Page 54 of Kiss Me Forever

“I’m here if you need me,” I said softly, confused, and feeling helpless.

My mother told me being a parent meant feeling helpless ninety percent of the time, but I didn’t believe her. Maybe I should have.

“Why is she gone?” she asked softly. I swallowed hard. I was afraid to move and startle her. If I did, then maybe she would stop talking to me.

“I’m not good at figuring out why life is the way it is or why sometimes fate is an actual thing. I will tell you it’s not fair. And I’m sorry. Your mom should still be here. You should still have her in your life. But if you think about it, part of her is still here. She is inside you. You don’t have to not talk about it. I’d love to hear more about your mom. What she means to you.”

“If she was alive then I wouldn’t know you. Wouldn’t that make you mad?”

My arms tightened around her for a moment, and I swallowed hard.

“I would like to think that one day you and I would have found a way to each other. I love having you in my life, Bella. But I wish your mom didn’t have to die for that to happen.”

“She was really nice. She baked cookies, but sometimes they were burned. Not like Brooklyn’s. And she liked to sing. I loved her singing.”

I rubbed my cheek over the top of her head. “I remember. She used to sing karaoke. And forced me to go out.”

Bella pulled back, her eyes wide. They were still glistening with tears, but not as puffy. “Really? You sang?”

I nodded, though I cringed. “Your mother could sing. I’m decent at it, but not as good as her. She was the bright light, I usually just growled the bass level.”

“That sounds fun though. I wish I could see.”

I frowned, thought back to any posts we might’ve made. “My brother might have a video on his phone somewhere. He never deletes anything. I’ll check, okay?”

She nodded, her eyes sad. “Okay. Thank you, Reece.”

It was like another kick to the stomach, the fact that she called me Reece. But she wasn’t so angry now. Not so sullen. Maybe she still resented being forced to live here, with things that weren’t her own, but we were trying.

I got her a glass of water and tucked her back in. Thankfully she went right back to sleep.

It wasn’t until I got into bed myself that I realized she hadn’t told me what her dream had been about. Only her mother.

And the fact that she was gone.

“That’s rough, buddy,” Gage said as we looked over yet another set of IKEA instructions.

“Why do you sound like Zuko?” I asked.

“Because he’s the best villain to hero arc out there? And the best animated character ever.” Gage grinned, and I rolled my eyes.

I had known Gage for a while now. Of all our friends that had a connection to the Montgomerys, Gage was actually closer in age to me than the others. We had seen enough shit out there that things got a little hairy.

And of course because it was Denver, the small town that it was—insert sarcasm here—Gage had a connection to the Montgomerys as well. His younger brother Patrick was madly in love with and dating Riley.

I didn’t know Riley well, but she worked one-on-one with my daughter at the art gallery that she ran, and I knew she was one of Brooklyn’s closest cousins.

“Seriously though, she okay?” Gage asked.

That was the thing with Gage. He gave me shit just like I did the same for him, but he was a good man, and really cared about his friends. He took care of everybody around him, to his own detriment sometimes, and I was grateful I had someone else to talk about this with. Sure, I had Brooklyn and my family, but my family always thought I was a good guy—even when they were rousing me—and I couldn’t talk about everything with Brooklyn, not when my feelings towards her were complicated enough.

“I think she’s okay. I don’t know. She doesn’t really fucking talk to me.” I kept my voice down since Bella was in her room sketching. She told me she would come back out soon to help with the bookshelves, but I wasn’t going to pressure her. She’d had a rough night after all.

“My brother has the name of a decent family and child therapist. So I figured I’d see if I can get on their books. Or if they have a recommendation.”

Gage nodded solemnly. “It’s a good idea. I mean, I have no idea how to handle kids at all, and I know this is completely new for you. But her having someone to talk to outside of this would be good.”

“She has Brooklyn at least,” I blurted.