Page 5 of Learn the Play
“The beach is a nice place to visit, but I happen to agree with you. I’ll take the solitude and the cool, fresh air of the mountains.”
“Ocean air can be cool,” I tease.
“Yeah, but come on. There’s nothing like driving up the mountain with your windows down, the shade of the trees, and that cool breeze.”
There’s familiarity in the way he speaks about the mountains. He either visits frequently or he lives close to them. “Hmm, maybe you should write greeting cards for a living,” I joke.
“Nah, I’d be shit at it,” he says, laughing softly.
“Siblings?” I ask. Something about this man compels me to know more about him. It’s not just that. I’m not ready for this night to end, so keeping him talking seems like the best way to make this stroll on the beach last longer.
“Nope. Just me, myself, and I. I always wanted a little brother or sister, but it never happened. I guess my parents figured they got it perfect the first time, so why try again?” He smirks. “What about you?”
“One and only. My parents weren’t around each other enough to have another one. My dad worked all the time, and when he wasn’t away for work, he was working at home. They divorced when I was ten.”
“That’s tough. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Not your fault.” It’s my dad’s fault. He put his career before our family. He’s the one who should be saying he’s sorry. I was young when my parents split, but I don’t remember a time when he apologized.
“I know, but I’m still sorry for you. I know how lucky I was to have both of my parents in my household growing up. It’s something that I want for my future kids, hence the reason I’m still unattached.”
“Are you looking for her? Your dream girl?”
“No. I mean, not actively. But if I find her, I’ll be sure to hold on tight,” he says, bumping his shoulder into mine.
“You want kids, then?” I ask.
“I do. At least two if my dream girl and I are lucky enough to have them.”
“And if you’re not?”
He stops walking to turn to face me. “What do you mean?” His brow furrows as he tries to understand the meaning behind my question.
“What if you meet your dream girl and she can’t have kids? Then what? Is she still your dream girl?” I don’t know why, but I have this urgent need to hear his answer.
“Of course, she would be. It’s not her ability to give us a family that makes her my dream girl. It’s her. There are other ways to start a family, such as adoption. There are kids out theredesperate for their forever families. One of my best friends back home, his wife grew up in foster care. There are kids like her who need love, too.”
My heart pounds in my chest. It’s the look in his eyes—the intensity of his gaze beneath the moonlight and the sincerity of his tone. Reid, whatever his last name is, just might be one of the good ones.
“You travel a lot for your job. What happens when your dream girl, or your kids, need you? Then what?” I don’t know why I’m pushing this. It’s not like this is a date, or that I’ll ever see him again once we part ways tonight, but I still want to know his answer.
“What are we talking about here? Having a nightmare and needing Daddy, my wife needing my arms around her, or are we talking illness or something?” he asks, giving my question serious thought.
I move to sit on the sand, not thinking about the mess it’s going to make of my dress. I hated it anyway. I hate the style, it’s not flattering, but I do love the color, and the wedding is over, so who cares? Reid follows my lead and sits down next to me. He’s close, so close his body is aligned with mine, and I surprise myself when I don’t want to move away, widening the space between us. Instead, I stay where I am, soaking up his warmth and the zing of heat that seems to light my body on fire from his touch.
“All of it, I guess.” Tilting my head back, I close my eyes and soak up the warm ocean breeze. “My dad was never there, and when he was, he wasn’t. You said you travel for work, and I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to see what other men would have done in his shoes.”
Reid is quiet. I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to face him. I feel too raw, too exposed, and to a stranger, no less. It’s notuntil I feel his fingers lace through mine that I lift my head and open my eyes.
“No details,” I blurt. I don’t know why, but this man, this moment, feels far too intimate, something I steer clear of, but it’s not enough to make me run from him.
Reid nods, and even in the moonlight, I can see him swallow hard. “My job is important to me, but not more so than those I love. Your question is a hard one to answer. If my kid is sad, and I’m not there to put them to bed, I’ll video call them and read them a story. Even if I have to pack their books with me while I travel to make that happen. My wife, that’s a little harder, but I’d do everything in my power to make sure she understands that I might not be there, but she’s still in my heart and on my mind. I do get breaks in travel, and while I still have a job to do, I’d give every spare minute I have to them. When I find my dream girl, a day won’t go by—whether I’m there or traveling for work—that she and our children won’t know that they’re my everything.”
My heart rages in my chest at the sincerity of his words. Even if I wasn’t looking at him, I’d hear it in his voice. I can’t help but feel jealous of his future family. They’ll have something with Reid I never got as a kid.
“If it’s worse, if they’re sick—” He shakes his head. “It’s impossible to think about, but I’d be there. Whatever it took, even if I had to give up my career, I’d be there every fucking step of the way.” He squeezes my hand gently. “I’m sorry you didn’t have that, Bellamy.”
There is a lump in the back of my throat. Emotions threaten to choke me. I focus on pulling in even breaths and slowly exhaling. “Your future dream girl and children will be lucky to have you, Reid.” I don’t know what this feeling is inside my chest. It’s a squeezing, overwhelming feeling I’ve never felt before. I don’t understand it, but I know it’s the man next to me,his words, his touch, and the sincerity beneath his words that caused it.
