Page 64 of Peaks and Promises

“Hey, Mom. Who’s in the driveway? And what smells so good?”

“Oh, no,” Reese said under his breath.

A man who looked remarkably like Reese, only not as large, walked in, holding a little girl. She was probably a year old, with pink clips in her brown hair, and big, blue eyes. They were followed by a woman with thick dark hair, dressed in a stylish navy wrap dress.

They both stopped and stared at Reese. The little girl smiled.

“You assh—” the man growled, grinding his teeth together. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Zachary,” Reese said, and nodded to the woman. “Marigold.”

“Reese?” she asked, her voice full of surprise. “Oh my gosh, it is you.”

Zachary took a step closer, his face contorted with rage. “Mari, can you take Emily? I can’t hit him if I’m holding her.”

Marigold put a hand on his arm. “Maybe you should keep her, then.”

“It’s okay,” Reese said, moving toward Zachary. “I have it coming.”

“Yeah, you do,” Zachary said.

He tried to pass the little girl to Marigold, but she practically leaped out of his arms, right at Reese.

“Emily,” Zachary said as he watched Reese gather her into his arms and settle her on his hip. “Seriously? You tiny traitor.”

I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. Reese looked as shocked as anyone to suddenly have a toddler in his arms. She touched the stubble on his jaw and giggled.

“Great, she likes you,” Zachary said. “Which means I can’t punch you in the face.”

Marigold slipped her arm around his waist. “Good girl, Em. That’s your uncle, Reese.”

A light sigh escaped my lips. Reese holding his little niece in those big, tattooed arms was enough to make my ovaries explode.

Zachary pointed at him. “You’re lucky.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Reese said. Giggling, Emily touched his nose.

“So, what, you’re back? You get to waltz in here like you haven’t been gone for a million years?”

“Yes, he does,” their mom said decisively.

“Oh my gosh, we’re being so rude.” Marigold said, turning to me. “I’m Marigold, this is Zachary, and this is our daughter Emily.”

“I’m Summer,” I said. “And this is my son, Nate.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” She lifted her eyebrows. “Are you…”

“Oh, us?” I gestured toward Reese, who was wholly occupied with Emily. She’d discovered his tattoos and was busy poking them with her little finger. “No. We’re not… We’re pretending to be together so Nate and I can hide from my ex. It’s kind of a long story.”

“Mom,” Nate whispered. “They can know the secret?”

“Yes. This is Reese’s family. They can know.”

“My real dad’s in a gang,” Nate said, his tone matter-of-fact. “So we’re pretending Reese is my stepdad. They’re not getting married, but if they have more kids, I still get my own room.”

Reese whipped his head around, and Zachary and Marigold both looked at Nate with raised eyebrows.

“That’s one way to put it,” I said. “There was a conversation about bedrooms. I think a few things got lost in translation. He’s ten.”