Page 42 of Sometimes You Fall

One tear slips down my cheek. “Wow.”

He drops the bag on the counter and walks back over to where I’m sitting. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure? You’re crying…”

“It’s the damn hormones, Grady,” I snap a little too harshly, but my body feels possessed. I forgot how quickly my mood can change. Poor Grady is in for a treat as this pregnancy progresses.

Wincing, he walks back over to the counter and pulls out the familiar pink box that I know is from Astrid’s bakery. Bringing it over to the table, he pops open the lid and rips off a chunk of an apple fritter, offering it to me. “Do you need some sugar?”

Laughing through my tears, I grab it from him and take a bite, chewing through the emotions that are overwhelming me.

Andrew never cared this much when I got pregnant with Chase. He was more focused on finishing college so he could get a job and support us before our son was born. And back then, I admired that, but that was before I realized that it was his selfish side shining through, definitely not selflessness. He worked so he didn’t have to accept that a child was going to change his life. He never once asked me how I was feeling, worried about doctor’s appointments, or cared about decisions that I made about our son. He said he would. He said a lot of things in the beginning I should have questioned more.

But when Chase was born, he smiled proudly and smoked a cigar with his dad outside of the hospital like we were living in the 1950s. I should have known then that nothing was going to change.

“Thank you,” I manage to say as I finish chewing.

Grady takes his seat again. “I want to be here for you.” He reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers like he did that night at Ricky’s—the night I realized that, while time and distance can change circumstances, they do nothing to diminish unresolved feelings. “I just need you to let me.”

“I’m used to doing things on my own, Grady,” I squeak out. “I have for a long time.”

“Well, get used to me being around because I’m not going anywhere.”

Can I believe him?

I guess only time will tell.

“And Chase will be okay. He still has time to pull his head out of his ass.”

God, he has no idea how much my son needs a male role model to look up to, how coming here was the best way to distance him from disappointment.

“Don’t go easy on him, Grady. I know having someone like you to look up to could change his life.”

Grady shakes his head as his eyes meet the floor. “Not sure he should aspire to be me, but I can at least teach him the value of hard work.”

“You’re the type of man I can only hope my son turns out to be,” I whisper as our eyes meet.

Grady swallows and then clears his throat. “I have another question for you.”

“Okay…”

“What about us?”

My heart skips a beat. This is exactly the conversation I was dreading, but the determination in Grady’s eyes tells me that he’s not brushing past it. “Uh…”

He scoots his chair closer to me as he reaches up to brush my curls from my face. The smooth trail of his finger down my jaw has me clenching my thighs together. “Us, Scottie. That night…” He trails off, shaking his head. “You can’t tell me you didn’t feel that.”

I did. I felt everything, which is why I ran.

“Grady, we’re…friends.”

“Yeah, and even you said we unlocked a new level of friendship.” The corner of his mouth tips up, but his eyes drop to my mouth as he licks his lips.

“That was before…”

“And what about now?”

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