Page 173 of Keep This Promise
Jackson chuckles. “It’s clear as mud.”
The door opens behind me, and I turn to see Eden waking from her nap. She will never keep a secret if she sees Jackson. She took to him immediately, and I go to block her view, but before I can take two steps, I hear aclickand turn to say something, but he’s gone.
Disappeared into thin air.
That’s a brilliant trick.
“Mummy!” Eden yells and comes toward me, arms wide.
“Hello, my love.”
I scoop her up and kiss her cheeks. “Did you have a good nap?”
“I got to ride a pony in my dream.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Is Holden here?”
Another man that seems to have made an impression on her. She wakes up before me each day, careful to get out of the room without stirring me, and has breakfast with him. This morning, they had pancakes and bacon. Bacon is always included.
I gave her a bit more time before I came out, wanting her to have a chance to know her father.
“He’s not home yet, but he should be back any minute now.”
“Can I colour?”
“Of course.”
She’s gone within a moment, off to the area in the living room where Holden put a few colouring books he purchased and a few dolls. Each day, there ends up being another thing for her in the home.
When I hear a car door slam, I walk to the window, and sure enough, Holden is walking up the steps.
He smiles when he sees me, and I wave a little, a flutter stirring in my chest.
I wish the man weren’t so damn handsome.
That smile is what I remember most. When we danced, his eyes never left mine, and throughout that night, he was always happy. It didn’t matter how little I remembered the next day, I could never get that grin out of my mind.
I grab the note that is sitting on the table, shove it in my back pocket, and stand there, waiting. When he walks in, the energy in the room shifts. “Hey,” he says, dropping a backpack but keeping his hold on a shopping bag.
“How was your shift?”
“Exhausting, but . . . I’ll be fine. How was your day?”
“It was . . . good. I feel like I’m settling in well.”
Holden’s face brightens. “Do you think you’ll settle a little more?”
Do I want to stay here and make friends? At this moment, I have nowhere else to go, but I do have Holden, who has missed three years of Eden’s life. It wouldn’t be fair for me to take her away now that he just found her.
It wouldn’t be fair to Eden either, who has lost so much.
I give Holden a soft smile. “We probably should since we’ll be staying in town for a while.”
When his eyes brighten, I know I’m making the right choice.
ChapterEleven
