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“Eas was right,” I put my hands out, waiting for him to climb toward me, then kissed his head. “Mommy was coming, and I’m ready to take you home.”

“You comin’?” Max asked, curling his finger toward the palm of his hand, motioning for Easton to follow us.

“Yeah—”

“No,” I cut him off, then looked between their two faces. “I just need some time with him,” I explained to Easton.

He nodded andlaidback on the bed, as if he was just going to linger at the clinic all night. Max said a few goodbyes and Easton grabbed my hand to caress it for a second. But then he let go, and Max and I made our way home as the rain got harder. Thunder and lightning made the short drive scary, and I pulled into the garage for the first time ever, hoping to shield Max from being soaked.

“The car is inside,” Max laughed.

“I know,” I giggled with him. “Maybe I need to always park here. We can hide and pretend we aren't home.”

“Silly.”

“No you’re silly.”

We got inside and kept laughing, and I instantly felt better. Like it had always been, it was just Max and me, spending time together and giving him the attention I was always afraid he lacked by his father not being around.

A bath, two movies, and a bag of popcorn later, Max was asleep on the couch next to me. I marveled at his little lips, the way I always did when he looked so peaceful.

“No more meetings in Atlanta without you. I promise.”

My phone chimed for the first time all night and I looked at the incoming text. It was Francesca, who had no idea that when I left her at the diner, I had ended up speeding to Harmony Haven.

Francesca

Guess who stopped by the shop this evening?

Jesse

Chris Hemsworth? ;-)

Francesca

Clay.

Jesse

Shopping for his new girlfriend I hope.

That way he would finally stop trying to get back together with me.

Francesca

He told me he knew you were in Harmony Haven. He’s always known and wondered why you didn’t stop by his office to say hi while you were in town today.

Chills ran up my spine. Clay never scared me apart from the one time he let himself inside my apartment. Clay had never been menacing or threatening, but how was I to know who he really was?

Knowing I moved to Harmony Haven didn’t bother me. But knowing I was in Atlanta early made my skin crawl. How would he know?

Jesse

What did you tell him?

Francesca

I told him to get out of my shop.

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