Page 56 of If Only In Our Dreams

And he wasleaving.

I couldn’t keep him.

Even if I wanted to.

Robin was nothing if not dramatic. I realized this the moment we stepped onto the lawn of the B&B and I saw what he’d done to the place. Lights lit up the path—brand new, probably bought from the hardware store. Spooky, orange and red, they danced across the wilted fence and led the way around the back of the large, white latticed building.

“Go on!” Robin urged, passing the twins to me, and lingering behind us.

I held their hands tight, but didn’t move.

Wasn’t he coming?

My question must’ve been written all over my face because he replied without me having to utter a word. “This was for you,” he told me, eyes crinkling. “Not me.”

I didn’t know what he meant until he turned to the girls, hand spread out, his painted fingers flashing. “Your dad has a surprise just for you,” he told them, eyes wide, lips curled into a playful grin.

“He does?” Rosie asked immediately, always curious.

“He does,” Robin nodded. “Just around the corner.”

He’s not taking credit.

The thought spun and spun and spun around inside my head as I stared at him, too shocked to have words to reply.

He’s not taking credit for this.

Hours and hours of work.

And he’s letting you take the?—

“No,” I jolted, turning back to him to try and communicate with my eyes that I didn’t want this. I wanted him to be appreciated. I wanted my girls to know just how much work he’d put into this—even before we saw the damn thing.

Robin shook his head.

And it was only because of the respect I felt for him that my mouth clicked shut.

“Aren’t you coming?” Rosie asked, twisting to look at Robin. “We can share our surprise with you if you want.”

Robin wavered.

Clearly he’d wanted this to be a gift for me—forthem. And I didn’t know what to do now that the girls had decided he needed to be a part of it. When Jane latched on to his hand, offering him a shy little smile, Robin melted.

“I…” he glanced at me again, still conflicted.

“Onward,” I declared in the silly way I often did when I played with the girls.

“Onward!” they parroted back excitedly, moving forward. There was no more room for hesitation. No more room for second-guessing. Taking charge felt second nature, which was unsurprising.

What was surprising, however, was how right it felt for Robin to be included in our little familial unit. Jane didn’t say a single word to him, and he didn’t try to push for more. And as we wandered through the decades old—recently repainted—foam cemetery outback, I couldn’t help but spare Robin more than a few glances.

I stared at his expressive mouth. Stared at his unruly eyebrow and the way it twitched up with delight whenever Rosie pointed out something he’d done.

“Last year that looked way worse,” she told him, and I watched with more than a little affection as his chest puffed up with pride.

“Did it?” Robin asked, green eyes dancing, flickering with the Halloween fairy lights that lit up the backyard just like they had in the front.

The new haunted house was spooky, yes.

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