Page 9 of The One that Got Away

He knelt before Julia and tickled her stomach. “How’s my girl doing?”

Then he hugged Lisa. Oliver's arms were strong but gentle, enveloping her in a sense of safety only he could provide. She felt the steady beat of his heart against her chest, a rhythm as reassuring as the ocean's pulse.

Pulling back slightly, Lisa searched his face, finding nothing but open affection there. It fortified her resolve.

"I need to talk to you," she said, the words coming out in a rush. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, betraying her inner turmoil.

"Okay, " Oliver's thumbs brushed soothing circles on her back. "What's going on?"

She hesitated, her mouth dry. This was the moment. "I'm scared," she confessed, the admission feeling like a crack in a dam holding back a torrential flood. "Scared that everything we're building is going to come crashing down around us… and that I'll be the reason for it."

Oliver's brow furrowed with concern, and he leaned back to look at her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Lisa, talk to me. What's brought this on?"

"It's just…" She swallowed hard, gathering the fragments of her courage. "The bills, the business, Julia… Sometimes, I feel like I'm one step away from drowning, and I don't want to pull you down with me."

"Hey, hey…" He cradled her face in his hands, his touch grounding. "You're not alone in this. We're in it together, remember? There's no way you could ever be a burden to me."

Tears welled in her eyes, held at bay by the intensity of his gaze—a mirror reflecting back her own fears and hopes. "But what if?—"

"No 'what ifs,'" he interrupted softly. “We'll tackle each day as it comes—you, me, and the kids. That's what families do. We hold each other up."

“But it’s worse than I’ve told you. A lot worse. If we don’t turn the business around in six months, we’ll have to close it.”

He nodded as if mulling over the news for a second. His silence brought great fear to Lisa. Would he give up on her?

“We’ll figure something out,” he said.

“I might have an idea. Actually, it was Maggie’s, but I thought it might work.”

“And what is that?” Oliver asked.

“We start wood carving classes, or rather you do, since you’d be teaching them. How does that sound?” she asked nervously.

Oliver went pale. “Teaching? I… I don’t think that’s something I’d be very good at. I’m not sure about that, Lisa.”

She swallowed, feeling the weight of the situation on her shoulders. “But we have to do something, Oliver. We have to turn this business around, or we’ll lose everything.”

“I could always go back to being a fisherman,” he said.

“But the children and I would never see you, and what about our dream? What about the café?”

He pulled her close and held her tight. “Shh, don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll come up with something. We’ll solve this.”

She nodded, feeling heavy and tired. “Maybe we could spend the day together tomorrow? Try and come up with a plan? Do some brainstorming?”

He made a weird face. “Ugh, tomorrow is no good.”

“Why not?”

“I promised I’d spend time with Daniel, you know, get some father-son bonding.”

She exhaled deeply, then nodded. “Yes, yes, of course.”

He planted a kiss on her forehead. It made her feel like a child. “You’re the best, do you know that?”

“I do,” she mumbled, then got up from the bench and grabbed the stroller. Oliver put a hand on her back, a gentle, comforting movement that failed to make her forget her worry. If Oliver was spending time with Daniel tomorrow, that meant he was seeing Ava, too.

Chapter Five

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