Page 78 of Parentmoon

As I’d overheard this morning, we have had fun together.

As for not telling me about the reason behind Keli and Michael breaking apart, in some ways, I accept that it wasn’t Dallas’s place to tell me. Michael should have mentioned the house-gift and the premise of the fight instead of leaving me in the dark. I still wish Dallas had opened up, but again, it wasn’t his responsibility. And in other ways, he was right again. Michael and Keli needed to sort things out on their own.

“Daddy looks really happy here. With you.” Keli’s sweet voice interrupts my thoughts.

I glance at her and then stare ahead as we walk along the white sand.

“I noticed him giving you the pinky hook.” Keli holds up her hand and wiggles her pinky. “When I was a kid and things seemed especially bad with Mama, Daddy would pinky promise me it would get better. He was always there for me.” She hooks her right pinky with her left in imitation and then releases them. “But with you, he’s hanging onto that hook. Like he’s locking in whatever promise he’s given you.”

“Your father hasn’t made me any promises. I’m embarrassed that you found us . . . in such a compromising position, but we’re both single adults. We don’t need promises.” The words taste like a lie.

Keli pinches her brows. “But Daddy seems more relaxed around you. When he looks at you, he lights up.” Her smile widens, another imitation of her father. Her grin matches his with a twinning dimple. I’d never noticed it before. Keli has blue eyes like her dad but the way her mouth curls, she’s all Dallas there as well.

“I admit, I misjudged your dad at first. He seemed . . . disinterested in meeting me. Getting off video calls and bowing out of dinners. This trip has been a surprise.” I lightly laugh. “We’ve had fun.”

The use of his word doesn’t exactly describe it. What did Dallas say the night we first kissed? A once in a lifetime experience. One you can never replicate. Although Dallas said he’d try like hell to copy that first kiss in every kiss after, he’d gone above and beyond. I’ll never have another experience like Dallas Cole.

Keli is giving me a quizzical look, but ignoring her gaze, I keep my eyes forward and my heart behind thick walls. Dallas and I were always temporary.

Michael and Keli are on their way to permanent.

“Are you nervous about Thursday?” I ask, needing to shift the focus from me.

“Not one bit.” Confidence lifts her shoulders as happiness fills her voice. The remainder of our walk we talk about her alternative wedding dress and what I might wear for the ceremony.

“How are you feeling?” I ask once we turn around and head back to the house.

Keli covers her belly. “So far so good. A tuna fish and cucumber sandwich for breakfast was the tipoff something wasn’t right with me.” She laughs, palming her stomach which shows no sign of the life growing within her.

Staring down at her flat tummy, a soft smile fills her voice when she says, “Michael’s going to be the best dad.”

Michael might not have had the best example for a father, but maybe that absence taught him a different lesson. He knows how to not be as a dad.

“You’re going to be a great mother.”

Keli looks over at me. “Do you really think so? Mama’s done her damage, but Daddy’s always been there to pick up the pieces. Says I was Humpty Dumpty as a kid, but he put all my pieces to right again.”

Scaling walls and slaying dragons for his little girl.

“We take what we want, both good and bad examples from our parents, and learn who we want to be from that. You’ll find yourself mimicking your mama or your dad at times, but you’ll still be all Keli and Michael as parents. You learn as you go. You’ll make mistakes. I’m certain I made mine with Michael. But you also do the best you can.”

“Michael loves you more than anything.”

I link my arm in hers. “That’s sweet of you to say. But I think he might love you a bit more, although it isn’t a competition. It’s just different. I’m his mom. You’ll be his wife.”

Keli smiles again. “I’m going to be Michael’s wife,” she whispers. “Mrs. Michael Hudson.”

Mrs. Michael Hudson. Our little family is growing.

+ + +

When Dallas and Michael return from town, Dallas is in a rush.

“We’ve got to go,” he says to me, hustling around the house, stuffing water bottles in a fishing bag, and grabbing beach towels.

“What are we doing?” I laugh, looking at Michael for guidance.

Michael raises his hands. “Don’t look at me. I was told it’s a surprise, and Keli and I aren’t allowed to attend because it’s something we’ll want to do later, on our honeymoon.”