AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He jabbed.
Hepushed.
And it made him wonder—what did he think would happen if she came closer? What exactly was he afraid of?
“Either way, I’m glad the band’s back together,” he said.
“The band?”
“You on the guitar, Josiah on the piano, Theo on the drums, and me,” he cleared his throat, “on the vocals.”
She laughed, and watching her laugh made his smile rival the span of the ocean. When she was like this with him, it felt as if, in some ways, this was her letting him in.
Living in Maui, alone, with two young boys was more challenging than the face she showed everyone, so if these moments, these laughs and playful shoves were all she could give him right now, he’d take them and keep them safe until she was ready to offer more.
“So, Joel,” she abruptly stopped walking and faced him, “if you were serious about what you said earlier, you’re welcome to come to Maui anytime. If I’m being honest, it gets lonely for the boys. So lonely.”
“And what about you?” he asked.
“It’s…really hard. Some days, I feel like I’ve spent my entire life making bad decisions.” Her eyes opened wide, and she frantically waved her hands in front of her face. “Not the boys. I don’t mean the boys. I mean, working and being a single mother. I swear, even with all that’s happened, I don’t regret Josiah and Theo a day in my life.”
He grabbed her hands, steadying them. “It’s okay. I didn’t take it that way.”
“I just don’t want to mess them up.”
He held his breath.
Finally, she was letting him in.
“But the boys would really enjoy you coming around more,” she said, and it was amazing how quickly this woman could erect emotional walls. “I can tell they really enjoy spending time with you.”
“Although I’m not ‘Uncle Joel,’” he teased. “And I’m just now realizing that Josiah doesn’t call me uncle, either.”
“Maybe ‘Uncle Joel’ sounds weird?”
“Maybe it’s too close to ‘Billy’ Joel?”
She laughed until she had to squash a coughing fit with her forearm, and his brain screamed for him to release her hands. No matter how much he craved human comfort, stealing it from her was borderline unethical.
“You are a trip, Joel Lattimore.”
He grinned. “If I can be honest with you, Ayesha, I’ve wanted to be a father my entire adult life. When I showed up at the house from the airport, and all the kids came rushing to hug me, I found myself wondering…what does this feel like for Julien when Thandie drops everything, screams his name, and comes running? What’s it like when Josiah turns the house upside down looking for you?”
“How quickly we forget what happened when Theo woke up,” she said.
“You mean when he screamed my name like he was looking forward to seeing me specifically? You set him on his feet, and by the time I blinked, he was hugging me with those little arms.” He cleared a trace of tightness from his throat. “Yeah, Co-Geish, Co-Desh, Co-Jojo, Co-Pike, and Co-Juwiwian all eventually got their hugs, but he saw ‘Jo,’ and that was that.”
She burst out laughing again, her voice briefly going hoarse. “I think we should all agree to call Julien, Juwiwian, from now on.”
It was definitely a more interesting name.
“But you know why he’s like that, right? Joel, Theo loves you. I’ve never seen anything like how he’s attached himself to you, but he loves you with his whole tiny heart.”
“You’re about to see what it looks like for a grown man to bawl like a newborn,” he warned.
“As for Josiah,” she continued, still laughing, “I think the thing about you that reminds me of Curtis is the same thing that makes Josiah gravitate toward you.”
He slid his thumb along the base of hers. “Maybe Theo picks it up from Josiah?”
