Page 86 of Come Back for Me
“I think we should tell her.”
“You know what that means?”
I do. It means that this thing we’re doing is real. It means that he wants us to be a family and he wants us to move in with him and commit to something more.
As much as fear is a very relevant feeling, when I look at him, I still can’t imagine any other outcome. Walking away from him isn’t possible. I love him. It might be fast, but it’s what I feel in my heart.
Connor is selfless and I’ve never had that before.
“I want it all, but I need to go slow.”
“I know.”
“As long as you understand that.”
His hand shifts, and he weaves our hands a bit tighter together. “We can tell her and the rest is at your pace. Just know that when it comes to her, I may not be able to pump the brakes.”
That part is perfectly fine. I want her to love him, and I want her to be the one thing he loves more than anything. He and I can pace ourselves a bit and don’t need to work on a timeline, but I won’t rob them of any more time together.
“Be gentle with her . . . if she’ll let you.”
He smiles. “I don’t think you know how happy you made me.”
My cheeks burn. That’s all I want to do, and he has no clue what he does for me. Every minute with Connor is a gift.
“You do the same for me.” I glance back again to make sure she isn’t listening. “I just hope she doesn’t hate us after this.”
“We’ll tread carefully.”
I can’t help but be nervous and anxious about this. While she loves Connor, she gets him as this friend. When he steps into the role as parent, her relationship with him will change. It won’t be all fun and games—he’ll be her father, and the first time he has to discipline her will be a challenge.
That isn’t even taking into consideration how she will feel about the things I’d done. She will know that I lied, and I hope that doesn’t diminish her trust in me.
Hopefully, we will transition without a lot of bumps, but then again, that doesn’t really seem to be the theme of my life.
We make a turn onto a dirt road, and my curiosity spikes. Where the hell is he taking us?
Hadley pulls her headphones out and her face is glued to the window. “Are we there?”
“We are,” Connor says as he continues down the path.
“Are there cows here?”
I burst out laughing, and Connor looks over like I’m crazy. “She thinks you’re taking us cow riding because you seem so inept when it comes to the livestock you raise.”
“Hey! I know you don’t put saddles on cows unless you’re in a rodeo!” he protests with a joking tone.
“Those are bulls!” she yells at him before covering her eyes with her hands.
“Same thing. I know things.”
Her hand drops and she shakes her head. “You also didn’t think you had to milk the cows.”
“You know, youweremy favorite, now I’m reconsidering giving you Betsy the new calf that was born.”
“Apples!” Hadley yells instead of responding, her attention wholly focused out her window. “You brought us apple picking!”
I glance back at Connor as he nods. “Well, we both love apple pie, I figured maybe we should get some and try to convince your mom to bake it.”
