Page 12 of Can We Try?

“What?” I’m shocked.

He nods. “I never wanted anything permanent. I had my heart broken in my early twenties, and I swore I’d never do it again.”

“What changed your mind?”

“I met you and your mom. It took me a while to understand what I was feeling, but the minute I met her, and then you, I knew my life was changed. For the better,” he adds.

“I didn’t know that about you.”

Dad waves his hand in the air. “Kids aren’t necessarily supposed to know those things about their parents. Not until they’re ready to hear it. Parenting is hard, Lachlan. You hope that you’re giving your child the guidance and knowledge to make good choices in their lives, but ultimately, once they turn eighteen, it’s all out of your control. Your mother and I got lucky. You were a good kid. Some foolishness from time to time, but we are so damn proud of the man you’ve become.”

“I had a great role model.” His face blushes, but his eyes soften with love. I’ve seen that look from him, directed at me my entire life. “Why didn’t you ever have more kids? You and Mom together were a great team. I know the story you’ve told me repeatedly that I was enough, but there had to be another reason.”

“It was my choice.” He pauses to collect his thoughts, and I give him the time he needs. “I loved you both fiercely, Lachlan. I never wanted you to feel otherwise. I was worried that if your mother and I had more children, you might think I loved them more than you, which would never be the case. As you got older, we considered it again, but the age gap would have been too steep, and you were enough for us. You are our son, and we love you.”

I blink hard a few times, because my own emotions are getting the best of me. “I would have known,” I tell him, my voice cracking. “There wasn’t a single day in my life that I didn’t feel how much you loved me. I would have known.”

He nods. “I know that now, but back then, the thought of you not feeling equal to a sibling, it gutted me. My buddies tell me I went soft when I met you and your mother, and they’re probably right, but I’m telling you, son, there is not one single second of my life I regret. Loving you and your mother was as easy as breathing and just as essential for me. I want you to find that person for you. I want you to know what that feels like.”

“I want that,” I admit. “Hopefully one day I’ll find her.” My mind instantly goes to Maggie and the night we shared together.

“What’s that look?” Dad asks, pointing at my face.

“What look?”

This time he’s the one to fold his arms over his chest and freezes me with the intensity of his gaze. “You already found her.”

“W—What?”

He smirks. “You already found her. You found someone to make you stop and think twice about the time you spent with her.”

“We made a deal,” I confess. “We promised one night, no strings. Our friends are friends, and it’s a tangled mess.”

His grin grows even wider and I realize my mistake. My parents know who I spend my time with, and they’ve met them all. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out I’m talking about Maggie.

“It’s okay to break a promise if that broken promise leads to more happiness.”

“But will it? Or am I just hung up on her because she’s forbidden?”

“She’s only forbidden because the two of you made her that way. Change the narrative, Lachlan.”

“You make it sound easy. I’m sure it’s just me, and I’m in a funk. It will pass.”

“Take some time to get your thoughts together, but don’t ignore this in the process.” He taps two fingers on his chest over his heart. “Pushing past my doubts led me to a life of love and happiness.”

“Can I take your order?” the server asks, placing our drinks in front of us.

We order, and thankfully, the topic turns to a lighter subject. I’ve had more heart-to-heart conversations today than I have in my entire life. Okay, that’s not true, but I’m mentally drained because of them, and part of that is all about me. I need to get out of my head and let this go.

Chapter

Three

Maggie

* * *

My knees won’t stop bouncing. It’s annoying me, so I know it has to be annoying the other patients in the waiting room, but I can’t help it. I’m nervous. I’m still holding out hope that the five tests I’ve taken over the last few days are false positives, but that hope is fickle, because I’m pretty sure the tests were right.

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