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Palmer closed her eyes and cried some more. Kent held her and told her everything would be okay.
“Do you think she’s waiting for me?”
Kent stilled. Her question took him off guard. He pushed her hair behind her ear and let his hand linger there. “I do,” he told her. “When you cross over, she’s going to be waiting with open arms.”
“Will I know it’s her?”
This time, Kent couldn’t hold back his emotions and began to cry. He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “You’ll know. Your heart will lead you right to her. Your mom passed away without any closure—you’ll both be free once you get to her.”
“That’s all I want.”
Palmer closed her eyes again. Kent kissed her forehead and held his lips there longer than what anyone would consider friendly. She cried, and he wiped her tears while telling her everything would be okay. His words felt empty because in the end, nothing would be okay. They had found her family, but at what cost?
Shortly after the sun came up, Kent slipped out of bed and went to the lobby to retrieve coffee. He thought about waking Palmer, but she needed as much sleep as possible, especially after the night she’d had. Between the octopus and learning about her mother, Palmer had been restless most of the night, which concerned Kent.
He opened the door to their room as quietly as possible, only to startle when Palmer came out of the bathroom.
She gasped and placed her hand over her heart. “Crap, you scared me.” He held two large cups up and smiled. She closed her eyes and inhaled the aroma of coffee. Kent had never met someone who loved coffee more than her.
“I’m sorry. Peace offering.” Kent handed her one of the cups and waited for her to step in front of him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh . . .” He ran his free hand through his hair and sighed. “Maeve called.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it looks like I’m going to be a dad.” His face strained as he said the words. This wasn’t what he wanted, but he’d accept the responsibility. “She’s having a girl.”
“Congratulations.” Palmer seemed genuinely happy for him.
He set his coffee down and leaned against the dresser. “Maeve wants to meet and go over some paperwork or something.”
Palmer’s breath caught. She nodded and sat down. “Okay. Are we going to drive or fly back?”
Kent blanched. “What? Oh, God. No. We’re not cutting our trip short.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
He dropped to his knees and ducked his head until Palmer looked at him. “You’re my priority. We’re on this journey until you say stop, remember? Maeve . . .” He paused and shook his head. “I told her what we’re doing, and she thinks it’s great—not that I care what she thinks, but she knows, and she also knows I’m not on my way back just because the baby’s mine. When the baby’s born, I’ll be there, but Maeve and I are over, aside from coparenting. I’m not leaving you to go back to her.”
“Do you know what this means?”
“That I have to learn how to change diapers?”
Palmer laughed. “No, it means we’re going to buy all the girly things every time we stop.”
Kent dropped his head into her lap and groaned. Palmer brushed her fingers through his hair. He moaned in approval. “That feels good.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Palmer didn’t let up and added some pressure, massaging his scalp. He could stay like this for hours and even fall asleep, but they were on a mission, and time was not their friend.
He lifted his head. “What’s our plan?”
“I still want to leave,” she said. “After yesterday and knowing my future. I don’t want to develop something with Courtney that’s going to hurt her later. She’ll have known me for one day, that’s it. She has the picture of us, and can say she found me, and can live her life knowing how things turned out for me, but I don’t want to go back. Yesterday was a lot, and I don’t want to do it again.”
“Okay. Are you going to call her?”
Palmer eyed Kent, and he took that as a no.
“Then you need to email her. It’s the right thing to do. Honestly, I’d tell her what you’re going through. She may or may not deserve to know, but I think you’ll feel better if you come clean.”
Kent waited for her to say something, to either agree or disagree with him. When she finally nodded, he stood and retrieved his laptop. He offered to type for her as long as she told him what to write.
Hello, Courtney,
I want to thank you for taking the time out to visit with Kent and I yesterday. It was a very emotional day for me, to say the least. The information you provided about who I am was earth-shattering and a lot to process. I will never be able to thank you enough.
