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"Yeah, I am. El and I are gonna head home though, I've got a ton of things to do before school starts back Monday."
"Okay," He agrees, pulling me in to plant a kiss on my head, "I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Do you still want me to come by for dinner Monday night?"
"Yeah, of course, we do. I'm sure Ellie will want to tell you all about her first day of Kindergarten."
He roars out a laugh, "Those kids don't know what is coming their way."
I smile, knowing how much Eric adores Ellie, "She's going to love it."
He tilts my chin up, his lips meeting mine, "I'll see you then."
I turn toward the back of the yard, realizing pretty quickly by the way Ellie is giggling that I'm going to have to drag her out of the moon bounce. Jameson is standing with Judson, very obviously catching up, but his eyes are trained on me. He's bigger than Judson now, a couple inches taller, and a lot more muscle on him. He gives off a rocker vibe, especially with all the tattoos he didn't use to have. Tattoos have never been my thing, but seeing them on Jameson is messing with my head.
I need to get out of here.
I drag Ellie out of the moon bounce, explaining to her that we need to go home to get her backpack ready for school. She pouts for a minute but ultimately, I win. She gives Carson a colossal hug and wishes JC a happy birthday. We're just a few steps from the back gate, and just when I think we're in the clear, she takes off like a bat out of hell for Judson.
"Bye, Uncle Judson!" She yells, clinging to his waist. He hoists her up into the air, her squealing, stealing everyone's attention. As he sits her back down, she turns to Jameson, my heart nearly beating out of my chest. Afraid for him to stare at her too long.
"It was a pleasure to meet you," she coos, sticking her hand out for a shake. She's obviously had one too many fancy tea parties with my mother. I put my hand to my forehead, pursing my lips nervously. At least she didn't curtsy.
He smiles with his eyes, kneeling to her level, "You too."
He takes her hand in his, shaking it gently, his eyes admiring hers a second too long.
"Come on, Ellie bear, we gotta go!" I beg, practically jerking her by the hand. Jameson's eyes follow us all the way to the car, with a questionable glare behind them.
Ellie buckles herself in her booster seat as we pull out of the driveway.
"Mama, when I'm six, instead of a party like this, can we go to Disney World?"
I chuckle a little under my breath, "Maybe, we will have to save up, though! Disney is expensive!"
We do pretty well for ourselves on my income alone, but a teacher's salary isn't near what it should be. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, and typically, it's the fun that gets the boot. I do try to budget in a few fun trips and stuff for Ellie, though.
My brother, Adam, lived with us until just this past year and begged me to move back home with him, but there's always been something about Savannah that felt like home.
Ellie was devastated when he left, but my dad isn't in good health and was having trouble running the winery by himself, so Adam moved back to help. We try to visit once a month, but we didn't make it last month. Plus, this summer, I worked for Lexie at Ashworth Outfitters to try and stack our savings up. I knew things would get tight when Adam left, and I needed to have a savings account if there was an emergency.
I peek in the rearview mirror, I see Ellie, mouth wide open and a soft snore escaping her tiny nose. She's worn out. I smile to myself, thinking about how far we've come, how much we've grown up together.
My phone makes a buzzing sound, rattling the change in the cupholder. I wait a couple of minutes until I pull into our driveway before pulling it out.
Blakely- Hey, you ran out before I could hug Ellie! I should've told you Jameson was coming. I'm sorry I wasn't thinking.
I blow out a breath before typing out a response, a very automated, nearly predictable response.
Hanna- It's okay, it was a long time ago.
Blakely- We've never asked because we always thought you would tell us when you were ready, but with Jameson stationed here, I have to ask. Is Jameson Ellie's father?
All of the air inside my lungs is stolen, Ellie still perfectly asleep in the backseat, while I basically panic. What the fuck?
I stare at my phone, the words blurring together as tears threaten to escape my eyes.
I type out a response before deleting it, unable to figure out the right thing to say. I don't respond. No matter what the truth is, the only thing that matters is that Ellie is and will always be mine.
