Page 123 of To Believe In You
Lina rose from the driver’s seat and started for him. “How’d it go?”
She’d come back from Maine—from The Captain’s Vista—for him. Hope blazed sudden and bright. He wanted to run to her, crush her in a hug, and ask her to stay close always.
Instead, he thumbed over his shoulder. “Still in there. We’re about to wrap up.”
At that truth, his voice caught on his despair over Axel. Or was it his gratitude that Lina had come? Was his longing to embrace her amplified because he couldn’t hug his own son? He huffed. He had to get it together and get back inside. “I’m not sure how to let him go.”
She stopped at the bottom of the steps, hand on the railing across from him. “He still doesn’t know?”
“He thinks his family won some kind of sweepstakes to spend time with the band.”
Lina scoffed. Itwasunlikely. Adults must’ve asked more questions about this trip and the supposed prize than Axel. What had Nadia and Zach told their friends and bosses? And Axel’s school?
She propped her arm on the railing. “You want him to know?”
“I do.”
“And then what?” A notch appeared between her brows.
If he answered wrong, would she feel betrayed, projecting her father’s failures on him?
It didn’t matter. He’d promised her honesty, and he’d give it. “I’d like to stay in touch and visit, but the news will be upsetting enough without me taking him away from his family by fighting for any kind of custody.” Axel had a good home with two parents who loved him. He’d watched Zach interact with him, and they had a solid bond. “For my visits to make sense, he’d have to know.”
Lina nodded. “I’ve been thinking. She’s worried what the truth will do to him, but he’s got to find out sometime. What if you got a therapist involved and followed his or her advice for when and how to tell him? That way, you’re prioritizing Axel’s mental health and making sure he has the support he’ll need. Offer to pay for it, of course.”
He suppressed the impulse to retreat inside and run with the idea. “Other advice?”
She laughed weakly. “You should probably talk to a lawyer.”
Probably. He didn’t want to bully Nadia, but a lawyer could help him settle on a reasonable offer of child support—support which Nadia may or may not accept. Either way, he could store the money in an account to give to Axel when he became an adult.
If Nadia continued to insist on keeping Axel in the dark, waiting ten years for him to grow up would be torture, but with God and with Lina by his side, he could find the next best step, no matter the scenario.
As the optimism settled, he studied Lina. Chilly autumn air filled the space between them, but she was all warmth and sunshine, hair alight with the afternoon rays.
“I should get back inside, but after …”
“Our regular lessons are about to start. You’ll have students.”
He laughed, and his ribcage was quick with a complaint. “Yes, boss. And after that?”
Smiling, she stepped by him, passing close enough for him to catch the scent of her perfume. Or maybe this time she smelled like the ocean because she’d just been there. She grabbed the door and held it for him. “Then, we’ll talk.”
35
After resting poorly before a whirlwind of activity, Lina would sleep soundly tonight, despite the late cup of coffee she sipped—unless Matt had changed his mind about her since he’d texted.
She glanced over the rim of her mug to where he sat at the other workspace.
Or if he’d meant something other thanlovelove when he’d said he loved her. Tone might’ve gotten lost in translation, and here she’d come all the way back over the simple message.
Well, at least this way, she’d met Axel. While Matt and Nadia talked upstairs, away from the curious eyes of the other students and teachers, she’d made the boy hot chocolate and asked him about his favorite school subjects. If Axel had thought anything of his mom stepping away with Matt, he hadn’t mentioned it as he’d launched into animated tales about gym and science.
Matt and Nadia descended just in time for Matt’s first student. He’d bid Axel an enthusiastic goodbye and turned his attention to his job. Between lessons, he’d found a minute to tell Lina that Nadia was open to the therapy idea. Hopefully, from there, things would fall into place.
He hadn’t broached the subject of the text he’d sent Lina, however. He also didn’t seem to be in a rush to cover the topic, because even now that he’d finished his lessons, he was taking forever to type notes on the day’s sessions.
She couldn’t ask about his true feelings now, because two mothers occupied the waiting area while their children worked with instructors in the classrooms. As the keyboard continued to click behind her, Lina shut down her computer and locked her desk. Next, she straightened the items on the work surface—a pen, sticky notes, the dish where she set her rings when she put on lotion.
