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The house smelled like bacon and eggs. I’d set the table for two and changed into my most flattering sundress. Kyle leaned against the doorframe with an expression I couldn’t read. Sweat soaked through his shirt, and his face glowed a bright red. He pointed toward the stove. “What’s all this?”
“I figured you worked up an appetite.”
He glanced toward the clock, and my muscles stiffened.He has plans. He can’t stay.I pictured him at Castleton Lake in a canoe with Casey.
He strode across the room and pulled open the refrigerator.He’s thinking of a way to tell me that he has to go.
“It’s fine if you don’t have time to eat. I’ll pack you a to-go container.”
He twisted open a bottle of water and gulped it down. “You look so nice. I thought maybe you had a date coming. Luke told me he saw you driving up toward the mansions in the sky yesterday.”
My stomach fluttered. He was jealous. “I just went to see Hank.”
Kyle tilted his head. “You went to Hank’s?”
My fluttery, happy feeling morphed into a jittery nervousness. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone what I had learned yesterday.
Kyle fiddled with the cap of his water bottle. “Why did you go to Hank’s?”
Sunlight poured in through the back door. I squinted into it as I looked at Kyle, trying to decide whether to tell him. “We can talk over breakfast.” I pulled out a chair.
He sniffed and made a face. “I can’t stand the smell of myself. Do you mind if I take a shower?”
I bristled at the question. “You don’t have to ask. It’s your house.”
Kyle opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but before any words came out, he snapped it shut and marched toward the bathroom. A few minutes later, I could hear him singing over the running water, a Luke Combs song about beer never breaking his heart. With a huge grin, I sang along from the stove.
Fifteen minutes later, he returned to the kitchen with damp hair. “There’s enough food for a feast here.” He snatched a piece of bacon from the frying pan while I scooped scrambled eggs and hash browns into his dish.
We began eating, both of us concentrating on our breakfast and not speaking. I had so much I wanted to talk to him about, but I didn’t know where to start. Kyle glanced around the kitchen. His gaze landed on the spot where the dog bowls used to be.
“It’s weird here without Oliver,” he said.
Now was my chance.It’s weird here without you.Even though I wanted to, I couldn’t say it. What if he told me he was never coming home? “I miss him. Dana sends pictures all the time.” I reached across the table to where my phone sat and scrolled through it until I found the latest texts my sister had sent.
Kyle smiled as he looked at them. “He looks bigger.”
“Yeah, he’s definitely not a puppy anymore.”
My Samsung whistled, indicating I had a text. Kyle frowned as he looked at the screen. He slid the phone across the table toward me. I saw right away that the message was from Hank. My mouth went dry, hoping he hadn’t written anything about being my father.
I felt Kyle watching me as I read the message.Hope you’re okay after yesterday. I know it must have been a shock. Let’s have dinner soon.
“What happened yesterday?” Kyle asked.
I waved the question away. “Nothing worth talking about.”
Disappointment flashed across his face, and I knew I’d let him down by not confiding in him. The person I’d been before lying about the bonus would have told him everything. If we were going to work things out, we needed to get back to that. I had to tell him about Hank.
“Listen, Nikki.” He went to the refrigerator and spoke with his back to me. “I can’t stay at Luke’s forever.” He returned to the table with a bottle of hot sauce. “We have to figure out what we’re going to do. Work things out or ...”
The unfinished thought hung in the air between us. My eggs caught in my throat. I chugged my iced tea, trying to push them down. We’d never talked about divorce. Was that what he wanted? I forced myself to look at him. He studied me with a cool gaze. “We need to make some decisions. Casey told me she talked to you, so you know she doesn’t want to be in the baby’s life.”
“She’ll change her mind when she sees her.”
“I don’t think so. She’s already met with a lawyer.” He pushed the potatoes around his plate with his fork. “Whatever Casey decides, I need to be out of Luke’s place before the baby comes.”
I shifted in my seat.Just be honest with him,an insistent voice shouted in my head, a voice that might not have spoken up if I hadn’t learned yesterday that my entire childhood had been a lie. “I want you to come home, but before you do, I need to be certain I can raise the baby.” I’d had months to figure this out, but I felt no closer to an answer than I had back in May. “Can I just have more time to think about it? And in the meantime, we can start spending time together again. See how things go.”
