Page 92 of Despite It All
I chuckle. “Caught that, did ya?”
“I did.” Wyla lays one of her hands on top of mine.
“It’s sore but that’s to be expected with it being the first time I’ve pitched that much in a long time. I iced it before I left and I’ll see Nick early again tomorrow too.”
There’s a small beat of silence as we both come to the conclusion that means less time together.
“I’m sorry, Wy. I had y’all come all the way out here, and I don’t—”
“Jett, don’t apologize.” She turns her head back to look at me. “I wanted to come here with you. Even with you playing this week, it’s still seeing you more than I would in Aster Creek.”
I kiss her forehead, unsure of what to say next.
“Hey, about earlier…” Wyla’s voice is soft and quite. “I want you to know that it’s not that I don’t love you, I—”
“Wy, don’t. You don’t have to say anything.”
Wyla sits up and spins around to face me. “No, listen. I know you’ve said before that you had years to think of me and I didn’t, but that’s not true. Yeah, my life was a little more hectic with Stevie but I always thought of you.”
Wyla reaches over to the side table where she laid her book down and grabs a notebook—the notebook. “I have about five of these full of letters to you. It started as a way to relieve my anxieties about being a single mom but after Stevie was born… I don’t know, it became a way to make you a part of our lives. Any milestone, event, or bad day we had, I wrote it down for you. I know I can’t take back the years of Stevie’s life you missed but this might be a good way for you to get a little bit back.”
There’s a pit in my stomach. I know I have to tell her I saw one of them already. Add this to another reason that I feel like absolute shit. “Wy, I have to tell you something.”
Those damn dimples show with her soft smile. “Is it that you already knew about these?”
“I—What? How did you know?” There’s a literal ache in my chest feeling like I’ve betrayed her, but she doesn’t even seem upset.
She chuckles softly. “You were busted by Stevie. Every four-year-old is a tattle tale even if they don’t mean to be. She ratted you out the next morning before the beach.”
“Wyla, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have looked and I should have told you.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s okay. I knew after the first day together I was going to show them to you, but I’ve been too scared. It feels like giving you a piece of me.” Wyla turnsback around laying on my chest. “I’m not afraid of that anymore. It’s me and you, right?”
“Me and you, baby girl.”
Chapter 31
Not gonna lie… the first few days here were hard. Stevie would cry when Jett would leave for the stadium and cry when we left the game at night. It killed me just as much as it killed Jett, but the hours we get in the morning—those have made this trip fucking worth it.
Jett and Stevie get up around seven-thirty to make breakfast where I get to sit and sip coffee, enjoying the show. Tuesday, after we ate we took Stevie to the indoor pool in Jett’s apartment complex. Wednesday, we went to a Farmers Market and Stevie got to build her own bouquet of flowers. Yesterday, Stevie made another pool day request, but today we decided on a lazy day, watchingTangledon the couch together.
Tonight’s game is a little later than they have been, so I made a deal with Stevie that if she took a really good nap, I would get her some ice cream from the cart at the stadium.
My heart wants to explode as Jett kisses Stevie’s head, tucking her in for her nap. “Love you, get some sleep.”
“Love you too, Daddy.” Stevie snuggles into her blankets. “See you at your game.”
“See you there, Little Bee.”
I reach for Jett’s hand knowing I’ll have to pull him out of here. We’re closing in on the end of the week and we’re both dreading it.
As we make it back to the living room Jett pulls me into a tight hug. “I have to go.”
“I know. We’re good, I promise. With any luck, Stevie will sleep until it’s time to get ready and your mom has already texted me this morning that she’ll be here around five-thirty.”
Jett kisses the top of my head. “I love you. I’ll see you before the game?”
I look up, resting my chin on his chest. “Of course, I’ll text you when we get there.”
