Page 40 of Challenged by the Single Dad

“No. I didn’t.”

He glanced at her altar. “So this is …”

“It’s part of Samhain, which is the celebration of harvest and death. It dates back to the pagans, and is of Celtic and Gaelic origins.”

He nodded, hoping she would continue.

She indicated that he could sit. So together, they perched on one of the large fallen pieces of driftwood, turned white from the sun and smooth from the years of being beaten and tossed against the shore.

“After Elliott had been gone a year, and my divorce was finalized I was in a deep pit of depression. I met a woman who had also lost her son, although he’d been an adult when he passed, and she introduced me to the celebration of Samhain. My mother’s parents were both Irish immigrants and my father’s parents still have a lot of family back in Scotland. So the idea of Samhain, although nothing I’d ever experienced growing up, appealed to me. It helped with the grief. I also couldn’t stay in North Dakota. Too many memories. So I bought a van and have been traveling for over two years. But as I said before, the van got totaled so now I have the Volvo.”

He didn’t blame her for staring straight ahead at the candles.

It was some heavy shit that she was saying, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make eye contact with anybody either.

“My ex-husband blamed me for Elliott’s death. He said that I was the one who let him go over to the Lawson’s that day. Even though he did sue them for negligence—and won.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I never touched a cent of the money though. I didn’t want it. I just wanted my baby back.”

Dom bunched his fists on his thighs to keep from touching her. He wanted so desperately to hold her, rub her back, or even take her hand. Just offer her some kind of comfort in this moment of agony. Because it had to be absolute torture to relive such a horrific moment. How she was still standing, still getting up each day after the death of her child, was a testament to her incredible strength. He wasn’t sure he’d have that kind of strength if something happened to Silas.

“H-how did your wife pass?” she asked still staring straight ahead.

He hated talking about it, but if she could open up about her son, he could open up too. “Car accident. Clint’s wife Jacqueline, Bennett’s wife Carla, Wyatt’s wife Sheila, and my wife Remy were on their way to the airport for a girls’ weekend to celebrate my wife’s thirtieth birthday.” A lump the size of a walnut formed in the back of his throat. “They were sideswiped on the freeway. Jacqueline and Remy were pronounced dead at the scene, and Sheila and Carla died on their way to the hospital.”

Chloe gasped, sat up and her hand covered her mouth. She turned to face him with wide, pained eyes. “Oh my god.”

“Six kids became motherless that day. Silas—my son—was only one year old.”

Her hand found his and she squeezed. “Dom, I am so sorry.”

He cleared his throat. “Remy’s mother was Mexican, and she grew up celebrating Día de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead. Remy would always create an altar at home for deceased loved ones. So after she passed, I knew it was something that I needed to do.”

“You don’t want to bring your son?”

Glancing down at the rocks, he shrugged. “Maybe eventually. But Silas is only six, and he’s a sensitive little guy. He gets easily spooked by things and I know if I had an altar in the house, he’d get freaked out about ghosts and spirits. I invited him to come down tonight, but he said no. One day, I think he will though. At least I hope he’ll want to.” He stared down at their clasped hands, grateful for the connection.

“Tell me about her,” she said softly. “What was she like?”

That made him smile. “She was on the shier side, like Silas. Hell,” he laughed, “like me. I’m the shiest of the five of us. But she also had a great sense of humor. Get a single glass of wine in that woman and she had the absolute best, most genuine giggle. It was the kind of laugh that made everyone else around her just start laughing too.”

Chloe’s small chuckle was breathy. “Elliott had a great laugh too.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah. And when he snorted …” she closed her eyes, smiling, and shook her head, “it was adorable.” She opened her eyes and one side of her mouth tipped up higher than the other. “What did Remy do for work?”

“She worked as a translator. She spoke French, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently. She mostly did translations for publishing houses as well as various manuals, but it allowed her the ability to make her own hours and work from home.”

“That’s amazing. I wish I had a second language.”

“Me too. She spoke Spanish to Silas when he was a baby, but I couldn’t keep up with it because I don’t speak it. Wyatt speaks Italian, and Vica does too, obviously. Justine speaks French and Mandarin. But I’m just stuck with English.” He glanced at her. “What was your son like?”

“Oh,” she leaned back and studied the stars, “he was the best. Had tons of energy and the biggest smile. He loved to get filthy any chance he could. Whether it was baking or playing in the mud in the yard, or monkey wrenching with my dad in the garage. The kid always had something under his fingernails and some kind of smudge on his face.” She glanced at him, still grinning. “Hardly ever got sick though. He had a great immune system.”

Dom smiled.

“He loved soccer. Even if we had three feet of snow outside, he’d shovel a patch for himself to bounce it around on his feet and knees. He was really good too.” Her throat moved on a hard swallowed. “His favorite cookies were snickerdoodles, hence the incense. It’s snickerdoodle scented, and I baked some yesterday at the hostel for him.”

Guilt for his earlier behavior was like an anvil on his chest. He’d been so cruel to her. Only thinking of himself. There were other people out there who had suffered loss as well. He needed to remember that they didn’t all carry it around like a grumpy troll on their shoulder the way he did. “I need to say again how sorry I am for my earlier comment. That was uncalled for. And really not fair, or kind. I’m sure it just dredged up a lot of painful things for you.” He met her gaze through the candlelight.

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