?” he snorts. “You made everything better. I’m glad I didn’t mess him up. Part of me expected her to look me in my face and tell me I was a fuck-up.”

I grab his arm and pull him to a stop. “You don’t think that, do you? That you’re a fuck-up? Because you’re not. You’re amazing with Aiden.”

“I think Aiden is amazing, and I happen to be around.” He shrugs. “I feel like I’ve barely done anything. He’s just… He’s the best.”

Emotion presses at the backs of my eyes. “He really is. But so are you. Dr. Turner said so.”

“All I heard is that Aiden struggled when you weren’t around.” Zane curls a hand around my jaw and strokes his thumb over my cheek. “So did I. And it was my fault. I sent you away.”

“You did what you needed to do for Aiden. Because you’re a good dad. I don’t blame you for that.”

As the words come out of my mouth, I realize exactly how true they are. I always understood why Zane asked me to leave, but some part of me still hung onto it as a reason not to get too comfortable here.

He could change his mind about you. Don’t let yourself count on this.

But it’s too late. I’m comfortable. Stay-here-forever, never-want-to-leave kind of comfortable.

Before I can say any of that, a little head pokes around the end of the hallway. “Daddy!”

Aiden comes tearing down the hall and Evan appears behind him. “Sorry. He heard your voices. I couldn’t keep him contained.”

We all know Evan could keep him contained if he wanted to, but people have a way of giving Aiden exactly what he wants. It’s hard not to—he deserves the world.

“What are we doing now?” Aiden bounces and Zane scoops him up, cuddling him tight.

“I think you’re heading home with Evan and Mira. I have to go back to work, bud.”

Aiden throws his arms around Zane’s neck. “I want to come with you!”

“You’d get bored. And Mira would have to sit in the stands with you. You’d have more fun at home.”

Aiden frowns. “No, I wouldn’t! Please, Daddy!”

Zane looks to me, a question in his eyes, and I shrug. “I don’t mind watching you play. It could be fun.”

“I’ll tag along,” Evan offers. “In case he changes his mind and wants to come home. Plus, I wouldn’t mind catching the Angels in practice.”

“You all might be bored out of your mind, but…” Zane shifts Aiden up onto his shoulders. “Let’s go.”

I don’t know how anyone could be bored watching this.

Zane looks amazing out there, and not just because he’s tall and broad and he keeps grinning up at where we’re sitting in the stands. He’s in complete control of every part of his body. I’d look like a newborn giraffe on ice, but Zane is running drills like he could do them in his sleep.

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