Page 46 of Finding Forever

I extended my palm in his direction, which was full of feed for the small animals. Half-heartedly, Mycah mimicked my actions and fed the goat while Penny watched, but refused to participate. My heart was sinking faster than a ship with a leak, and I peered up at Maverick for a life vest.

“What should we do?”I implored with my eyes.

But he looked as clueless as I felt.

“What do you guys want to do next?” Maverick asked them, his attentive gazed fixed on their reactions.

When Penny shrugged, followed my Mycah’s pout, he sighed deeply.

“Alright. Are you ready to leave the zoo?” he followed up, and I knew he was trying to call their bluff. Surely, they’d perk up if they thought the playdate was coming to a premature end.

To my surprise, they looked at us and said in unison, “Okay.”

Ten minutes later, I was ending the saddest car ride I’d ever taken with Mycah. He hadn’t pointed out any funny signs or cool cars during the journey. He was silent in his seat until we pulled up in the driveway.

Inside the house, he walked straight to his room with down-turned lips and without a single word. He wasn’t combative or fussy. But he wasn’t myMycaheither.

What were we going to do about these kids?

∞∞∞

That night, Maverick called me and the first thing on my mind tumbled from my lips. “I miss your touch, Maverick.”

With everything going on, there hadn’t been much time for us to justbeas a couple, and my skin craved his touch as much as my mouth yearned for his kiss.

“I miss your touch too, baby.”

Ugh, I loved when he called me baby. Such a simple endearment, and it made me swoon every time. His voice was drenched in desire and made me feel better that I wasn’t the only one missing our intimacy.

“How’s Penny?” I asked, changing the subject. If I thought too long about how much I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else.

Maverick took a deep breath. The emotion he felt was obvious over the phone line.

“She ate dinner quietly and then watched her favorite movie until she fell asleep. Enrick carried her to bed a few hours ago.”

It sounded like a replica of Mycah’s night. I told him as much.

“Do you think we’re being selfish?”

“Selfish?” He sounded shocked by the question. “Why would it be selfish?”

“Because they are clearly having a hard time with it, yet we’re so happy,” I told him.

“Do you think we should forfeit our happiness just to make sure our kids never have to adjust?”

“I don’t know…” I knew it sounded ridiculous. But I really didn’t know what to do.

“I love how selfless you are, Gina, but that isn’t the answer here. Children are resilient and we’ll have a talk with them about this when they’re less gloomy. But I’m not going to stop pursuing you.”

Relief hit me with his words. If I was honest, I didn’t want what we had to end on account of our children, either. Still, we needed to find a viable work around. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could look into Mycah’s sad eyes.

“If we let that stop us, then we’d both be single until they were eighteen. And I’m not letting you go for thirteen years. There’s a happy medium somewhere in there and we’ll find it.”

Maverick’s confidence was contagious, and suddenly I wasn’t feeling so helpless about the situation. As we continued to talk, I noticed he sounded winded, and I wanted to know why.

“Are you in your home gym?” I asked, imagining him sweaty as he lifted weights and used the hem of his tank top to wipe his sweat.

I’d only accompanied him once to the gym and the show he put on was so distracting that I almost face planted on the treadmill. I’d learned my lesson and never agreed to join him in the gym again. But thinking about what potentially had him out of breath made me hot all over. I wished I was a fly on the wall.

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